The Ghouse Diary: God belongs in our hearts and not in school

Sunday, December 16, 2012

God belongs in our hearts and not in school

The need to keep God in our hearts is important, he remains a loving God, but when we project him in public square or schools, it has a chance to hurt one child or the other, who does not see God the same way as others. Should we not respect that individual?

Would God like any one of his children be hurt invoking his, her or its name?

There 'may' be a way out, if we all can agree that God is a convenient name to the energy that caused, sustains and terminates life, and each one of us can respect each others' belief that it could to be a male/ female or genderless, one, none and many, nameless/ multiple names, existent or non-existent being, specific or generic... isn't that causer universal? Shouldn't we?

Isn't better to keep God in our hearts than dump him in school and hurt him? Have we not created him in our own image, as others have in their own image?

I see a lot of sense in keeping God to ourselves, and within our hearts. We can always pray anytime and anywhere, one the bus, in the shower or in a quiet moment. Until such time when all of us can accept to school prayers, not the majority, but the unanimity across the board, we need to respect this particular law. Our model is something other nations can emulate some day, a model where every human is valued for who he is, what he eats, drinks, wears or believes. As long as one’s actions do not affect public safety, he or she should have the freedom to do anything. My freedom hinges on freedom of others that surround me.

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place and standing up for others as an activist. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

2 comments:

UnknownDecember 17, 2012 at 12:38 PM
Mike: Good to read your blog on God's place.
Yes, I agree, that God should be kept in our thoughts much as we expect everybody else to do the same. Because, that is the only way God's permeation in every aspect of creation can be respected.
God, being Universal, loves and cares the same for everybody.
Praying in public schools, squares, and anywhere else outside religious places and homes, is nothing short of claiming dominance of any religion.
Avtar Dhaliwal
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Susan Su McKenzieDecember 17, 2012 at 5:43 PM
Hi Mike - yes your points have validity in a multi-faith country. Although what about private areas in a school where people can pray? Would that work?
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INTRODUCTION

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on important and complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place.

Mike is a frequent guest on Fox News, (The Hannity Show), and has been interviewed on nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He is a member of the Texas Faith panel of Dallas Morning News and writes on issues facing the nation every week. He has spoken at international forums including the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, in Melbourne, Australia, Middle East Peace Initiative, in Jerusalem, the International Leadership conference, in Hawaii, and in Washington

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of those different from ourselves. The World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. Heavily involved in both, Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and has produced outstanding public events to bring Americans together of different religions, ethnicities and races on common grounds of building a safe and secure America.

He is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the interfaith movement, cohesive societies, Islam, India, hope and world peace. Over 1000 articles of Mike’s have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
C
oncerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other. We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies. Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

Mike is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the Interfaith Movement, Cohesive Societies, Islam, India, Hope and World Peace. Over 1000 of his articles have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net

To engage Mike in a dialogue, conference or a talk, write to Ghousespeaks@gmail.com and email dedicated for this purpose or you can call him on a short notice at 214.325.1916