“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

-C.S.Lewis

There has been a lot of hate floating around the social networking world lately....and, yet again, Christianity gets thrown around...called out to be responsible for being the root of all of this "hate".

(I really hate it when that happens).

This was the photo covering Facebook and a few other sites.

It went viral, acknowledging gay marriage cases before the Supreme Court this week.

Now, I have (even after throwing a hissy fit a few months back and deleting about 30 to 40 people) almost 200 "friends" on Facebook.  I did not once comment on what was going down in that town...but I did witness a lot of harsh criticism going both ways.

To each their own, I say.  God did not put me here on this earth to judge man.  He didn't put me here to judge at all.  Piousness, Pride...these vices give breath to all other vices.

The best sort of advice I would give critics of the Catholic religion would be to visit the virtues that Christians  hold dear before a faithful following is to be stoned for being "hateful".

122. What is faith?

Faith is the virtue by which we firmly believe all the truths God has revealed, on the word of God revealing them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.

Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed. (John 20:29)

123. What is hope?

Hope is the virtue by which we firmly trust that God, who is all-powerful and faithful to His promises, will in His mercy give us eternal happiness and the means to obtain it.

But hope that is seen is not hope. For how can a man hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25)

124. What is charity?

Charity is the virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

If I should speak with the tongues of men and angels, but do not have charity, I have become as a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, yet do not have charity, I am nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-2)

(site found here for further reading)

Now.  My gripe with accusing Catholicism of being a "hateful" faith is this:  We are taught to live in humility.  We are taught to love everyone.  We are taught to be merciful, kind, generous....

...and not solely to other Catholics!  But to everyone!

To say that we practice a hateful religion is absolutely ridiculous when you actually look at what the heart of our faith pertains to.  We are here on this earth to set ourselves up for the next life.  We are not here to be of this world, but of the next.  We are here to get our souls to Heaven.

I have a "right and wrong" set in my heart.  I know what I should do and what I shouldn't do.  I also know that I'm not responsible for getting you to Heaven.  And, likewise, no one else is responsible for getting me to Heaven.

We were blessed at birth with free will.  I can't control how wrong society might seem to me now-a-days. I can't accept praise if I win a battle I believe in either.  I wasn't meant for this time.  I am here to get to the eternal life that God gifted to me...if of course, I am deserving.

I must be a respectable representative of my faith too...a good example...and blasting people on Facebook or anywhere else is NOT what I was meant to do.  I can tell you that right now...and I'm a Catholic.

Thanks for the read.

(This is not a closed off topic to discuss with me...I will always take in anyone's thoughts)

Take care,

-Michelle