Global Faith Overview and Some Highlights

Dear friends of faith and those who are seeking or those unsure, thank you for reading this article and for your interest in Global Faith. You are invited to followthis Global Faith blog.

It this article, we define "Global Faith," highlight some previous points made in earlier posts, and highlight some new points not yet stated.

So what is "Global Faith" or how do we mean it? I know it may conjure up immediate concerns among many Bible-believing Christians today, many of whom have been taught the interpretation of Bible prophecies regarding the End Times that there will be a world order, one world government, and a one world religion. These prophesies speak of such things as the rise of the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, and even cataclysmic events. These Biblical prophecies are enough to put some fear in the hearts of most people. "Global Faith" therefore may bring up such connotations to them, thinking that it sounds like it is in alignment with such End Time forces.

But fellow believers, rest assured, Global Faith is not in league with nor aligning toward any such thing as a one-world government or religion; neither does Global Faith have a goal to unite the religions of the world together as ONE, or create a one-world religion consequentially controlling the world in a certain way. No, that is far from my intent. Instead, Global Faith is both heavenly and earthly; the earthly portion is the "global" which highlights the realm and fact of internal faith in human beings living on earth; the heavenly is the heavenly or "eagles" perspective of faith, or rather, from God's vantage point. The "Faith" component of Global Faith is meant in the internal sense, faith in the human heart, mind, and soul, which is in every human being who has as least some faith in the heavenly. Global Faith operates in the spirit of spiritual understanding and peace among human beings at a spiritual level, irregardless of what one's country's form of government it possesses, in the spirit of Jesus who said, according to John's Gospel, "My kingdom is not of this world" (Jn. 18:36).

More can be read on the internal verses external aspects of faith in the earlier post June 12 post on Faith, Purpose, and Image/Design of this blog or the blog:
http://dignityworld7.worldpress.com. Regarding the June 12 post on this blog, I realized after the fact that I did not make clear about the licensing of the Global Praying Hands (trademark registered) image used also on this blog. We do have license from the maker and owner of the Global Praying Hands image(s) to use in this blog and the Global Faith Org websites.

Now one comment about the Global Faith Pledge (also posted below). I look forward to many people, thousands (millions even better!) taking this pledge as it goes out online and across the globe. If you would like to help in this endeavor, please let me know.

Now on to the next point. Here I simply want to highlight the value that faith is quintessential. Of all the good values of Global Faith: faith, respect, dignity, love, goodness, honor, peace, all important they are, I am setting faith as the first, the prima, the quintessential. Without faith, such as in a good God who cares about them, do individual human beings have any hope in this world? Do not some without faith feel that what they are left with is meaningless and non-existence when they take their last breath? And what positive motivation do they without faith have in moral living and doing good to others? These are simply thoughts to ponder.

Next I want to highlight the two main goals of Global Faith. The first goal is educational: to educate humanity on the many good and positive things about faith, spirituality, and religion, the light and benefits. Similarly, teaching of the various religions from a non-sectarian position serves the purpose of building understanding in human beings. The final goal is the spiritual goal of building peace in fellow human beings of various religions (and no religions), and therefore working on global peace in the tangible realm, even with national leaders, though we do not endorse any one religion or form of government.

This brings me to the final highlight in this article, a vital and necessary component toward understanding and peace among fellow human beings: tolerance, religious tolerance (but which spills over into social, cultural, and ethnic tolerance). I am going to define and explain tolerance in a way that should be loud and clear, but unfortunately, very few voices had made it thus clear. I connect the topic of tolerance to human dignity.

I begin with what I'm calling the "old tolerance" understanding from the dictionary, using Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary meaning 2. of tolerance (the religious use) "sympathy... for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own." Indeed, I have had a few of my religion students say, "Why should I be expected to accept or believe their (other peoples') beliefs which is not my own?!" Is this not the natural voice and cry of most humans? I assert, on the basis of human dignity, that it is indeed not of human dignity to expect any human to have to accept the religion, creed, or faith of another person or group just because that person or group is now living in our country, community, or neighborhood. Faith should never be forced nor should it be imposed against peoples wills.

So this distinction I make and thus call it "new tolerance" is that no one should be expected to accept any other persons faith, period. But there is social, cultural, and ethnic tolerance of any who are different that us who may be now living in our community, or we find as neighbors or co-workers. Moreover, we should accept them as persons. For society to be healthy, that has people of different religions, ethnic groups, etc, there does need to be tolerance for the fact of co-existing in the community and living orderly and in peace. And there should be religious tolerance to the degree that we accept the FACT that others hold to different religions and faiths than our own, but knowing that we do not have to believe what they believe. So I call this the "new toleration" since there has been plenty of confusion on this point over the years that still has not been cleared up yet.

Look forward to more insightful points to come.
Yours in blessing and peace,
Brother Mark
mark dot globalfaith at gmail.com