Everything That Rises

*This is my most recent response to a question for The Anniston Star's "Religion Roundtable."* The short, simple answer to this question is “no.” Frankly, it’s hard (if not impossible) to say what ALL religions believe and practice. Given my experience with other religions, however, I would say that in some ways many religions do in fact share the same goals of worship, service, and proclamation (sharing their faith with others). Of course, the fundamental difference among religions is the divinity they worship, serve, and proclaim. As a Christian, I put my faith in the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), made manifest in the person of Jesus Christ. As a Christian, it is my goal to worship, serve, and proclaim God to other through both my words and my actions. My friends of other faiths share similar goals, though they may put their faith in a different deity or understand God differently than I do. We have similar religious goals, but our source of faith

So it's been a week since the horrific shooting took place in Newtown, Connecticut, and in these past seven days rhetorical shots have been fired by anyone with an opinion who cares to make it known. I've kept quiet on the issue, mostly because I've been keeping to myself during a time of transition. Now, however, I feel as if I have to put my thoughts down somewhere, and this blog is as good a place as any. First of all, let me say that I don't own a gun--well, technically I own a gun, but it's in the attic of my dad's house where it's been since I was about 18 (I fired it maybe five times). To be more precise, I don't currently keep a gun in my house, and I never plan on keeping a gun in my house. Now, before any of you who found this blog by a simple Google search for the word "gun" begin typing out your irate response about the virtues of gun ownership, let me say that I am not opposed to people owning guns and keeping them in their homes

(This is an actual picture from Interstate 65 in Alabama) Yesterday I came across this post by Matthew Paul Turner in my blog feed. Now, if you click on the link, you'll notice MPT didn't write anything; he just let the ridiculousness of the picture speak for itself.  This morning while reading my local newspaper online, I read this letter from a reader. Sadly, the writer of this letter is not in the minority of those in the South who still have some whitewashed image of what the South used to be.  As a Southern native, born and raised in the deepest of the deep South in "Lower Alabama," I have spent my life surrounded by the confederate flag and those who will (quite literally) fight to defend everything for which they claim it stands. There are the usual claims of defense: "It's about heritage...it's a sign of Southern pride...it's a symbol of tradition and history..." Regardless of what response you hear, it is almost always preceded