by Tamara Kulish from https://tamarakulish.com/

Live life so that if your life was a book Florida would ban it!

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I laughed when I first saw this meme, for it seems good sport to laugh at difficult things, but then I got serious. There are layers of truth to this meme aren’t there?

Many people may be very supportive of book bans or laws created so the world conforms more closely with their views, and that is probably very comforting to remove those “dangers” or even “temptations” from themselves so they can live in a more insulated world.

Unfortunately, by removing those things from their communities and states, they are restricting or denying other people’s access to things they don’t find abhorrent. We aren’t all the same, nor do we see things the same way. We aren’t all the same, nor do we believe in all the identical things.

Take for example the edict that “we should all be living as Christians” (assuming for a moment that everyone wanted to leave their different faiths to follow Christianity).

The next question is whose version of Christianity are we all expected to follow? The Catholics? The Baptists? The Pentecostals? The Lutherans? Or one of the 33,089 Christian denominations world-wide?

According to the WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY, “WORLD CHRISTIANITY” article, there are more than 33,000 denominations in Christianity. All of these denominations were created when someone didn’t agree with whichever main branch they had known and left to create their own branch.

A recent compilation lists 33,089 Christian denominations world-wide, including the massive Roman Catholic Church (with a billion adherents), 25 principal forms of Eastern Orthodoxy, numerous varieties of Protestantism, and tiny store-front churches with fewer than 100 members.

Wesleyan University, “World Christianity”

An Orange County Register’s article states an even larger number: over 45,000 different Christian denominations worldwide.

I was in 2 different evangelical churches, and each one said they were “the one true church”, a claim many, many other churches tell their flock, basically to keep them there and loyal to that group. With so many denominations, how can one claim to be the one true church that everyone should follow?

It comes down to personal choice then doesn’t it?

The followers say it is a matter of faith, but we all choose to have faith (or not), and we also choose what we follow or don’t follow in our lives.

These choices also extend to what types of things we choose to do in our lives, our words and behaviors, our interests, who we love, who we are as a person, and too many intangibles to be able to mention them here.

If we all have the freedom to choose everything in our lives, we also choose the results or the consequences, because those go hand in hand.

My choices may not be what each of you would choose for your life, and I don’t have the right to force you to follow what I do. The reverse is also true. You do not have the right to force me to follow how you live your life.

Prohibition was enacted to protect individuals and families from the “scourge of drunkenness.” However, it had unintended consequences including: a rise in organized crime associated with the illegal production and sale of alcohol, an increase in smuggling, and a decline in tax revenue.

docsteach.org

When Prohibition was enforced in many states in the USA, it didn’t stop many from drinking alcohol, they simply found it through other means.

By prohibiting or banning certain things, we also then create unintended consequences in our communities, because people will seek ways around those laws.

We confuse “rights” with “power”

When we confuse “rights” with “power”, we see many vocal groups seeking to create bans or pass laws that conform to their personal beliefs. They see it as the ‘rightful” thing to do, but they have forgotten that by taking away another person’s rights or choices, they have exerted their power over them.

Taking away another person’s rights isn’t about faith, it is about power. When that power becomes all-sweeping, it changes to tyranny, for each person’s rights have been taken away.

Doing the “rightful” thing shouldn’t include taking away another person’s rights, for we each have the freedom to live our lives how we choose. That means we have also chosen our own results or consequences, that we live our physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially.

(Thanks Pooja for sharing this link “Evangelicals Are Now Rejecting ‘Liberal’ Teachings of Jesus”, which I find rather alarming; an evangelical leader is warning that conservative Christians are now rejecting the teachings of Jesus as “liberal talking points.” This is so scary that people are believing they are correct in treating others harshly and without the love that the Bible teaches: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is a biblical concept spoken by Jesus in Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:12.)

If we are living our lives from a place of love, we can see each person as worthwhile, and having full rights to their personhood and their life.

If we believe we have the right to make choices for others, based on our own set of beliefs, we aren’t operating from a place of love, for in removing other people’s rights we assert our power. This actually comes from a place of fear, for there is great fear that the “others” will taint their own world.

Please remember to walk in love (brotherly and Agape) for those around you!

In my opinion, we are all free. Free to make our own choices and free to accept the results and consequences, so go ahead, live your life fully!

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Blessings!
Thank you for sharing this post and for following me!
Tamara

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49 thoughts on “Live life so that if your life was a book Florida would ban it!”

  1. Good post Tamara. I agree with you on how some people try and enforce what they believe on everyone and aren’t willing to keep an open mind on what other’s believe. And the whole book banning thing is ridiculous. It’s only a book. There are live people out there that might have more of a influence I think than a book.

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    1. Right? They have become the biggest “cancel culture” and it’s scary to see what they are doing. I shudder. yet, they cannot seem to just walk away!

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  3. All good points, Tamara! And the board display at top is quite funny. 😛 The only counterpoint I could make is if someone you know is involved in seriously risky behavior. If you care about them, I image you would gently discourage them rather than just let them live their life.

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    1. yes, thank you! Absolutely. I didn’t cover that, it seems like a whole topic by itself. However, if someone is killing themselves through drug or alcohol addiction, for example, they rarely listen to concerned people, but only change when they have to, sometimes never. I still reach out to people none-the-less.

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  4. Thank you for this well thought out and well written post. The meme is only funny because it holds a lot of truth. The thing with religion is that you absolutely should have the right to practice your religion as you like, but that doesn’t mean you get to force people to live their life the way you choose to live yours. Just as you have rights, so should everyone else. Banning things doesn’t solve problems. It’s interesting that people who are so against “cancel culture” are out there cancelling everything. Including Christianity. I was just reading about how a number of “Christians” have complained that Jesus and the teachings of Jesus are “soft”, “weak” and “too liberal.”

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    2. Yes, I had read a similar article that they see Jesus as too soft. They’ve become what they used to speak out against, and they believe that they are right in doing so. Unfortunately their influence is extending around the globe. People are using religion to vent their anger and hatred under the guise of being “godly” but they are in fact far from it.

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      1. Absolutely, the fact that religion is supposed to be about peace, love and kindness while they’re doing the opposite with it is crazy to me. And yes, it’s effecting people all around the world now.

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        1. Yes, scary stuff. All the more need for people to speak up about living a loving, respectful life! It feels very overdue.

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  5. 45,000 different denominations! That reads like separation to me. A thoughtful article, Tamara, as you do.

    This section stood out to me:
    “If we believe we have the right to make choices for others, based on our own set of beliefs, we aren’t operating from a place of love, for in removing other people’s rights we assert our power. This actually comes from a place of fear, for there is great fear that the “others” will taint their own world.” Well said! 🙌🏻

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  6. I read banned books just to see why people are clutching their pearls. Sometimes my eyes are opened to something different I never considered. I feel like banning is about fighting acceptance. About fighting letting people be who they are. It is a sad state of the world.

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    1. My thoughts are that libraries should be filled with various types of books, and if you don’t like one, move on down the row! They called the Dems snowflakes, but they are the ones trying to create a world that conforms only to their views and scr** anyone else!

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  7. Tamara, I couldn’t help laughing out loud at the title of your post 😀 I agree with all the points you’ve raised. It’s incredible how narrow-minded we become when we believe we hold the whole truth. As you point out: “Taking away another person’s rights isn’t about faith, it is about power.” > Considering that I have a neighbor whose son founded his own Christian denomination here in Los Angeles, I should not be surprised that Christianity now has over 33,000 denominations. What a mosaic!

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  9. Ah, yes! The one “true” Church. I will let you in on a little secret. I am unapologetically Roman Catholic. I love my Church and see many good and not so good things. It is, after all, run by people, and people are not perfect. That being said, it was Our Lady who said in Medjugorje (where she’s been appearing since 1981) that there is only one true God. It is us that separate Him into different religions. Exactly. Just because you aren’t Catholic or Baptist or Lutheran or Muslim does not mean that I can’t love you and live in harmony.

    As for our “rights” please keep in mind that we only have rights until they infringe on another person’s rights. Therefore, living in love I think means never killing anyone.

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    1. Yes, that is what I believe too! Love needs to be our metric. I read an article where the far right now believes Jesus to be too soft!

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  10. As you have suggested, Tamara, there is much danger in the world. Heinrich Heine (1797 – 1856), the German writer, wrote that “where one burns books, one will soon burn people.” In effect, he anticipated the Holocaust that would occur more than 75 years after his death.

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    1. Very true words! I read an article where some of the far right feel Jesus was too soft! Scary when they no longer want to emulate him but are doing their “own thing”.

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  11. I followed something once…and she bit me. I thought all puppy dogs were sweet and cute and just wanted to play. It appears the world had gotten to her already. But I loved the sign Tamara, I think my book is still getting into trouble. Bear with me till I get it out of the fire I left it in 🤣

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          1. Kind ladies, it is those that question those beliefs the most, that have no belief in themselves. Which is good, doubts need to be questioned. But decision making from doubts, I think not. It makes for very unwise decisions. As for politicians, it is very difficult to see what is in front of you, let alone make decisions when everything looks like a dollar sign or ‘a destination for the good of us all’ when it is the ego driving the bus 😀❤️🙏

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            1. Very true Mark. They follow the dollars and power, then lie to people telling them they have their interests in mind. Sadly we’re seeing the fruits of those actions.

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                    1. Oh, that made a cold chill run down my spine. With how he has influenced so many to become their worst selves, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

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                2. Not a nice thing to see, and the ‘balance’ of always having both sides to everything so that a truth can be formed seems to be slipping too far one way. We know in our hearts what love is…but this is a deliberate attempt at manipulation and by those in power so that everyone becomes too scared to speak out. I do hope I’m wrong and it is just a blip on the radar…but it feels wrong. I thought the end of times was something way off in the future somewhere. But this is beginning to raise the hair on the back of my neck. And silence will defeat us all the sooner. Nearly all of the religions are based on love, but like any fear it can be blocked. My fears were bad enough in blocking myself from that love, but if we are forced to do so that will not be a nice thing to see at all. I saw hell, of which I did a series of posts on (separation 1, 11, 111, 1V), leading into it. Truly, never go in that direction, it is something I would not ever wish on another. Not Trump, not a mass murderer, not even Hitler. It is the most horrendous thing to touch. And no, not a field of fire with little devils running around jabbing you with a pitchfork…that’s a park picnic. My entire being right down to the last cell was in a horror I’ll never forget. It was plain and simply a lack of love, being totally cut off from it. It was only then that I realized that we always, always have that unconditional love around us. And no, we have never felt it at this time here. Yes we can become very, very weak in that love when we lose someone very close to us…but that isn’t it. Not by a long shot. I think that God is saying that if we don’t want that love, then He withdraws it…in the future somewhere. Those that deliberately reject it, and I’m not talking about relationship breakups or such, but an out and out trying to be that evil that kills love, a deliberate attempt at twisting and causing an unbelief in what it is. Sorry Tamara, almost a post 😀❤️🙏

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                  1. You’ve made some strong points Mark. I am hopeful there will still be people who live by love and who won’t subscribe to that nonsense. Sounds like a huge “repentance” needs to be done, so they can get their hearts realigned.

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