What in God's name gives you the right......

I had to take some time before I started this topic. I wanted to do some research and make sure that I had my facts strait. I began to think that I might be hypocritical of me to make the statements that I am going to but then I realized that I'm not passing judgment on these people I am trying to make a point and get some clearer understanding of why people act the way that they do and their justification.

I would like to say that this has only been going on for a few months maybee even a few years but the truth of the matter is that throughout the history of the Church this has been happening.
For right now though I would like to focus on the the present.

Why does it seem that people who consider themselves men of God feel that it is their right to condem, ridicule, persicute and huiliate others. What I remember growing up in my disfunctional Catholic family is that as a priest, minister, pastor, father, bishop, decon..... is that you are to be the leader, the example an extention of Christ and one who is lead his flock to the word of God. You were to be well versed in the Bible and its' teachings, able to at a moments notice pull out that one schripture that would be able to explain a sitution or bring peace to troubled times. I went to many different churches as a youth, being born into a strong Irish Catholic family, my father allowed me to experience many different aspects of Judeo-Christian religions, I have been lucky enough to experience in my adulthood many other religions ie.. Muslim, Budhist, Sufi and soforth. Never, I repeat Never did I ever experience a religious leader of any church I attended to out and purposely attack someone because they were different, not of that church or sect. But here recently I get to see grown men who are preaching the word of God do just that. Now I have been quick to jump to the saying "Judge not lest ye be judged" and "Let ye without sin cast the first stone". So I went and looked up these sayings and what went before and after these lines as to not take them out of context. What I got out of this research was that we are to forgive the sinner but not the sin. Ok I can get that but what really got to me was that there was a collective agreement that tolerence is the most overused word in the English language and that we need not be tolerent because God will not be tolerent when it comes to dealing with sinners. Well I say bullshit. I still beleive that God is a loving God, he is a enity of peace, understanding, compation, warmth and wisdom. If God were not tolerent then he would have crushed us like little bugs long ago for all the dumb shit we have done to his creation, for all the hatred and evil that we have spewed. If we had a God that was lacking in tolerence and understanding mankind would have been erased from the earth long ago and he would have started over. I think that we should be more tolerent of people and that the more tolerent of people we are the more it will influence them and generations to come. If you are going to talk to groups of people, present yourself as a person of integrity and as a positive role model then do it. Expand your horizons and learn other cultures, you will be amazed at how close we are all. Teach and talk, but listen and learn. You can spread the word of God but you will scare more people away if you sit there and attempt to shove it down others throats. Don't condem, embrace. Don't critisize, share. Don't hate, love. Teach our kids tolerence and understanding, share with them your ideas and ideals. Guide them with passion and an open mind.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
What I want people to realize is there are no quantifiers to this. It does not say for you to love your neighbor unless he is different than you. It does not state that if you do not agree with some one you are to not love them, it is all encompasing. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Pretty easy to understand. If you hate yourself though go and get some help and don't take it out on others.
I am not trying to preach I just want this to be a better world for my son and his generation. Becoming a father has truly made me reevaluate my life and how I should live it.
Enjoy your day and your life. Make a difference that counts and share your story with those who have not heard it.