So where do we draw the line between our personal likes and dislikes, and what this country actually stands for? The 1st Amendment of the Constitution reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The 1st Amendment seems pretty clear that we have the right to believe whatever we want to believe, and just because you don’t like what I believe doesn’t give you the right to interfere with my freedoms. But people have started a petition to stop the owner of the property from building this house of faith.
On one hand, this happens a lot. Residents in New York once stopped a Wal-Mart from being built simply because they didn’t want it in their neighborhood. They went through legal channels, and they petitioned the right people, and they made the Wal-Mart move. This isn’t an isolated incidence. It happens all the time.
But the fact that this is a place of religion seems to be the biggest deal. People don’t believe in the same faith that is going to be practiced in this building, so they don’t want it near them. Does that mindset make it right? I think I have to say no, it’s doesn’t. We can’t prescribe to freedom of religion for some people, but not for others simply because we don’t like their flavor of faith.
Oh, and by the way, the building of faith that I'm talking about, the one people are trying to block, is a Christian Fellowship Church in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“God, help us to love one another the way your Son loves us and to realize that we can’t tell people about you if we continually push them away. Amen.”
