Love Versus Hate

There is much controversy over religion. Personally my religious beliefs help me with my recovery. Although I am religious I try to keep religion out of this blog. I have a separate blog on my beliefs about Christianity. I also have some blogs that combine both schizophrenia and religion on them. I try to limit this blog just to the issues surrounding schizophrenia.

If a person does think about it religion is very important to the recovery of a lot of consumers. The religious beliefs of many consumers have a very important role in their recovery. If you consider this carefully recovery involves treating the whole person. Their heart, mind, and soul. Medication and psycho-social treatments help a person with their psychological healing. What about the rest of the person. As humans we all have that need deep within to satisfy our spiritual cravings. We need that spiritual element to our existence.

This is where the controversy comes in. There is a saying. A thousand monks a thousand religions. There are so many different spiritual and religious beliefs out there. All these different beliefs all conflict with each other. If you look back in history most of the wars that have been fought have been fought over religion. A nation has certain religious beliefs and tries to take over other countries with different religious beliefs to make them part of their own religious system. What we believe is the truth and we must eliminate those that are enemies of the faith. Convert those that will be converted and totally eliminate those that will not convert. Wipe them out of existence. Our religion should be the only one that exists on this planet. Destroy the heretics and the heretics that will repent and convert let them live.

Why is this? Religion is supposed to be about love, compassion, grace, and mercy. Love thy neighbour as thyself. Return not evil for evil. Respond to evil with goodness and love. If someone does evil towards you respond to that evil with love and compassion. Do not do evil back. There is a saying in Alcoholics Anonymous. Live and let live. Believe what you personally want to believe and live your life the way that you want to live and let others believe what they want to believe and live the way that they want to live.

Sure we all want to share our beliefs with others and convert them to what we believe but it should be done with compassion. If they so choose not to repent and convert we still should not condemn them but treat them with love, compassion and let them believe what they so choose and let them live the way they so choose.

If we all did this there would be a lot less wars in this world. The whole world would live in peace and harmony. Why can't we all just accept the fact that there will be others who will not agree with us and not believe the same thing that we do? Why can't we all just show that love, compassion, grace, and mercy towards others that do not believe what we do and all live in peace and harmony?

Man is a warlike creature. Can man change his angry, hateful, warlike nature and just live in peace and harmony with others? Is it possible for warlike man to change his ways and become more loving and tolerant of those that don't agree with them concerning religion? Is it possible for man to rid himself of that prejudice towards others that are different? History has shown us that this is not possible. Mankind in general cannot change. Some people can change and live in peace and harmony with others but most of humanity are not capable of doing such a thing. Why? Why? and Why?

I would like to end this story by stating that I have met a lot of consumers. These consumers that I have met show more love, compassion, grace, and mercy towards others than the general population. Those with mental illness are supposed be evil, wicked, and violent. We commit violent acts towards mankind and deserve to be incarcerated. This is a lie and a myth. If you look at history it is the so called normal people that have committed all the evil, wicked, violent, murderous acts towards the rest of humanity. Most of these atrocities were committed by those that do not have any type of mental illness. Their minds were evil, warped, wicked, and they committed many violent acts towards their fellow man but they did not have any form of mental illness. Why is this? There are a lot of why's to be asked but there are no answers to these why's.

All we can do is live our own personal lives the way that they should be lived. We cannot change the world but we can change ourselves. We can leave our mark on the world. We can be loving, compassionate, gracious, and merciful towards our fellow man. We can rid ourselves of all that prejudice, hate, and anger towards others that are different. We consumers can be examples to the world that it is possible for mankind to live in peace and harmony with each other. We can prove the world wrong that consumers are evil, wicked, and violent people like the world claims that we are. There is a claim in the Bible. We are to be separate from the world. We live in the world but we are not part of the world. The world lives in hate, violence, and war. We consumers can be separate by living lives of love, compassion, and tolerance towards those that are different than we are. That is what my objectives are concerning my religious and spiritual life. Sure I share the gospel with others that they might repent and believe the gospel, but if they so choose not to agree with me I still do not show prejudice, and intolerance towards them. I try to treat my fellow man with as much love and compassion as humanly possible. Let all of us consumers rise up and be an example to the world and show them the errors of their ways.