I find it irritating that humanism and atheism are considered part and parcel with one another. I certainly believe in God, but I also believe in people. I don't think that believing in the basic goodness and dignity of man in any way precludes a belief in God. In fact I find that by seeing my fellow man as basically good I can see God as he is more clearly. The reason I say this is because man is made in the image of God, and if we see man as good then we can see God as good as well.
Now God does not derive his goodness from man, quite the contrary, but if we can show goodness to others through our lives then they will be more willing to accept the goodness of God. It's like the kind old woman who brings you soup when you are sick, or the friend who calls to see if you are doing well. These types of God if you will, make him present in our lives and so we, through our fellow man, see God. This is my point. God's goodness is made present to the world through the goodness of others. And so if we treat others as rubbish or lesser then we do so to God. I suppose I'm being idealistic, but if people would just see the good in each other and realize beneath all the trappings of culture and religion we are the same.
We are all made in the image of God and should treat each other as such. One of the things that strikes me most is the command that Jesus gave to his Apostles "Love one another." He didn't say love the ones who think like you, he didn't say love the ones who pay for the new roof, he said "Love one another." That's a harder thing to do than it is to say. He did it, but he did a few other things people have had a bit of difficulty replicating, but we can try. The only thing is, so few people try. It's a bit discouraging really, but maybe one day we'll get to the point where we can see the good in each other instead of only seeing faults. I hope I live to see it, but I can say this; as long as I live I'm going to do all I can to make the world a better place, one interaction at a time.
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