Our Religious Intolerance

Recently, I have been more worried by the fact that despite our self-acclaimed high level of education, intelligence and foreign religiosity, we have continued to have an increased level of religious intolerance. What is really wrong with those religions? What is really wrong with us? So, I continued to muse as usual. And that, I am quite sure is within my natural and fundamental human right to do. Suddenly, it hit me. Our problem has all along been due to our IGNORANCE and GULLIBILITY, in accepting and aping these foreign religions which we know nothing about. And neither do the originators of these foreign religions; what with their incomplete stories of creation and the birth and life of Jesus Christ.

While the world is estimated to be about 4.5 Billion years, and our foreign religions of Christianity and Islam are about 2000 years old and less respectively, it will be safe to say that all our traditional religions of the various tribes of the world that have existed from the beginning of creation, are older. And while there is an appreciative tolerance amongst our various traditional religions, one can’t say so for our above foreign religions. And the more I muse, the more I wonder, “Are our traditional Gods, angry?” I just can’t help but think so, considering that the more churches and mosques we build, and claim to be more religious than the originators of those religions, the more immoral, dishonest and intolerant we have become.

Heard Of Birth Control?

While a lady volunteer was driving a van full of 7 to 10 year olds to a field trip, she was clearly distracted and cruised right through a stop sign. And when an exasperated crossing guard ran towards the van and screamed, “Don’t you know how to stop?” The lady stopped her van, looked the crossing guard straight in the eye and asked clearly upset, “What makes you think they are all mine?”

The Handyman Husband

A husband screamed from their bedroom, “Honey! You MUST check this out!” And the wife hollered back from the kitchen, “What is it?” Then the husband said, “You’re not going to believe what I found when I was drilling a hole through the wall! I found a secret stash of bottles!” Just then, they heard their daughter’s voice hollering from the bathroom, “I’m trying to brush my teeth in here! Who the hell is drilling a hole through the medicine cabinet!?”

The Landlord

One early Sunday morning when a man rang my door bell and I opened the door, he said tearfully, “Sir you have got to help! There is a family that I know very well that is in desperate need of money. The father has been out of a job for over a year, and they have five kids at home with barely a bit of food to eat. The worst part is that they are about to be kicked out of the house and they will be left on the streets without a roof over their heads!” The man concluded with one last heart wrenching sob.

So I said, “Well, that really is a sad story. Why don’t you come inside and we’ll talk about it a little more.” We then got inside. And while we were both seated, I asked, “So how much money is needed exactly?” And the man replied, “Oh it’s really terrible. Just for the rent, $3000 is needed by tomorrow otherwise they’ll be kicked out onto the streets.” I then asked him, “How do you know so much about this situation?” as I reached for my cheque book. And the man breaking down once more responded, “Well, they are my tenants.”

Be Grateful In Every Situation

There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills, and when the farmer's neighbours sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck, good luck, who knows?” And when a week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills, and his neighbours congratulated him on his good luck, he replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?'

Then, when the farmer's son attempted to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this was a very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Bad luck, good luck, who knows?” Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg they let him off. Now, was that Good luck or bad luck? Who knows? “Whatever happens to us may be for our own good; though it may not seem so at the time.”

Irreconcilable Behaviour

When a man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard, the traffic light suddenly turned to yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing and stopped, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman hit the roof and the horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer who ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After several hours, a policeman opened the cell door, and escorted her back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, “I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. Then I noticed the ‘Choose Life’ license plate, the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ bumper sticker, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday-School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.”

Working In Our Favour

When one wealthy man walked into a bar in Miami and noticed an African woman (black) sitting in one corner, he went to the counter, brought out his wallet and with a loud voice said, "Bartender! I am buying drinks for everyone in this bar except that black woman over there!" The bartender collected the money and began serving free drinks to everyone in the bar, except the African woman. Instead of becoming upset, the black woman simply looked up at the guy and with an equally loud voice said, "Thank you!" Her action obviously infuriated the wealthy guy.

So, he again brought out his wallet and with a louder voice said, "Waiter! This time I am buying bottles of wine and additional food for everyone in this bar, except for that African sitting in the corner over there!" The bartender collected the money from the man and began serving free food and wine to everyone in the bar except the African woman. When the waiter had finished serving the food and drinks, the African woman simply smiled at the man again and with an equally loud voice said, “Thank you!"

And that really made the wealthy guy furious. So he leaned over the counter and asked the bartender, "What is wrong with that black woman? I have bought food and drinks for everyone in this bar except for her, and instead of becoming angry, she just sits there, smiles at me and says, Thank you. Is she mad?" The bartender smiled at the wealthy man and said, "No sir! She is not mad. She is the OWNER of this establishment."

“May our enemies work unknowingly, in our favour.”