Where I put my faith has nothing to do my my politics

The God I believe in did not create me to sin.

My God allows me to believe in forgiveness, which is a source of hope for bettering myself.

My God doesn’t tell me I am better than anyone else because I’m financially well off, heterosexual, male or white.

My God doesn’t teach me to hate those who are different from myself or to view differences as a bad thing.

For anyone who has read any of my columns, I’m pretty easy to figure out.

I am Jewish, and my faith is a pretty significant part of who I am.

I want to one day be a rabbi, which means religion is extremely important to me.

It is understandable, then, that the use of religion in political and ideological spheres can be troubling to someone like myself.

Using biblical verses to qualify American law is a very dangerous act.

Not only are we not all reading the same texts, but we also don’t all view them the same way.

My God doesn’t tell me the words on a page are a reason to challenge others on the way they feel or who they love.

My God doesn’t tell me it is acceptable to create laws for an entire nation of people based only on the way I read a book written thousands of years ago.

My God doesn’t deem it acceptable for me to be narrow-minded to the world around me simply because the religion I practice has “said so” for generations and generations.

The use of religion to defend stances for or against abortion, homosexuality or, frankly, any other political decision, crosses a very scary line.

There are plenty of laws in the Bible that I clearly don’t see being called into politics.
I wouldn’t be the first columnist to bring these to light, but I don’t see most Americans making sure they keep kosher, other than a select few in the Jewish community, or worrying about the kind of materials used to make their clothing.

If we really want to see an ignored commandment, take a look at Deuteronomy 15:7, where it says, “If there is a needy person among you ... do not harden your heart.”

My God tells me it would be hardening my heart to stand outside abortion clinics and scream at women who are already scared.

My God tells me it would be hardening my heart to prevent gay citizens from attaining the same rights as heterosexual citizens.

Most importantly, though, my God is none of your damn business.

My God is not the reason you should make decisions. It is the reason I should.

My God motivates me but isn’t my only source of information.

Don’t let faith be the only answer to political issues.

That would be asking me to have faith in you, not God.

­— azoot@indiana.edu