PRETTY CLEAR if you are listening

This is from a novel, The Sign, by Raymond Khoury.

On page 455 of 458

"You don't need anyone to tell you what to believe or who to worship," Father Jerome was telling the crowd. "You don't need to follow any set of rituals. You don't need to worry about an angry God not allowing you into heaven. You don't need to march onto these great temples of intolerance and be told what is God's inerrant and infallible word, because the simple truth is nobody really knows that. I don't. All I know is that you are not slaves and you are not part of any grand master plan. If there is a God, and I believe there is one, then you are all God's children. Each and every one of you. You create your own destiny. You need to accept the responsibility and put aside your egocentricity and stop looking for excuses in tired old myths. You make your own fate every single day. You need to look after each other. You need to look after the land that feeds you and gives you the air to breathe. You need to assume your duty toward all of God's creation. And you need to accept the credit for the good and take the blame for the bad."

He looked across the stunned crowd and smiled. "Enjoy your lives. Look after your loved ones. Help those less fortunate. Make the world a better place for all. And allow me one last humble request. Please don't allow my words to you here today to be used and abused in the same way."

I think that organized religions that have been created by human beings are important because they obviously aren't going anywhere and therefore are part of the sociological mainframe.

But when one wants to love God in a single direct line then one should never be told that joining a religious cult is the only way to display that love.

Human beings really do want to control everything.

I say it very emphatically.............don't touch my faith

God and I have a relationship.....

.....and it's entirely different than yours or anyone else who has ever lived on this planet.

Maybe someday we can sit down and talk about the uniqueness and similarities of our relationship with the

PERFECT MOMENT NOW

Michael Timothy McAlevey