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Earlier tonight, I was working in the backyard. From the fence, I heard my neighbor calling for me. On the short walk over, I wondered if our kids had done something. With five children, everything is in the realm of possibility. Before I could get to him, my neighbor declared, \u201cmy wife died three days ago.\u201d Immediately, I was heartbroken. She was an incredibly loving woman. For multiple years, our family experienced her generosity. I couldn\u2019t believe she was gone. When my neighbor asked for my thoughts about death as a minister, I started to answer in the phrases that I\u2019d been taught. \u201cJesus loves you.\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s in a better place.\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s with God.\u201d In the midst of tragedy, these phrases have little meaning. Regardless, the bullshit just keeps oozing out. After a few seconds of heading down that fruitless path, I stopped myself and said, \u201cForgive me for sharing those canned lines. I don\u2019t know why we feel like we have to say those things. Put simply, those words are all bullshit. When it comes to death, the truth is we don\u2019t know. We have absolutely no idea. Everyone just wants to believe that there is something more. In the spirit of Einstein, I believe we can. If love\/energy is never created nor destroyed, then the love you shared with your wife will never die. Love is our salvation.\u201d After a few tears, my neighbor looked up and said, \u201cForget all of that religious bullshit. I feel love right now and that\u2019s enough. Thank you.\u201d Before we departed, I thought about praying with him. Then, I thought, \u201cLove is enough.\u201d As we turned to leave, I looked at my neighbor and said, \u201cLove from our family to yours.\u201d Without missing a beat, my neighbor replied, \u201cBe careful, that shit lasts forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
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As I pondered the communion, I heard about the terrorist attack in London. Multiple people dead and dozens injured. Religion had done it again. In the name of God, terrorists gave their lives to kill as many people as possible. When I checked out social media, I was sickened. Most people only knew one way to respond. The same religious phrases repeated over and over. How can religion defeat religion? Truth be known, religious language seems so far removed from our current circumstances. We must get closer than such language will allow. Religion must subside. God must be resurrected in the language of the secular. We can too.<\/p>\n
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Amen.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Earlier tonight, I was working in the backyard. From the fence, I heard my neighbor calling for me. On the short walk over, I wondered if our kids had done something. With five children, everything is in the realm of possibility. Before I could get to him, my neighbor declared, \u201cmy wife died three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2509,"featured_media":5423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[822,1390,1547,2946,2947,4419,3302],"class_list":["post-5422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freshwritings","category-thoughts","tag-death","tag-god","tag-heresy","tag-religion","tag-religious","tag-secularity","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n