Note: An entry on religious tolerance the same week as Gov. Mitt Romney's speech on religious tolerance and no reference to that speech? It's true! I don't really have anything to add to his speech except to say that I agree with it. You can watch it here. I am a fan of Mr. Romney. I don't agree with all of his ideas, but I agree with most of them.
As soon as Thanksgiving has come and gone, the holiday season is come upon us. Christmas and his younger holiday brothers, who have been demanding more and more attention lately have come around and it's it's only natural for people to show an increase in love and understanding. Barring that, of course, it's time to show a new, more special intolerance of other people's beliefs.
Of course, I started out mentioned the holiday fervor people get into. Can we look forward to another year of "Happy Holiday's" vs. "Merry Christmas"? Only time will tell. That is, time will tell or I will tell you. Yes. I'm telling you that, yes, we will have more of that this year. Sheesh.
But that's really not the main gist of what I wanted to mention. Two things came to my attention this week, both kind of in random ways that made me think about the existence (and in some cases prevalence) of religious intolerance. They involve the Church of Scientology and the Jehovah's Witnesses.
A BBC report this week discussed a move on the federal and state levels in Germany to declare the Church of Scientology from the country. Currently, Scientology is not recognized as a religion in Germany. Their ac
cusations, that Scientology has "cult-like practices" and are "a threat to the rule of law and 'democratic order'" seem more than a little ridiculous. I openly admit that I know nothing of Scientology besides what I have seen on the first 3 pages of theirs official website and on the long, long Wikipedia entry discussing the religion. And, I will admit, what I saw on the South Park episode about Tom Cruise being stuck in the closet (which was hilarious). In my opinion, Scientology seems more than a little strange, in its claims, in the story of its origins, and in how much latitude they give Tom Cruise to go around being a weirdo and say dumb things.
All that being said, I am a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church that has been openly, at times violently, attacked for its entire 177 year-old life. So I am more than a little hesitant to throw another religion (if they call themselves a church, then they are a church) under the bus and condemn them without 1) knowing anyone who practices of Scientology and 2) without knowing why they do what they do.
OK, item number two. This came in the form of a comic strip titled "The Crisis" that was written (poorly) and drawn (poorlier) by a fundamentalist Christian named Jack T. Chick. This particular comic details the crisis of a young girl being taken to the hospital and needing a blood transfusion. However, her parents are devout Jehovah's Witnesses and their religion forbids accepting blood from others because they feel that the Bible forbids it.
I suggest that you read "The Crisis." Marvel at the rising intensity of the action as The Christian hospital staff (the right kind of Christian mind you. Jehovah's Witnesses consider themselves Christians) bewail the foolish beliefs of the parents. Sit up at the edge of your seat as, in a last ditch effort to save the girl, they send the hospital chaplain in to talk to the panicking parents. Raise your eye-brows as the chaplain mentions to the parents (while their daughter lies bleeding and dying in the other room),"There are several things I disagree with in your beliefs." Feel a chill runs up your spine as two dark-suited Jehovah's Witnesses (are these some kind of enforcers? We can only assume that they are!! Wow!!) are dispatched from Watchtower headquarters after receiving "a print-out on Doug and Donna. . . [Donna] is the weaker of the two . . ." Their mission? To remove the child before she can be saved so that she can be saved (see how I used the same word for two different meanings there?).
The foregone dramatic conclusion is of course that the chaplain, in less than a half-hour, succeeds in not only getting permission for a blood transfusion before its too late but also in convincing Doug and Donna to reject the primary tenants of their religion, accept Jesus as their Savior and become saved (Doug's poorly drawn expression is priceless)! The dark suited Witnesses arrive just too late ("Foiled again! If it wasn't for you cursed Christians!!")(that's not a real quote from the comic, but it practically could be). The icing on the cake in my mind is the 'Saved Certificate' at the bottom of the comic that you can print out, read, check a box and thereby receive salvation in the kingdom of God. Good stuff.
Here's my final soap-box: I strongly believe in the value of religion to produce good people. I also believe in sharing what I personally know to be true with other people because of the good that it has done in my life. But I think that that invitation needs to be offered in simple and humble terms and not in aggressive or mean-spirited ones. And being intolerant of others? Even if others are intolerant of you? In the end, all of us are trying to do the best that we can. And if we can't work together in trying to keep this world a good place to be, then we have completely missed the point of any and every religion out there.
Happy Holiday's everyone.
As soon as Thanksgiving has come and gone, the holiday season is come upon us. Christmas and his younger holiday brothers, who have been demanding more and more attention lately have come around and it's it's only natural for people to show an increase in love and understanding. Barring that, of course, it's time to show a new, more special intolerance of other people's beliefs.
Of course, I started out mentioned the holiday fervor people get into. Can we look forward to another year of "Happy Holiday's" vs. "Merry Christmas"? Only time will tell. That is, time will tell or I will tell you. Yes. I'm telling you that, yes, we will have more of that this year. Sheesh.
But that's really not the main gist of what I wanted to mention. Two things came to my attention this week, both kind of in random ways that made me think about the existence (and in some cases prevalence) of religious intolerance. They involve the Church of Scientology and the Jehovah's Witnesses.
A BBC report this week discussed a move on the federal and state levels in Germany to declare the Church of Scientology from the country. Currently, Scientology is not recognized as a religion in Germany. Their ac
cusations, that Scientology has "cult-like practices" and are "a threat to the rule of law and 'democratic order'" seem more than a little ridiculous. I openly admit that I know nothing of Scientology besides what I have seen on the first 3 pages of theirs official website and on the long, long Wikipedia entry discussing the religion. And, I will admit, what I saw on the South Park episode about Tom Cruise being stuck in the closet (which was hilarious). In my opinion, Scientology seems more than a little strange, in its claims, in the story of its origins, and in how much latitude they give Tom Cruise to go around being a weirdo and say dumb things.All that being said, I am a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church that has been openly, at times violently, attacked for its entire 177 year-old life. So I am more than a little hesitant to throw another religion (if they call themselves a church, then they are a church) under the bus and condemn them without 1) knowing anyone who practices of Scientology and 2) without knowing why they do what they do.
OK, item number two. This came in the form of a comic strip titled "The Crisis" that was written (poorly) and drawn (poorlier) by a fundamentalist Christian named Jack T. Chick. This particular comic details the crisis of a young girl being taken to the hospital and needing a blood transfusion. However, her parents are devout Jehovah's Witnesses and their religion forbids accepting blood from others because they feel that the Bible forbids it.
I suggest that you read "The Crisis." Marvel at the rising intensity of the action as The Christian hospital staff (the right kind of Christian mind you. Jehovah's Witnesses consider themselves Christians) bewail the foolish beliefs of the parents. Sit up at the edge of your seat as, in a last ditch effort to save the girl, they send the hospital chaplain in to talk to the panicking parents. Raise your eye-brows as the chaplain mentions to the parents (while their daughter lies bleeding and dying in the other room),"There are several things I disagree with in your beliefs." Feel a chill runs up your spine as two dark-suited Jehovah's Witnesses (are these some kind of enforcers? We can only assume that they are!! Wow!!) are dispatched from Watchtower headquarters after receiving "a print-out on Doug and Donna. . . [Donna] is the weaker of the two . . ." Their mission? To remove the child before she can be saved so that she can be saved (see how I used the same word for two different meanings there?).
The foregone dramatic conclusion is of course that the chaplain, in less than a half-hour, succeeds in not only getting permission for a blood transfusion before its too late but also in convincing Doug and Donna to reject the primary tenants of their religion, accept Jesus as their Savior and become saved (Doug's poorly drawn expression is priceless)! The dark suited Witnesses arrive just too late ("Foiled again! If it wasn't for you cursed Christians!!")(that's not a real quote from the comic, but it practically could be). The icing on the cake in my mind is the 'Saved Certificate' at the bottom of the comic that you can print out, read, check a box and thereby receive salvation in the kingdom of God. Good stuff.
Here's my final soap-box: I strongly believe in the value of religion to produce good people. I also believe in sharing what I personally know to be true with other people because of the good that it has done in my life. But I think that that invitation needs to be offered in simple and humble terms and not in aggressive or mean-spirited ones. And being intolerant of others? Even if others are intolerant of you? In the end, all of us are trying to do the best that we can. And if we can't work together in trying to keep this world a good place to be, then we have completely missed the point of any and every religion out there.
Happy Holiday's everyone.
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