Tonight I went to a church event where we watched the movie, “God is not Dead”.  The writers of the film were brave to tackle a topic that has been in debate as long as people have existed.  The film put philosophy against religion.  A college freshman had to prove to the other members of the class that his position that God is alive was correct and that the professor’s position that God does not exist was wrong.

The college student had his faith put to the test as his girlfriend ended their relationship over his resistance to abandoning his belief in God.  He was teased by other people.  Perhaps the person, who treated him the worst, was the professor who being the leader should have set an example of maturity and leadership that was sorely lacking in their interactions.

This got me to thinking that we will not have any real peace on earth until we can hold different opinions without resorting to ridiculing and punishing those who disagree with us.  Another name for this is tolerance.  Yet another name is respect.  Respect and tolerance are practiced more on a level of convenience rather than as a basic way to treat everyone.  Whether we believe in God or not; surely we can practice respect and tolerance toward one another.