Giving Up Church For Lent

     Page Two Hundred Twenty.
     I recently ran into a friend who gave up church for Lent. I'm not kidding. I truly thought she was joking when she told me, but she wasn't. She said that it really hurt her too. She felt terribly deprived by not being able to worship freely and in a manner with which she felt comfortable. After hearing her speak for a moment, I realized her point.

     Can you imagine not being able to worship God in the manner to which you are accustomed or to be ostracized for it? We all know that this has happened countless times over the centuries and in various societies. Also, of course, it still is happening. In the news recently I heard a story about Christians who are harassed in certain Asian countries for praying as they do; Jews have a long history of receiving intolerance and Moslems in Western countries have been the recipients of definite  prejudices since 9.11. And this isn't even to mention the Atheists or Humanists who are force-fed God and organized religion period by extremely ignorant friends or associates. We just can't let people pray, or not, as they see fit, in peace. The more I think about it, the more I respect my friend's decision to give up church for Lent. It really is a sacrifice for her.
     How many people would go to another religion's house of worship for 6 weeks, to the exclusion of their own religion, just to gain a sense of gratitude for their own freedom of worship? Not very many, though they 'd be much less prejudiced afterwards.

What To Give Up For Lent

     Page Two Hundred-Nine.
     I'm sometimes surprised by people's lack of knowledge concerning world religions, or their own religion even. A while ago, I found myself trying to educate a friend on the fact that Jews don't give up anything for Lent. He simply wouldn't hear my explanation. He just "knew" that Lent is an American secular season which is practiced by anybody who wants to express their appreciation to Jesus for dying on that cross 2000 years ago. He recognized it's origins in religion, Christianity specifically, but was convinced that nowadays religion had nothing to do with it. I was stunned by his ignorance.
      Along similar lines, quite recently I found myself talking with a devout Protestant about Martin Luther. I was explaining to her that prior to 500 year ago, there was no such thing as Catholicism or Protestantism. Every Christian was what we would refer to today as Catholic. Then this priest, Martin Luther, came along and virtually invented the Protestant movement. Her response? "I'm going to ask my minister about this. He knows so much about church history, he's just so smart." I thought to myself, "Why didn't this woman learn about the Reformation in 7th grade world history?"
     One day, a few years back, an acquaintance couldn't understand how Jews could believe in God if they didn't simultaneously believe in Jesus. "You see, Jesus is God, so if they don't believe in Jesus then they don't believe in God." Maybe I simply know really uneducated people. Perhaps that's it.
     I believe that if comparative religion were required learning, world-wide, we'd have much less war.