Here's a deep thought for the day, from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, which I'm reading via email thanks to Dailylit.com:
I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that he made the world, and govern'd it by his Providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter.
These I esteem'd the essentials of every religion; and, being to be found in all the religions we had in our country, I respected them all, tho' with different degrees of respect, as I found them more or less mix'd with other articles, which, without any tendency to inspire, promote, or confirm morality, serv'd principally to divide us, and make us unfriendly to one another. This respect to all, with an opinion that the worst had some good effects, induc'd me to avoid all discourse that might tend to lessen the good opinion another might have of his own religion; and as our province increas'd in people, and new places of worship were continually wanted, and generally erected by voluntary contributions, my mite for such purpose, whatever might be the sect, was never refused.
If everyone showed the same respect for the beliefs of others that Franklin talks about here, rather than the fanatics that have to prove that their religion is the "right" one or twist the tennants of their religion to give themselves power over others, the world would be a lot better place, don't you think?
1 Comments:
It sure would... those are words that every person should read
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