Universal

Church, Perspective

The history of mankind is replete with examples of how religion has been used as an excuse to justify man's primal needs of lust, greed and glory. Just look at our recent history and the "clash of civilizations" which pitches an Islamic East versus a Christian West. But even in our personal sphere, we are guilty of using religion as an excuse to mask our lesser sins such as cowardice, hubris and fear. Instead of seeing religion as a common denominator, it has been far too readily used as a divisive tool, allowing us to pick at the difference rather than embrace the similarities. It is even sadder when this happens amongst people who share the same religious roots; that in spite of sharing a common text can proclaim that we worship different gods. To say that it is a matter of perspective maybe to trivialize the matter, yet I do not think that this description really misses the mark. It is about interpretation, perspective but more importantly, it is about consistency in our approach.

No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God remains in us and His love is brought to perfection in us.