My belief in the existence of God or not is simple. And personal.
My country does not have to believe as I do.
If a child is hungry they don’t have to believe as I do for me to give them food.
If a man is sick and can’t rise from his bed, he doesn’t have to believe as I do for me to give him comfort.
If a woman is pregnant and unsure whether to have the baby or not, she doesn’t have to believe as I do for me to respect her choice.
If a family is out of work and out of money and worried about clothing for the children or losing their home or getting sick, they don’t have to believe as I do for me to want to help them.
If people are different, in how they love or who they want to marry, they don’t have to believe, or act, as I do for me to wish them luck–love has a hard enough time surviving these days without being bombarded with stones by the fearful.
I don’t have to believe in the souls of animals, or the uniqueness of a single rock; to see an inherent holiness in a tree or flower or drops of water–nor be reminded of the responsibilities as caretaker I am given at birth– in order to cherish the beauty of this world, and to try to preserve it.
If a people live in fear, in the midst of daily war and strife, they don’t have to believe as I do for me to want to remove that which frightens them.
Before this upcoming election, before any election in any country, tell those who represent you in government that no matter what party you belong to, or what issues you feel most deeply about, one thing you won’t do is use your vote to force your neighbors into believing as you do. Those who do so are saying, “My God is the one true God, and therefore you must follow my beliefs.”
Say back to them, ‘A God that is the one true God and therefore omnipotent can’t be harmed by anything I do, or believe.”