The message is true, it can be great
But why do men twist it in into a faith of hate?
The message of, "forgiveness, tolerance, and love,"
Duly delivered they believe from the Being above
They may be right, but who are we to say
Which faith is true? Which is the way?
To Heaven or not remains to be seen
True faith does not originate from a human gene
It comes from the heart, and God will not be denied
His true followers love -- no one can hide
But beware the fanatics -- their zeal for control
Only blocks the real message getting to their soul
The Word gets twisted down a spiral of lies
Then re-emerges with an urgency that reaches the skies
False hopes and false dreams don't last very long
After the dazzle wears off and reality ends the song
They push too hard! They push too far!
Their message of "His love" leaves a spiritual scar
Dare not disagree, for once it is known
Your doubts reek "lack of faith;" seeds of contempt are sown
Can't dis their deity, their wrath have no bounds
They seek you like voracious blood hounds
They will not stop unless you convert
And it doesn't matter if in the process who gets hurt
All others are wrong; they are the ones
Spouting the Holy Writ like bullets in machine guns
If you still won't listen, they try the hard sell
"Give your soul to Him now or you'll burn in Hell!"
Emotional tyranny and spiritual terrorism shall thrive
So long as the hypocrisy of their faith survive
I beg you all stop! Leave your fellow man in peace
You can't convert us all, so fall to your knees
We all have separate paths that we each must follow
How dare you condemn the others when your own faith is hollow
How dare you judge me, my heart, and my soul
As an entity of good and bad, even I play a role
I have my own faith -- God knows where I stand
I want to be able to reach out to his hand
Free will is a gift, true faith should be free
But religious oppression will never allow it to be
By force or by fear your deed won't be done
Because deep in your soul the war won't be won
Listen to the voice inside of you -- Shed all of your denial
The time will soon approach when we all go to trial
(c) Michelle Mundling
March 1994
*Personal note: this poem is not anti-Christian, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, etc ... it is anti-fanatic. There is no freedom of religion without freedom from religion. You have to respect other people's beliefs if you want your beliefs to be respected. The Golden Rule is universal.
