The Flickr Freedomofreligion Image Generatr

"I am the resurrection and the life, the one who believes in me will live, even though they die." John 11:25

St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Odin Township, Watonwan county, Minnesota, USA.

Near Odin, Minnesota, USA

Jesus' last words from the cross, "It is finished!" John 19:30. The gap between sinful humanity (all of us) and God had been closed, and Heaven was opened for all who believe in Jesus.

Darfur, Minnesota, USA

1983
The second oil painting that I painted. I see it as an initial experience in the technique before I learned to paint.
The painting expresses the belief that peace is possible between citizens of different religions.
Beyond religious peace, also the possibility of living together side by side and giving freedom, and comfort to everyone according to their religion and belief. It is not a painting with religious overtones.
But the respect for each other, the necessary mutual respect, transcends naivety.
Living in harmony in peace and understanding each other's needs.
That's how it should be.
The place of the painting is imaginary, like the composition, but possible in my eyes, a young, nineteen-year-old Jewish girl.
And the first possibility for this place is my homeland, Israel.
But of course not only in my country, but everywhere else in the world.
Here I point out that my works and my views are like a non-religious woman.
I do not create in the name of religion. I do not deal with religious issues, and it is clear to me that my religion is Jewish.
I do not delve into and do not intend to delve into any religious issues, not in real life, and certainly not in virtuality.
And there is no way I will change my religion.
Live and let live, whatever your faith may be.

Thank you for your support over the years.
Love & peace.
Copyrights (c) Nira Dabush.

"Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
A blessed, thankful, happy Thanksgiving Day to all my fellow Americans who celebrate the day on Thursday November 23, 2023.

Kentucky's freedom of religion and deep religious tolerance

This is a bronze statue of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th Century founding Trappist abbot from Burgundy, France. The statue stands outside the gift shop of the Abbey of Gethsemani. Founded in 1848, this Catholic monastery, the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, is not only the first abbey of Trappist monks in Kentucky but also in America. Its first monks immigrated from Europe to found the abbey. It sits alone, surrounded by woodland, hills, and farms in rural Nelson County, Kentucky.

Why did Kentucky historian Thomas Clark put Nelson County's Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani as one of the state's top eleven treasures? Whether one is Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Zoroastrian, atheist, agnostic, or something entirely else, Dr. Clark felt that all Kentuckians should visit and be familiar with the abbey in order to more deeply appreciate their state. But why?

One guide told me that it is because this ground is such a holy place. No, that cannot be the answer. What about the rest of us who are not Catholic? Is the answer that this place shows Kentucky's early and deep commitment to freedom of religion?!? Or maybe the answer is as simple as to have each Kentuckian appreciate its history of when there was a large influx of Catholic immigrants to the Bluegrass State. I don't know. I do know that the 1850s were the heyday for the Know Nothing Party in Kentucky, whose members thought Catholics were conspiring to overturn the U.S. government and to follow the Pope. During all of that, the foreign Trappists were welcome to immigrate, settle, and establish a monastery in Central Kentucky. They thrived while the Know Nothing Party faded away.

The book Dr. Thomas Clark's Kentucky Treasures points out why Nelson County seemed like a good place for the European immigrating Trappists, especially after an initial attempt at an abbey in Marion County in 1804 did not succeed. But their second attempt looked solid. "Their chances for success seemed good. Nelson County already was a center of Roman Catholic settlement, the nation's first inland Catholic diocese having been established at Bardstown in 1808. Indeed, the Abbey of Gethsemani has flourished since its founding."

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta, located in Lilburn, Georgia, is also one of the largest Hindu temple of its kind outside of India.

Photo credit: Terry Johnson / Wikimedia Commons

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BAPS_Hindu_temple_in_Atla...(2).jpg

The Flushing Remonstrance, a petition to Dutch colonial leader Peter Stuyvesant, is the forerunner of the U.S. Constitution's freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.
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A Public Service Announcement
that appeared in various issues of DC Comics in 1958

Artist: Marlene Hilton Moore

Gardens of Justice

The Gardens of Justice is a series of sculptures and fountains that sit between historic Osgoode Hall, home of the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Law Society of Ontario, and the Superior Court of Justice. Each item is designed to represent one of the fundamental legal rights of all Canadians. This gallery of public art invites us to pause and reflect on our freedoms, whether we are on our way to court, visiting on a class trip, or just passing by.

osgoode-hall.stqry.app/1/tour/346/item/5010

Fight Assault Weapons & Gov't Control Of Medicine -- Boycott Republican Party

Fight Assault Weapons & Gov't Control Of Medicine -- Boycott Republican Party