"Right now, I am in Fallujah. I am in Darfur. I am on Sixty-third and Park having रात का खाना with Ellen Barkin and Ron Perelman... Right now, I'm on Lafayette and Astor waiting to hit आप up for change so I can get high. I'm taking a walk through the Rose Garden with George Bush. I'm helping Donald Rumsfeld get a good night's sleep...I was in that cave with Osama, and on that plane with Mohamed Atta...And what I want आप to know is that your work has barely begun. And what I want आप to trust is the efficacy of divine प्यार if practiced consciously. And what I need आप to believe is that if आप hate who I love, आप do not know me at all. And make no mistake, 'Who I Love' is every last one. I am every last one. People ask of me: Where are you? Where are you?...Verily I ask of आप to ask yourself: Where are you? Where are you?"

- येशु Christ, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot द्वारा Stephen Adly Guirgis

Being Agnostic doesn't preclude me from loving and admiring Christ, in the same way that being Hindu didn't stop Gandhi from doing the same thing. In fact, the famous humanitarian once said: "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." While this is a sweeping generalization certainly not true of the Christians with whom I choose to associate, it is sometimes an accurate portrayal of how some can miss the point.

I believe that in the modern world with the way things are, it is easy for anyone to lose their way, regardless of faith या beliefs. It's easy to get caught up in the details and be quick to speak, slow to listen and quick to anger. With politics, cultural differences, and varying opinions and viewpoints, it's easy for Christ to transform from being a symbol of the best of humanity to an excuse and a shield for whatever personal viewpoint we may hold.

Consider the extreme example of the Westboro Baptist Church. There is not a Christian I know, regardless of their देखा गया on homosexuality, who doesn't publicly denounce the horrible actions of the WBC, who protest funerals of soldiers and victims claiming it is "God's punishment" for homosexuality. As I said, this is an extreme example, but we all use Christ to our own advantage every day, whether it's arguing that He doesn't like homosexuality (but loves the sinner of course) या whether it's arguing that He cries for aborted fetuses. Instead of a role model, instead of the lessons He taught us, we use Him as an easy witness for "Our Side" of the argument. Liberals do it, too. They argue things like "Jesus was और socialist than capitalist" citing how He cared for the poor, या that "Jesus was a community organizer." I've done this. I've used this argument.

But this is not what Christ means to me. I don't think this is really what Christ means to you, either.

If we really look at Christ - who He was, what He stood for, and what He taught us - we see that Christ is, really, on everyone's side. This is exactly why I began this post with that quote from Stephen Adly Guirgis. Christ loves everyone without exception, even the most wicked and evil human being आप can imagine - Bin Laden, Hitler, even Judas Iscariot himself. Christ is not a talking point, या proof that your opinion is the "righteous" one, या an easy excuse to point to when trying to prove a point. He's और than that. He's better than that.

I do not believe in the divinity of Christ, but I do believe in the message that He was trying to send - the message that, 2000 years later, still gets लॉस्ट somewhere in the shuffle. The Christ I believe in doesn't care whether या not आप believe in evolution या Creationism. He doesn't care about your politics, या what आप preach. He doesn't care about your skin color, sex, identity, nationality, whether आप are rich या poor, या even your religion, या whether आप call yourself a Christian at all. He cares about your actions, because actions speak louder than words. He cares about whether या not आप truly प्यार your enemies. He cares if आप would be willing to lay down your sword in the righteous battle against the Atheists, Muslims and Scientists and embrace them as family. He cares that आप care about people. He doesn't care if आप are right या wrong, He cares if आप are humble. He cares if आप प्यार the way He loves. He doesn't care about your sins या anyone else's आप may point at, because He loves आप anyway, unconditionally. He cares that आप forgive, the way He forgives us.

I may not believe in the divinity of Christ, and I may not be a Christian, but I certainly believe in His message of love, forgiveness and compassion. I practice this message every दिन in every way I can. I try to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. I try to be among the peacemakers, who I believe are blessed द्वारा their own acts. I try not to cast the first stone, and I try to spend time with those I am most afraid of so that I won't be afraid of them anymore. My फ्रेंड्स are sinners, prostitutes, lepers and the poor and unclean. My फ्रेंड्स are the privileged, the righteous, and the arrogant. For if आप hate who I love, then आप do not know me at all.

I have my own problems, my own flaws, my own struggles. I have things that आप would identify in me as sinful that I do not. But this is not your place to point out my problems. God knows me, Christ knows me, and that's between us. It's your place to प्यार me anyway, the way Christ loves me anyway.