Israel Wasn't the Only People God Gave His Message To

 By the mouth of two or three witnesses let everything be established."

People tend to fear and condemn what they don't know or understand, often without even trying to understand what they're condemning. Buddhist teachings, Taoism, Stoicism, and various other philosophical systems tend to be targets of condemnation for many "Christian" teachers, pastors, and laypeople in the same way that Harry Potter tends to be a target, that is, without the person condemning ever having actually read or understood any of it. They believe they are upholding the ten commandments or the Mosaic Law in general when they do, "the Bible says...!" And in all reality, they really don't understand what the Bible is actually teaching in the context of the whole.
     In my studies of Buddhist writings and texts, in my reading of the Tao Te Ching, for an example of Taoism, in my reading of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, and in my studies of all of these differing world philosophies which became religions, there is always a common theme running throughout. The ideas of treating others how you want to be treated, the ideas of forgiving, the ideas of not returning evil for evil, the ideas of refraining from judging others, humility, and self-sacrifice, all of these are present and are taught throughout almost as if they were driven by a single mind trying to explain how to live within the worldviews of the various cultures.
     By only seeing the differing pantheons of those worldviews and how the first commandment might be violated, by only focusing on the differences born from cultural (mis)understandings, the real Message which has been preached since time immemorial through prophets, sages, and philosophers even is grossly overlooked. By declaring a crusade or jihad against anything that isn't "Biblical" or of "Judeo-Christian" origin, the witnesses through whom the Being we call God spoke, even if their understanding of celestial things was imperfect, are silenced, and this is a tragedy. Because in the teachings of the Buddha, in the Tao Te Ching, and in all of those other writings we see and hear echoes of the very same Voice, the very same Message and Logos responding and reaching out to people where they are at.
     And the Message which was given them wasn't about a correct understanding of the Trinity, angels, or how many of them can dance on the head of a pin. No, the Message from the heart of God to these people was always "treat others the way you want to be treated," "have compassion on others," "be humble," "your ego/mind/identity is the source of your problems; let it go," "be careful not to allow your fear, anger, or bodily cravings dictate your responses, and let go of anything which triggers them," and so on. The thing God wanted them most to understand was to not judge one another, to forgive, to not harm one another, and to practice letting go of the things which could cause strife, fear, and divisions between them. These were the most important things to Him. "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." And in the mind of God, all of these things, loving one another and having mercy and compassion, was how one had knowledge of God. As John wrote, "the person who doesn't love, doesn't know God, because God is love."
     These things were established in the mouths of many, many witnesses. It's time we stopped trying to silence them.