Sadest Way to Lose a Friend

It was an ill-fated friendship; I'll give you that. Considering the amount of arguing we've done about religion over the last few months, I suppose it was bound to end this way, but it seems like such a ridiculous reason to end a friendship. Would you end a friendship because the other person refuses to see God, his scriptures, and his plan for the universe the same way you do? Neither would I. But there are others who feel like those are grounds for an old fashioned friendship execution.

Religion for me is a deeply personal thing. I believe what I believe, and it is founded upon my relationship with God. If any person is truly interested in knowing more about it, I would gladly expound upon it. Conversely if a person prefers to hear nothing about my beliefs, I will gladly keep them to myself. Because of this, I don't generally argue about religion. I just find it pointless, like a hamster wheel race to the death.

As I witnessed this terminal friendship gasp for one last breath during the final cardiac arrest, I felt helpless. What could I do? Deny my beliefs? Even to salvage a friendship? Alas, I could not. To deny my belief, is to deny a fundamental part of who I am.

I suppose I should feel fortunate. Just a few generations back my ancestors were chased from city to city and state to state, suffering death, torture, and prison for their beliefs. All I have to suffer is the unfortunate demise of a friendship. Yet somehow that doesn't make it less sucky. All the same, I respect each person's freedom to worship as they will, and if my friend feels that his belief precludes us from being friends, I must respect it and simply walk away, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.