Religion vs Faith vs Hate

Some would ask what the difference is here, but it is to me quite simple. Faith is belief in a higher being, while religion is following a certain set of rules and beliefs making up an organized faith.

One is about knowing God, while the other is worshipping Allah, Jehovah, Elohim, Yahweh, Krishna, etc. One is about freedom, the other about limits. Religion should be about helping us to get closer to God and not about narrowly defining how that can only take place. Unfortunately too many times each religion has its own view of Salvation that makes it only possible for their way to be the only way to God.

This narrow definition of Salvation puts up barriers between all of us. I have friends that are very dear to me and we agree on many things, but they are Baptists and believe deeply that Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc. are all going to hell.

Is it not this same view point that has pitted Muslims like bin Laden and his followers against the rest of the world and even most of their own religion? It is this religous bigotry that prevents happiness in our world. It is not the only reason, but it is an important one.

To quote John Lennon:
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

Imagine a world without hate. Wait, what has hate to do with God? Everything. Religion can become the worst ISM in the world, and the most hateful and most destructive. Some would say certain political followings are religious in context and in their dogma. That only the true believers are right, only the true believers have rights, and only true believers should live. Is this not what we see in religious wars? Is this not what we saw in Nazi Germany in the 30's and 40's? Is this not what we saw in Soviet Russia and Communist China? Did we not see this in the Spanish Inquisition? National Socialism and Communism are both as much a religion as Christianity or Islam.

What is key here is that hate has a lot to do with the worst of what man can do to man. God tells us to love one another, but religion can get in the way and allow us instead to hate. Do you think God would want us to blow each other up in his name?

According to Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels, "We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." I heard that as a college student many years ago and used it as a prisim through which I viewed religion AND God. As I grew older and wiser I discovered that Swift was in error. The quote should be--

"We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough FAITH to make us love one another."

After I learned to separate the two ideas I was able to see that faith is about God only, while religion is about man and his own issues.

As a youth I thought hate was the opposite of love. Not true either; the opposite of love is apathy. Hate is love turned sideways, upside down, and inside out.

God created love, man created hate.

Imagine a world with no hate. Imagine a world where faith is stronger than religion, where love is stronger than hate. That is a world I want to live in and to leave to my grandchildren.