sometimes you gotta speak up...

I really hate debating. And I really hate politics. I shared this article on Facebook (I may be really starting to hate Facebook), and (as I should have expected), I got some backlash...
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/28/where_are_the_normal_christians/singleton/
So this was my response. I had to do it. I friggin' hate arguing - hopefully I was to the point, not un-kind, and clear:

Wow. Sorry you feel that way Jake. But people do judge Christians by the loudest ones. That's the truth. I don't want to be lumped in to that category. I happened to share this article because I liked it. Because I strive to be like Jesus. Because he told us to do 2 things: love God, and love our neighbor as ourselves. He did not tell us to judge, that is God's job. He did not tell us to convict people of their sin, that is the Holy Spirit's job. He told us to love. I work in a clinic that is specifically for HIV+ patients. I choose to work here because Jesus said 'when I was sick and in prison, you visited me'. I choose to work here because I want to 'be kinder than necessary for everyone is fighting some kind of battle'. I choose to work here because (I think it was Mother Teresa who said) 'If you judge people, you have no time to love them'. I choose to work here because God loves them. And I would like them to know that we're not all political and angry. Some of us just want to love, and share love. Having said that, the last paragraph really summed it up. I shared it because it spoke to me. That is all...

The last paragraph: He said, “Your truth is different from my truth. And we’re both right.” In a culture of arrogance and self-righteousness on either end of the dial, it’s a tough concept to embrace. But coexistence is only possible when we’re not screaming at each other, smugly pronouncing the other guy either sinful or stupid. All that many of us, as non extreme Christians, want is to simply be treated with the same respect and tolerance that our faith teaches us to give to others. Because whatever else we all believe, how can we ever go on as a diverse, thriving culture if we don’t believe first in each other?