What do you do when somebody pushes their judgmental beliefs on you?

We have an employee at work that makes it clear to everyone that he is a devout Baptist. I prefer not to discuss religion with him or anyone, yet one day out of nowhere he approached me and said, "You know...

A: There was a time when I was a devout Pentecostal believer -- which is even a bit more severe than being Baptist. While in that frame of thinking, the church basically has you convinced that by some great miracle, you have been selected to be one of God's chosen people and anyone who has not been chosen, is going to go to hell. This creates a bubble of self-righteousness and often has you looking down on people. While in this frame of thinking, you are doing all kinds of sacrificing, so it's natural to want to put down those around you who seem to be having happy lives, without all the sacrifice...and one way to vent your anger is to make it clear to others that they are doomed to eternal hell fire.

None of their claims are true and God does not require sacrifice. Basically, many religions are totally off par with the spirit of their own teachings because their fear of seeing the flaws in their beliefs outweighs any desire to see truth as it really is. The truth is that Jesus said to love your enemies. Of course, if you really do that, they are no longer your enemies, but that's the point. God has no enemies, no adversaries, nobody he judges, nobody he wishes ill in any way -- and therefore, neither should we.

I can see where you used one of his own scriptures to help him reconsider his thinking...and that is fine, but the best thing for you would be to realize that it doesn't matter what he says or does because he is the only one in pain...and his accusations and demeanor are proof of it. A Course in Miracles teaches that the scripture, "Judge not lest ye be judged", has nothing to do with God judging you. The course teaches that whatever you project onto others, you embrace for yourself, so if you are judgmental of others, you will also be judgmental of yourself.

Being judgmental of yourself keeps you in a place of experiencing guilt, which makes it difficult to hear God's voice, and this results in depression, sickness and unhappiness. That's why many of the very religious are also unhappy and vindictive, because God is not really a part of their lives at all. Their judgments and guilt ensure this, but the moment they choose to let this go, they would find God and peace once again.

With respect to reporting things to your boss, if any fellow employee makes it more difficult for you to perform your job, it is your responsibility to let your employer know. I would not consider a passing comment as being something to prevent you from working, but if he or anyone else is persistent in pushing any thought system on you, the ball is in your court to take action to stop it, but not out of anger. Your employer is paying for your service, they deserve a fair return on the time you spend.

On a broader note, religion in general is flawed in that it is based upon words provided centuries and millennia ago, but God never stopped speaking and God did not necessarily say or do all the things that the Bible indicates. An article of mine takes a closer look at this, especially with many end of the world prophesies being embraced these days. See Prophecies of The End Times for an article about the end times and then see Seeing God For The First Time for a new look at the God as compared to how he is generally depicted.

My favorite thing to say is:

"God is a God of Love and He does not teach through fear or use fear in any way."

Apply this to anything your read or hear. If the words use fear to motivate you, they are not from God. If the words use love to motivate you, they are words from God. Be in peace.

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