Religious Tolerance, the Holocaust, and the Burning Times

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"Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs.
Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others."
~ President John F. Kennedy ~
35th U.S. president, 1917-1963

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than
sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ~
Civil Rights leader, 1929-1968

"When fascism comes to America, it will be
wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross."
~ Sinclair Lewis ~
Author and first American Nobel Prize
winner for Literature, 1885 - 1951

"Anyone who has the power to make you believe
absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices."
~ Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire ~
French Author and Philosopher, 1694 - 1778

Don't let the title fool you -- this page is more about the suffering imposed on many precious people, down through the years, who were subjected to the "intolerance" of their Fellow Man -- Please read on ....

I am a Christian, an Episcopalian who worships Jesus Christ and the Judeo-Christian God, as well as having a deep respect for the Earth (thanks to my ancestral Celtic pagan roots) .... I am also very passionate about religious tolerance, equality for all humankind, and in particular, about two certain times in world history -- The Holocaust and the "Burning Times" ....

Adolf Hitler burst onto the world scene in the 1930's with his establishment of the Third Reich in Germany. He had written a book, "Mein Kampf", some years earlier which subtly outlined his plan for purging certain "unsavory" elements from humankind (closely mirroring Nietzsche's theory of the "Superman") , and in practically no time, he and his Nazi troops & followers had murdered 6 million Jews in concentration camps spread from Poland to Germany. In addition to our jewish brothers & sisters, the Third Reich also murdered millions of blacks, gypsies, homosexuals, the mentally/physically-challenged, and anyone else who did not fit Hitler's version of Aryan perfection ... We all know what happened to Hitler and his minions, but not before too many precious lives had been snuffed out for being "different" from what Hitler envisioned as "right".

During the Middle ages, "religious" leaders took it upon themselves to persecute people they suspected of practicing witchcraft (Ironically, many of those persecuted were actually Christians) ... Because of fear and ignorance, many good & decent people (mostly women) were burned at the stake, hanged, drowned, tortured to death, all because they allegedly followed the Old Ways ... Arthur Miller's brilliant novel, "The Crucible", details how the hysteria and misinformation of those grueling times destroyed many lives.

Stop The Hate -- We are ALL God's Children!

"Stop the Hate"
Copyright © 2004 Donna O'Smolláin-MacDhádhoc.

** This graphic is free for use. **

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Some further examples of "Man's Inhumanity to Man": the Inquisition, the Crusades, Slavery, the brutality & isolation imposed upon the Native Americans, Apartheid, Racial Injustice, Sexual orientation discrimination, the American Civil Rights struggle, racial or sexual profiling, among many others .... Persecution of ANY kind is wrong, and the fact is that Christians all over the world are now being persecuted for their beliefs, and the aftermath of September 11, 2001 has subjected our Arab brothers & sisters to untold horror.

I was raised to believe that everyone deserves a chance in life, regardless of race, sex, religion, ancestry, etc. -- My parents always said "Don't judge anyone's religion" and "Live and let live" -- and that when we are intolerant of those different from ourselves, we are judging one of God's Children, which is morally wrong .... We are all formed in God's Heart -- all a part of Him -- and when we persecute each other, we are destroying a part of our own hearts -- we are all interconnected in soul and in spirit !!

Therefore, let us never forget the Holocaust of World War II, the Burning Times of the Middle Ages, or any other dark time in human history, and let us always strive to live together in tolerance and understanding .... Oh and btw, take time to study the paths which you are not educated on -- you might be surprised to learn how similar we all really are !

John 3:16 bible verse plaque
Copyright © 2004 Donna O'Smolláin-MacDhádhoc.

"Peace of heart that is won by refusing to bear
the common yoke of human sympathy is a
peace unworthy of a Christian. To seek tranquility
by stopping our ears to the cries of human pain is to
make ourselves not Christian but a kind of degenerate stoic
having no relation either to stoicism or Christianity."
~ A.W. Tozer ~
Christian pastor & writer, 1897-1963

"Throughout most of the history of the Christian religion books
were quite scarce -- prohibitively expensive and time-consuming
to make.... When one considers this, it seems absurd that the Christian
religion somehow is founded on the idea that Bibles were to function
as some kind of instruction manual to be kept, studied,
and followed to the letter by all true believers.
~ Anonymous ~