This I Believe

This I Believe

I believe in the innate goodness of all men.  One's religion, sex, sexual orientation, financial standing, the color of one's skin and hair and eyes, one's opportunities to choose right or wrong; many things may conspire to bring evil into being, but God does not create evil within us.

The thought of abortion, as birth control, leaves me cold.  However, I do not believe that I have been given the right to tell any woman what she may or may not do with her body.  I will not support laws that either overtly or covertly usurp that right of womanhood.  When anti-abortionists stand in line to adopt any unwanted child, then perhaps they will have some legitimacy in my sight.

I believe that the balance of the prison population, in the United States, speaks to obvious racism.  I will never believe that the percentage of incarcerated blacks and Latinos, as compared to the percentage of the white prison population, accurately depicts the number of lawbreakers in those populations as a whole.

I do not believe in capital punishment.  I confess that in war or fear or anger or to protect my own life or that of a loved one, I might well kill another human being.  At that point, like Moses, I will stand to be judged by God.  I do not believe that it is given to me to sit coldly in judgement and "vote" to take the life of another.

I do not believe that there is sin in sexual orientation.  I do not understand my own desire to be with a woman.  How then can I pretend to understand or condemn the desire of a man to be with a man or a woman to be with a woman.

I believe that I have the right to pray at any time and in any place.  Courts of law can neither force me to pray nor force me not to pray.  Prayer has not been taken from our schools or athletic events or public meetings.  I believe that silent prayer, from a godly heart, is heard as surely, perhaps even more so, than prayer shouted from a mountain top.

I believe that every man has a story to tell.  If we are unwilling to take the time to listen, if we close our ears and our hearts, we are doing a great disservice to both ourselves and to God's greatest creations.