This was originally posted by Derek on January 28, 2010. I picked it for archive Sunday today because I’ve been thinking a lot about how we treat people of our own religion who don’t follow all of the cultural norms. I’d like to ask how we can avoid the religious food fights and truly come to treat all as brothers and sisters in Christ. Happy Sabbath….
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I’m not tired of religion, or of religious discussion. I very much enjoy a good discussion on theological concepts and their implications. But I’m tired of the juvenile “food fights,” those interactions plagued by posturing, the broad generalizations, stereotyping, condescension, and just plain silliness in the way people interact regarding religion.
I’m tired of religious people condescendingly mocking the theology and seemingly fanciful elements of other religious traditions, past and present. Talk about the pot and the kettle! How are the metaphysical concepts and stories of Buddhism, Wicca, Islam, Hinduism, or ancient legends of all sorts any more ludicrous than the belief that the the first human couple (one of whom was spawned from the rib of the other) populated the earth after having been cast from paradise for listening to a snake and eating a fruit; or that a man built a boat on which he carried a mating pair of every animal to survive a planet-wide flood; or that some man accomplished miracles in Egypt, such as turning water to blood and filling the land with frogs before leading several thousands of people through a temporary gap in the sea; or that a virgin gave birth to a God, who performed miracles and suffered for every single sin and pain in the history and future of humanity, then dying on a cross and spontaneously reanimating? For the mainstream Christians, is the idea that Jesus is the “brother of the devil,” or that all humanity can undergo apotheosis, or the miracles associated with the “Restoration of the Gospel” in LDS theology really any more fanciful than the concept of the Trinity, or the belief in their own versions of modern miracles (smaller scale prophecies, faith healings, exorcisms, etc), or mainstream Christianity’s beliefs about the post-mortal existence? For Mormons, the reverse? Is the pageantry of Catholic services, or the various ceremonies of Hinduism, Buddhism, or Shinto any more silly than the rituals we Mormons perform in the temple? We can chose to believe one system of beliefs over others and find particular meaning in a given set of rituals based on all sorts of meaningful subjective criteria, but we can’t seriously claim any of these sorts of beliefs are more objective or more rational than others.
I’m tired of mainstream Christians complaining that Mormons believe mainstream Christians are following a fallen faith and are going to hell (absent the temple work performed on their postmortal behalf). I’m tired of Mormons complaining that mainstream Christians don’t believe Mormons are Christian and are going to hell. The very reason we multiple religions exist is that people think that other people don’t quite have things right. It natural follows that each group is going to feel that the prospects of others are dubious, doesn’t it? Why get into a snit over it? There’s no need to take it personally. Just accept it and move on.
I’m tired of religious people assuming atheists are innately immoral people (or, more specifically, more immoral than theists). A belief in a higher power is not a precondition for morality (nor, history repeatedly demonstrates, is a belief in divinity sufficient to ensure morality). In my experience, atheists are on average no less committed to integrity, kindness, charity, or acts of nobility than theists. People who profess a belief in some form of deity don’t seem on average to be less capable of selfishness, cruelty, or hate. One’s character apparently isn’t defined primarily by one’s belief in God. Christians should get off their high horses and stop making such generalizations.
Same goes for the atheists. I’m tired of atheists assuming religious belief is equivalent to ignorance, bigotry, and hate. Religion has indisputably been a vehicle of ignorance and persecution many times throughout history. I have a great deal of empathy for those who have been driven out or who have renounced faith at least in part due to the many ignorant and mean-spirited things done in the name of religion, or those who have been subject to the same because of their choice to abandon faith. But religion has also been a means by which individuals throughout history have risen above their baser instincts, and by which people united to perform works of incredible kindness, charity, beauty, and good. The reality is that there is an broad spectrum of belief, practical morality, and action within religion–just as there is within atheism. The atheists I know would object to being tarred with the same brush as either Ayn Rand or Joseph Stalin (themselves each atheists of quite different stripes); Likewise, theists don’t deserve to be lumped in with the many religious cretins or hatemongers simply because they share a belief in a higher power. People should be judged based on the substance of their perspectives, words, goals, and actions, not by such superficial criteria as whether or not they believe in God.
Whatever our religion, whatever our state of belief or unbelief, we are all human beings. We are far more alike by virtue of that fact than we are divided by our belief or unbelief; a desire for love, for maximization of our potential, for safety, for community. We have made some significant advances over the roughly six-thousand years of recorded history in our ability to engage in dialogue with those who differ with us, and it seems that we should be able to interact with humility and respect in exploring these various different viewpoints. Yet the arrogance and divisiveness keeps resurfacing as we communicate with one another. Haven’t we matured enough as a society to put aside those silly disputes? I’m so tired of it.
What am I most tired of? Being guilty of any of these sins myself.