I am happy with God

This morning I choked on my milk bag while reading the newspaper. Bart De Wever had said the following in an interview:

Anyone who believes that it is up to God or Allah to determine what is allowed and what is not will feel happier in Iran or Saudi Arabia.

I am sure that Bart did not mean it as it appears here in the newspaper and that it belongs in the context of the shock that prevails in Western Europe as a result of the attacks in Paris. But still…

It is not only Muslims who live according to the commandments of (their) God. There are many believers on this planet who do this. Jews, Christians, ... you find them in all walks of life and in all places in the world.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are sometimes called Mormons. I live every day by Heavenly Father's commandments found in the scriptures (for us, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price) and revealed to us through our prophet. FYI, if anyone feels called to draw a cartoon about our prophet Thomas S. Monson, go ahead. I may laugh at it if it is good humor and I may be sad if it is purely to offend, but it is your right to draw whatever you want.

I am happier following the commandments. They give me a lot of joy, a lot of blessings and a lot of depth to my life. One of those commandments is that I must adhere to the laws of my country. However, on a moral level, there are commandments that are stricter than what the laws of our country allow: I am against abortion and against euthanasia, to name just a few, and I will stand up for my opinion. I will even make this known in a democratic manner to representatives of my choice.

But that's fine Bart, I won't be happier in Iran or Saudi Arabia - on the contrary, I suspect. I am happy here in Flanders. But I am shocked by the growing intolerance against religion. The intolerance towards Islam is of course greater than towards other religions, but your statement does not cause a stir because in general people tolerate religion, but hardly approve of it. Religion is for  weirdos: we tolerate them as long as they are harmless, but in the meantime we like to ridicule them.

How many times do I have to hear that believing in God is abnormal? How often do I have to hear arguments that intelligent people cannot believe in God and that, therefore, those who do believe are actually out of their minds.

Believing in God and following His commandments is only for fundamentalists, according to the prevailing spirit of the times and is increasingly being pushed into a corner. Fortunately, church and state have long been separated - I wouldn't want it any other way - but secularization now means that religion must be relegated to the purely private.

I think that's a shame. If there is to be more real tolerance, then religion must be given the same place in life as atheism or agnosticism. Just let people be happy, even those who believe in God.