Credo

I believe many things about God, love, life, and death.  You get to hear lots about my God-beliefs here, but today, feeling fed up with myself and my own reluctance to voice my opinion on a variety of topics, I think it's time to put down on "paper" a disorganized and haphazard list of other things I believe about the world.  This is neither a political exercise nor a water-tight defense of my worldview.  There are holes.  There are inconsistencies.  There are simple statements and naive statements and impossible statements.  Few, if any, of my thoughts are accompanied by plans for implementation or legislation.  These are simply things that I believe.

• I believe that life, in all its forms, is absolutely sacred.  This is why I don't understand why pro-lifers and anti-death-penalty folks somehow have ended up on the far opposite extremes of the political spectrum.
• I believe in peace and grieve deeply over war and conflict.
• I believe that care for one another and care for creation are essential, moral foundations upon which all other action should be built.
• I believe that it is absolutely immoral to deny human, humane, or humanitarian rights to a person based on age, race, faith, sexuality, gender, class, worldview, appearance, personality, political party, nationality, or any other factor.  The right to live well, die peacefully, love, care for those we love, feed ourselves and our families, seek meaningful work, be safe and healthy, and have space to think, breathe, and take pleasure in life: these, to me, are basic parts of being human, and I believe that everyone deserves them.  We can worry about politics later.
• I believe that while fear is an effective motivator, it is neither a fair nor an optimal motivator.  And I believe that fear-mongering is utterly despicable, especially in politics and religion.
• I believe that justice is a matter of being both just and merciful, and not a matter of winners, losers, or retribution.
• I believe that everyone needs more love, no matter how much or little they are already loved.  (This statement makes me sound like a flower-child.  I know.  But I don't care.)
• I believe that my own life would be better if I stopped caring about what other people think of me, and if I focused more on caring for those around me.  I also believe that I need to start really living my life as a self-aware, thinking adult, who is allowed to have opinions, even if they are different than other people's opinions.
• I believe that hope, listening, paying attention, introspection, and self-awareness are more important and powerful than most people realize.
• I believe that everything I have and everything I am are nothing other than blessings and gifts of God's grace, none of which I deserve.  I believe that I am called to live out that same grace in my life.
• I believe that my number one purpose in life is to bear hope in the world.