ن

     Some people assume that I am a Latter Day Saint. I know Mormons, but I am not one. My dad's side of the family is Mormon and I am not one. I am a Nazarene. I don't know when my father had converted to the Nazarene faith and I do not know if my mother had anything to do with it. 

     When I tell people that I am a Nazarene, people look at me funny. They ask me as though they are shocked, "What is a Nazarene?" Could it be that they are so used to Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter Day Saints they are unaware that other faiths exist in the state of Idaho? Well, I do not know what a Nazarene is either.

     I spent my childhood and some of my teenage years going to the Church of the Nazarene. The church I went to overlooked the town of Emmett on top of a hill. It was as though this church was the most important church of all and everyone had to go there. I don't know why, but this church seems to have some sort of arrogance that exceeds that of the Mormon temple. 

     My mother stated once that my brother and I despised going to the church. In fact, she stated that people look at us as though we are the anti-Christ since we do not go to church.

     I never really knew what my issue was with the faith itself. I quit attending when I was 13 because there was no point. My parents were not going, why should I? I know they used to attend. My mother would take me every Sunday, but I cannot remember when they quit. I think it was the fact that my father worked the graveyard shift and mother was a stay at home mother. I have no idea. 

     I chose Religions of the World as an elective at University of Phoenix. I wanted to enhance my creativity. I never realized this, but after taking this course I realize that I speak on a spiritual level. I never knew this, but Nazarenes are part of what people call a New Religious movement. The religion was created during the holiness movement in America. 

     I still did not understand what the Nazarene faith was all about. My thought is that it is similar to the Mormon faith. The dress code is the same even though I can't remember wearing a dress to church very often. 

     Missionaries are common when it comes to New Religious Movement. What is so different about Nazarenes is that you do not see them going from door to door here. They send their missionaries to other countries and they hold fundraisers to raise money to send them. 

     I never really understood much. I remember receiving plants and treats. I always brought the food to my father as a gift. They gave the children a plant to give to their parents on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This eventually stopped because my parents were no longer going to church. To me this was a little snobby. 

     There was also an incident where they had a Christmas pageant. A couple of girls and I were cast as the wise men. This is the bad thing about living in a small town; there is always one and only one woman who controls the plays. Of course, she always has a ton of children. Terry was in charge and she said that girls cannot play wise men. We agreed on this and were cast as sheep herders. Next thing we knew, her daughter was cast as a wise man. 

     Eventually, the rude behavior got to me, which lead to me not wanting to go anymore. I had to depend on them to give me a ride to church and my parents were not taking me. I was the only one attending. I probably never understood the faith anyway. It just seemed to be a club for preppies.  

     I have not really been to church for twenty some odd years. As I witness Ahmed experience people pushing their faith, it made me wonder what a Nazarene really is. Everything I have researched so far just adds more questions to ask. I am saying this because of the rhetorical devices that were created in the Middle East. This makes me more curious and I do not have anyone to ask. 

    I do not know how I found this information. I may have been looking up information about missionaries in the Arab world. This was shortly after the reports about Christians being murdered by militants. 

     I read that Christianity is associated with a letter in the Arabic alphabet. There was a Christian movement in Iraq. For some time I have seen this symbol on profile pictures online and I did not know what it meant. 

     ن is the letter "n" in the Arabic alphabet, which is pronounced, “noon.” According to the stories, ن was spray painted on the homes of Christians. To me this was similar to the Star of David that Jews had to sew onto their clothing to separate them from everyone else. 

     I was reminded of a story that I have been told from the Bible about Passover. People were warned of a plague and were advised to use the blood of sheep above their door to avoid the plague. If they did this the plague passed them. 
      Strangely, I have learned that there was a volcanic eruption at that time. Volcanoes emit toxins into the air and water. Scientists had explained that was why the water had turned red and the toxic chemicals were in the air. At the time, most people slept on the floor of their home. The noxious chemicals went into the homes and killed the people who slept on the floor. 

     I think it is funny how people associated nature with something holy and celestial. I also think it is funny how there are these movements in another country that is claiming it is a "Western idea." Where do they think we get these ideas from? The Bible is based on stories in their country. Babylon was Ancient Iraq. 

     I think that the problem is that people do not get religion at all. People think others practice Buddhism to become a god. People speculate. I do not even understand my own faith even after conducting research.

     The only thing I understand is that Nazarenes are on a mission. People are in it to find answers and a connection with God. They believe that God is love. They believe in the end of the world. They spread the word by means of travel as well as social media. 

     It is some faith created by a man by the last name of Wesley and they call it a Wesleyan faith. As I read books about it, they all go on a tangent. None of the books make sense and I was a Nazarene. What in the world was I studying? Could it be that I disliked going to church because I could not connect? I honestly can say I quit because I did not like the personality of the people who called themselves Christians.