I always suspected, but...

[kengr]

.. but I didn't expect them to come out and be this blatant...
Should Christians 'respect' other religions?
(Warning, it's on OneNewsNow)

I can just imagine the outrage if they came across an article talking about their faith the way they talk about other religions.

Comments

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that there's so much disagreement in the comments. Given the nature of ONN, I wouldn't have expected any of the comments to be both well-versed in the Bible and opposed to the position that the author takes.

[kengr]

I never read the comments. I often just skim the articles a bit. Too depressing otherwise.

[maxstories.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what your point is. The gist of the evangelic position stated by Mohler is that (a) evangelical beliefs do not accept other beliefs as a true path to God, and (b) nonetheless evangelicals have a duty to respect the people involved and try to guide them to evangelical beliefs.

How is this any different than Muslims saying everyone must recognize Allah and the code of Islamic behaviours? How is it different from African Anglicism which rejects homosexuals because it is contrary to their beliefs? How is it different from those of us who call evangelicals deluded and belligerent because of their anti-others behaviour?

Albeit... I admittedly don't respect the individuals involved when they demonstrate their idiocy through statements and actions. But a broad generalization treating every person associated with a religion as a lower caste is a bit much.

I don't respect most religious whackjobs (regardless of their professed faith) because I find they are simply people abusing a system to gain power, visibility, and whatever else they can lay their grubby hands on. But I find it hard to blame all their followers for being sheep and cattle allowing themselves to be herded along. Until those followers act out the hatred they invite into their lives, they are simply lost needy people who have fallen in with the wrong crowd.

[kengr]

In essence, *my* viewpoint is that you are free to believe as you wish. You are *not* free to try to make the rest of the world act in accordance with your beliefs, nor are you allowed to inflict them on others ("inflict" being chosen deliberately).

Not all or even *most* religious types are guilty of that.

If someone asks, you tell them. You don't go into long lectures or details.

Actively trying to convert folks who haven't asked for it is one of the big problems with many religions.

[christinaathena.livejournal.com]

This may sound odd coming from an atheist, but I don't really have much of a problem with people trying to make converts. If you truly believe that your belief is good, or even necessary, then it makes sense that you'd try to convince other people of that view. If I saw you drinking something I knew to be poisonous, wouldn't it make sense for me to try to get you to stop? And given Christian beliefs vis-a-vis Hell, I really can't understand how any sincere Christian can NOT try to convert others. I can understand the evangelicals, even if I think their beliefs are nonsense. I can't understand the middle-of-the-road Christian who quietly practices their own faith, but keeps it private. If they really believe all that stuff about Hell and salvation and so forth, how can they, in good conscience, not say anything when they see people doing what they believe will condemn them to Hell?

[kengr]

The thing is, if you believe I'm drinking poison, you have *facts* to back it. Or else your attempts to stop me will get you arrested for assault.

I have no more pateience with people trying to convert me to their *beliefs* about "health" (or psuedo-science)

I consider that there should be a freedom to *not* be lectured. If I say "Not interested" other people should *stop*.

Whether it's "you will go to hell if you don't convert" or "you'll have all sort of horrible things happen to you if you don't make the lifestyle changes I think you need to make" it's *all* "preaching".

And the sort of preaching that is based on "I'm superior to you because I know better than you do".

[christinaathena.livejournal.com]

The thing is, if you believe I'm drinking poison, you have *facts* to back it. Or else your attempts to stop me will get you arrested for assault.

This is true. And that is why I do get frustrated at people's attempts to convert me. However, at the same time, I understand their motivation. It makes sense to me that if I shared their beliefs, I'd want to spread those beliefs. Indeed, when I was still trying to be Christian, that was one of the things I struggled with, a feeling of guilt over not evangelizing.

It's just hard for me to understand how a person could hold Christian beliefs and *not* at least feel like they should evangelize.

[kengr]

Hubris. Or, if you will, the sins of pride or vanity.

They are utterly certain. Which is not what Christ asked of his followers.

If you don't have at least a little doubt, then you aren't listening to a "good" power.

[christinaathena.livejournal.com]

Of course, the Gospels also record Jesus telling his disciples to "go forth and make disciples of all nations". It just seems inconsistent to me to claim to believe in Jesus and to follow his teachings while ignoring such a significant commandment. I mean, I'd certainly be thrilled if all Christians decided to keep their beliefs private, but I'm still perplexed by those who make that decision :-) (Then again, I'm perplexed to begin with by those who think Christianity makes sense ... ^_^)

(And this is a very strange argument - an atheist arguing for Christian evangelism ^_^)

[kengr]

Note the places where Jesus tells people to pray in private, rather than publicly. Also the bits about living so your life is an example rather than your words.

Most of the evangelicals are big on words, not so big on living so as to be an example.

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

Jesus would be ashamed of those people.

Here's my theory: religions have a tendency to become like fan clubs... that is, full of excitable immature people who go frakking INSANE for the person/people they worship, just like Twilight fans carving character names into their arms and screaming like crazed fangirls.

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

LOL! Relevant icon is relevant!

[kengr]

Actually, it's not so much the "fan club" bit (though that's there).

Some of it is giving folks (the ones "in charge") the chance to be a big fish in a little pond.

Some of it is having a "tribe" to belong to. That's similar to "fan club" but tends to cover more areas of life and lead to greater amounts of drama.

And then there's the power the leaders get and the "don't have to think" (and the related "I'm special" and "we're right"/"we're better than these other folks").