Them's Fightin' Words!

Or maybe just stupid. But I am making an assumption.

It was just a glimpse in the grocery store as we turned different ways at the aisle end, just enough to capture the concept boldly printed on her tee shirt that she chose her religious views over peace.

Now I get feeling strongly about whatever your religious/spiritual views are, whether or not they include any actual religion, whether or not that choice is different than mine. That's your right. But what if it's a false choice?

Here's where my assumption comes in, that since nearly all major religions ask for its followers to be peaceful, her views spring from one of those. That's the love part, the "do unto others" part. Sure, there's proselytizing, the mine-is-the-best-so-I-must-convert-you idea. But doesn't fighting, even killing to achieve that contradict the very core of those religious teachings? We humans have a very long history of killing each other over whose religion is best. Maybe that very history is why we need to pay attention to our religions, because we are a tribalistic species and need religion to teach us to be better. Religion is too often subverted to gain power over others.

Whatever else my religious views are, they are peaceful at the core. For me it's never a choice between them and peace. I find something very wrong with believing you must make that choice. But then I'm one of those people who are much more impressed with how you live your life than what particular set of words you use and when, or deity names you drop.