Yesterday, this made me VERY angry. But I am better now.
I was in a nearby hospital parking lot. A member of my parish is in ICU with serious heart problems (sort of touch and go, if you know what I mean). The lot is full…but finally, a clergy parking spot open. Another car slips in the spot before I can get there…that’s fine. I drive by and say, “Hello, pastor!” to the guy getting out of the car. He looks at me dumbfounded.
“Where are you a pastor at?” I ask.
“I ain’t a f&ck*n pastor of any church!” he said.
“Well, you know you just parked in a clergy spot.”
“I don’t even believe in God. He’s just a stupid myth. Why should you guys get a special parking space because of you made up religion.”
Now, here’s what I have to say about that…
Atheist and others complain that we clergy types try to push our religion down people’s throats. I do not do that. If you want to chat about God, politics, football, etc. I am happy to talk with anyone…absolutely anyone. I love conversation.
Clergy parking spots are not really for the clergy. They are for those people in the hospital. Often these people are at death’s door. No, I can’t stop death. But sometimes I can bring a sense of comfort by sharing an awareness of God with the person near death – and/or their friends and family members.
Whether you believe in God or not is not the question. The question is whether YOU have the right to force your non-religion down the throats of anyone who is a believer.
Not all atheist are as obnoxious as this fellow. Many, in fact, are kind, respectful, and understanding. But many of them are very RELIGOUS about their none religion. They feel it is their responsibility and duty to force non-belief about what they do not believe down the throats of believers.
Maybe we can get the hospital to set aside a reserved parking space for atheist who are in a hurry to depress people nearing death.
God Is Real: The Stunning New Convergence of Science and Spirituality
by: SANJAY C PATEL
publisher: Purplewater Paperbacks LLC, published: 2013-12-20
ASIN: B00EZCFIVK
sales rank: 310039
Review from highly acclaimed CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY monograph series’ scientist Prof. Pankaj S. Joshi. – “REALLY LIKED IT. AUTHENTIC.” Expertise: general relativity, cosmology, stellar evolution, naked singularities, black holes.
Is There A God?
New discoveries are opening up an oasis of spiritual peace and scientific harmony.
Satisfying answers to some of the world’s most baffling questions are now at hand. Cutting-edge science is blurring the boundary between modern discoveries and ancient spiritual wisdom. There is a NEW convergence. Many straightforward solutions to centuries-old controversies are emerging.
Ancient teachers around the world and yogis in India millennia ago taught us the art of living in the present moment; connecting with our higher selves; feeling the interconnectedness of the whole universe; bonding with all people; and developing mindfulness to heal our body and spirit. Today, all this wisdom has proven beneficial to countless people.
Moreover, ancient philosophical parallels with modern discoveries in psi, consciousness studies, and quantum non-locality have been indicated since the seventies.
Now, after two decades of more pioneering discoveries in science, important parallels with our observable universe are also emerging.
A new porthole into ancient yoga wisdom – and its profound connection to the Bible – has opened. They are not generalized or speculative. They are specific and objective. Anyone – theist, agnostic, skeptic, and atheist – all can easily verify. And you don’t require a background in science to do so.
The findings are meticulous and many have appeared in mainstream, peer-reviewed scientific journals. Even world class scientists – such as a cosmology writer for the highly acclaimed Cambridge University Monograph Series and The Scientific American Journal – are looking at the findings favorably.
There are also brilliant and straightforward solutions to Noah’s Flood and Genesis’s Seven Days. All of it is compatible with modern discoveries.
This is a quick and easy to read book. Get away from the false discussion created by extremists and fundamentalists. Discover ancient wisdom and modern scientific harmony together.
These extraordinary new discoveries can heal our world.
More information on www.SanjayCPatel.com
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