Mark Twain, in ‘A Horse’s Tale’, says “Man is kind enough when he is not excited by religion.” Let’s take a look at the religious views that are embraced by Nevadans. The most recent figures I have are from the year 2000.
Roman Catholic 27% Protestant; 26% Mormon; 11% Muslim; 2% Jewish 1%; Other religions 3%; Unbelievers 20% [Wikipedia]. Amazing! So, there is a wide variety of viewpoints here in Nevada including a large population of unbelievers. And a fair amount of tolerance as well. Nevada has agnostics, atheists, non-theists, humanists, deists, Buddhists, Sikhs, B’hai, New Age spiritualists, in addition to Catholics, Mormons, Baptists, Methodists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, nondenominational Christians and Episcopalians. And there are some folks who just don’t care.
There is, I am sure, a few perspectives on God that I missed. Here is what I'm thinking: There is a whole world of wisdom to be heard from in viewpoints that we do not adhere to on a personal level. Like this one from Buddhism:
‘One day Ananda, who had been thinking deeply about things for a while, turned to the Buddha and exclaimed: "Lord, I've been thinking- spiritual friendship is at least half of the spiritual life!" The Buddha replied: "Say not so, Ananda, say not so. Spiritual friendship is the whole of the spiritual life!" ‘Samyutta Nikaya, Verse 2
Perhaps we could embrace this idea: That hearts may meet in friendship and spirits appreciate all who value the search for truth, kindness and love in their lives. You know, love the person not their religious belief. And let’s not get too excited when people are seeking meaning in their own religious, or nonreligious, manner. Instead, let's think about what we can learn from them. As Mark Twain says so well, “Man is kind enough when he is not excited by religion.”
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