PART 4:

THOUGHT PROVOKING QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED; WITH OUR RESPONSES

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Interesting Emails discussed in this essay:

Abortion is the greatest genocide

What religion should I follow?

Incoming Email: I am a teenager who was brought up in an Islamic country. I have been exposed to both Judaism and Christianity in recent years. All teach different beliefs about God, Jesus, the afterlife, etc. I believe that a creator God lives in heaven. I want to please him. But I am confused about which religion I should follow. Please help me decide.

Our response: You feel confused now. But your background places you in a really good position. You understand more about Judaism, Christianity and Islam than do most people. This understanding should lead you to be tolerant of, and to understand, the beliefs of people of those different faiths.

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all Abrahamic faiths, in that they revere the patriarch Abraham. The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are respected by all three. But they also differ:

According to one source, there are 16 additional large religions in the world. And the 19 major religions have a total of 270 denominations or traditions. All teach different things.

In most cases, a person who follows a denomination or tradition believes that their faith group is the only true one, that all the other 269 are false, at least to some degree. Quite often they believe that God is, in essence, a member of their denomination, and that their God will give them preferential treatment after death. They often feel that the other 269 traditions were created by humans and are not inspired by God.

My personal belief is that all 270 of the world's faith groups are created by humans in order to try to understand the nature of deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Each faith group has their own concept of the truth.

Almost all religions can motivate people to lead better lives. But some traditions within some religions motivate people to do evil deeds. For example, Serbian Orthodox Christians committed massive genocide during the 1990s against Muslims. Muslims in the Sudan are committing massive genocide there against Christian and Animists. Muslims and Hindus are fighting in Kashmir. Hindus and Buddhists were fighting in Sri Lanka until a peace agreement was recently signed.

My feeling is that if a person is unsure what religion that they should follow, they should investigate different religions and pick one that they feel comfortable with. But they should be aware that all religions, including the one that they select, have an evil side. They should work within their religion to promote peace, spirituality, understanding and tolerance. They should work to rid their chosen religion from such evils as racism, religious intolerance, sexism and homophobia.

God and the Bible are intolerant:

Incoming Email: Show me in the Bible where it says to tolerate other religions. God said drive out other religions, because when you live with them they will pull you away from HIM.

Our response: I'm glad that you asked. We have an essay on that very topic at http://religioustolerance.org/tol_bibl.htm  We also have another essay on intolerance in the Bible at http://religioustolerance.org/intol_bibl.htm which is MUCH longer.

You have put your finger on the main problem with the world today. Some Christians feel that it is their duty to wipe out non-Christians and their religions. Some Muslims feel that it is their duty to wipe out non-Muslims and their religions. Some Hindus feel the same way. Some Protestants and Roman Catholics feel the same way towards each other. And so on, for many of the world's approximately 300 major faith groups. The result is chaos, mass killing and even genocide. Consider the past situation between Jews, Muslims and Christians in Lebanon. Consider the past conflict between Serbian Orthodox, Muslims and Roman Catholics in Bosnia. Consider Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Kosovo, Macedonia, Sudan, Israel, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Philippines, etc. These are all countries with segments of their population believing that their religion is the only faith that is of God, and that all other religions are to be suppressed.

We feel that the only way for the world to avoid complete disaster is through religious tolerance. We define religious tolerance as existing when persons of all spiritual and religious paths are able to follow their own faiths freely, without discrimination and oppression. This does not mean that you have to accept other religions as valid, correct or true. You merely have to accept that other people have a right to believe as they wish.

You may well define the term "religious tolerance" differently from us. That is another problem with religion in the world: people often assign very different meanings to common religious words.

Are you just a bunch of wackos?

Incoming Email: Are any of you people actually Christians or just a bunch of wackos trying to please everyone?

Our response: It sounds like you are harboring a lot of hatred and anger against us. That may well be bad for your health generally, and for your heart in particular.

We are a group of five people, an Agnostic, Atheist, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Obviously, we agree on almost no theological beliefs. But we share a concern for the future of the world. We feel that the future looks rather bleak until people learn to coexist with followers of other religions.

We do not try to please everyone. In fact, our policy is to explain all sides to each question. This means that we describe controversial questions including abortion, homosexuality, the virgin birth, the resurrection, and many other topics from the viewpoint of religious conservatives, religious liberals and even the beliefs of 1st and 2nd century Christians. This means that whatever your faith, you will be certain to see material on our web site that you disagree with. We are trying to educate everyone; to please everyone is impossible.

Can therapy change gays?

Incoming Email: In one of your essays, you write: "No therapy has succeeded." But homosexuals can change and become heterosexual. A testimony of one such person is online at: http://www.newdirection.ca/research/shechter.htm 

Our response: Before discussing changes of this sort, one has to define carefully what is meant by "homosexual" and "heterosexual."

The first definition describes homosexuals in terms of what they do; the latter in terms of what they are. We use the latter definition in our web site.

The reference that you cite is a fairly typical one.

Many people seem programmed to expect only two possibilities: abortion is moral or immoral; a person is either male or female; a person has either a homosexual or heterosexual sexual orientation. But life is not that simple. Many people believe that an abortion is moral under some circumstances, but is not a moral choice under others. Intersexual people exist -- persons who are not obviously male or female. Finally, there are not two sexual orientations, there are three:

There are many testimonies on conservative Christian web sites that seem to indicate that a person has changed from homosexual to heterosexual. But it appears that all or almost all are bisexuals.

You have to stand for something or fall.

Incoming Email: "Tolerance is being used here just like the Trojan Horse. You have to stand for something or fall."

Our response: The precise meaning of your comment is unclear. However, I think that your concern is based on the precise definition of "religious tolerance." You seem to assign a different meaning to this term than we do.

We have noted that conservative Protestants often assign a different definition to commonly used words than others do. This makes dialog very difficult.

You said that we "have to stand for something or fall." You seem to be implying that the staff at this web site have no firm religious beliefs. In our group, we have five individuals with very strongly held beliefs: an Agnostic, Atheist, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. We differ on almost everything theologically. We have diverse beliefs about the origins of the world, its life forms and the rest of the universe; about the existence of God or deities; about when abortions should be legal; about the nature and cause of homosexuality; and about dozens of other topics. But are united in our drive to promote religious tolerance.

Perhaps we are biased. But we see the 21st century as a time of conflict over religious tolerance on a national and international level. If religious intolerance wins out, then we will see what has happened in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Cyprus, Nigeria, Sudan, Middle East, Iraq/Iran, Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, etc. expanded to a world-wide phenomenon.

You know that God exists.

Incoming Email: "You know in your heart that God Is. Ask for his help while there is still time."

Our response: Actually, I am an Agnostic, and thus have been unable to decide about the existence of God. I have been an Agnostic for over five decades and have invested a great deal of effort in the study of God's existence or non-existence. Others in this group are an Atheist, Christian, Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Two have no belief in God; one believes in a Trinity; one believes in a God and a Goddess. All five of us hold these beliefs firmly. To say that I know that God exists would be equivalent to me saying that you know that Krishna exists. Such a statement would denigrate your beliefs. It would show a lack of respect for another person's deeply held beliefs.

I understand that your personal belief in the Judeo-Christian God is strong and unshakable. However, please try to understand that there are citizens in your country who believe in other deities, or in none. The U.S. is the most religiously diverse country in the world. If you continue to believe that everyone visualizes a supreme being identical to your own, then you will have increasing difficulty functioning with the culture's increasing religious diversity.

God says that abortion is murder, because life begins at conception.

Incoming Email: "If we use God's standard, life begins at conception, period. Thus, abortion is murder."

Our response: First, we have to define the key question. I suggest that it is: under what conditions should the state step in and veto an abortion decision that a woman has reached, perhaps with the support of her physician, spiritual advisor, family and friends. Whose standard do we use?

Your belief about the start of life is very common and shared by tens of millions of Americans. There are a number of problems with it, however:

The problem is that many people believe that their own faith tradition, whether it is Southern Baptist, Roman Catholic, Humanist, United Church, or any one of tens of thousands of others, is the only "true" religion and that their God (and/or Gods, Goddess, Goddesses) are the only "true" deities. They view the other thousands of religions in the world with their deity concepts as being false, and based on man-made scribblings. Unfortunately, religions teach very different "truths." Thus there will always be major conflicts among different faith traditions over theological, moral, social, personal and other matters.

Incidentally, the beliefs about one's own faith tradition being the only "true" religion is precisely the cause of Protestant-Roman Catholic conflict in Northern Ireland, Christian-Muslim conflict in the Sudan, Bosnia, East Timor, etc, and other inter and intra-religious disputes. If World War III erupts over Iraq, and if terrorism continues at a high level, then the conflict among different faith traditions will be the prime cause.

In a perfect world:

But it is not a perfect world. Somehow we have to struggle with differences in beliefs over abortion and hundreds of other topics, and find some sort of resolution.

On another matter, you say that God's standard is that "life begins at conception, period." I would disagree with that point. Spermatozoa are obviously alive for many weeks before conception. An ovum is also obviously alive well before conception.

Copyright © 2002 to 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-NOV-10
Latest update: 2005-NOV-04
Author: B.A. Robinson