Birthers, Beliefs, and blessings.

     So, there have been a lot of posts and news on this whole Obama birth certificate thing.  The fact is that in order to become president you have to have been born a US citizen.  This means that you are born to US citizens or born on US soil legally (read amendment 14).  The other side is, the president of the US has one of the highest security clearances in the land.  In order to get it he has to pass a background check while he is running.  If you think that the pentagon, CIA, NSA, or any of the other intelligence agencies are just going to allow anyone with a checkbook run for president without verifying their citizenship, you are horribly mistaken.  I guarantee, that his citizen ship and eligibility to be president were verified long before he started campaigning since he was a senator before he ran.  For those of you on the side of drop it all ready, I am with you.  The down side is that the "birthers" won't.  They are like any other group of people who believe something.  They will always find someway to question what is presented no matter what the truth is.  Terry Goodkind put it best in "Wizard's First Rule".  "People will believe almost anything, either because they want it to be true, or they are afraid it is.  "

      The downside of that is that we each have our beliefs and are not easily swayed from them.  In this day and age, there is a mountain of information and all of it can be contradicted by an expert.  Take the God and Christianity debate.  As a Christian, I have read all kinds of proof for why the Bible is reliable, Jesus existed, God exists, etc.  This supports what I believe and at times I catch myself thinking, "How can anyone believe otherwise?"  Then I receive a little understanding.  They believe otherwise because they want to.  They will argue that it can only be right for hundreds of reasons.  And of course, there is plenty of evidence out there for both sides.  I can find as many arguments and answers to arguments as the atheist can and the fact remains that we will still end up believing what we want and just end up alienating each other.  What it really comes down to is what do you want to believe.

    As I reread what I just wrote, I realize it seems like I am trying to placate my non-Christian friends.  I really am not.  All I am saying is that with free will, we are allowed to believe as we will.  My belief in God says that to not believe in him and thus reject him is to condemn oneself and thus I will do as I can to bring others to my beliefs.  I must, however, temper this with the knowledge that not all will believe.  Why?  Because if God forced all to believe, there would be no free will and without free will, how can we truly love him?  Love must, by definition, be a choice.  Thus, while God didn't create evil, he must allow it as to remove the option for us to do it, removes free will.  This means that, by giving us free will, he gave us the ability to hurt him, and we did.  While I wish that my atheist friends would see what I see and come to God, I also recognize the free will God granted them and can only try to persuade them and recognize that until they choose to come to God, they will believe as they will for whatever reason.

     For my Christian friends, please, think before you speak.  When you condemn non-Christians for their belief, you try to usurp God's authority.  This is what God meant when he said judge not less ye be judged.  Only God has the right to judge the condition of someones heart.  Have friendly discussions.  Live the Christian life.  Study the Bible and live it to the best of your ability.  If you live as a Christian, you become the best testimony.  As my local pastor said, "if you proclaim to be a Christian and act like everyone you live with, what would make anyone around you think that being a Christian means anything?  If you live as a true Christian should, you will bring others to you as they notice a difference in your life."  Let others believe as they will.  Show them what God said, but if they reject what you have to say, let them go and witness through how you live your life.  This is what being a Christian means.  Respecting others means respecting their beliefs and wishes as well as their property.  Be a witness through actions, not just words.  God bless.