Is the idea of evangelism a good one? It is true that many religious texts (and some non-religious documents) advise readers to go out and attempt to convert others to a given belief system. Obviously, it is possible to take evangelism too far and try converting people by coercion, but that is not the kind of evangelism I am referring to; that sort is clearly wrong, and I don't feel any need to elaborate upon it. What, though, of more day-to-day evangelism?
In some cases, I do not think that there is anything wrong with it. Sure, it can be annoying to have someone pushing a pamphlet on you describing their religion, but it does you no great harm, and may make them feel better about themself. However, in other situations it can cause harm. For example, a father telling his young daughter that she will go to Hell if she does not subscribe to his religion can cause emotional distress to the daughter. Even if she does as her father recommends and follows his religion, it will be out of fear rather than clear-headed voluntarism. In such cases, I think that even purely verbal evangelism is unacceptable.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Response: Widespread Extremism
In response to Lauren Feeney's post "Koran by Heart" (April 21, 2012):
The concept that there are both conservative and more laid-back or liberal Muslims is certainly worth taking note of, as it is both true and woefully unknown amongst many Americans today. Additionally, it raises the idea of extremism in other belief systems. While almost all religions (and lack thereof), I believe, contain valuable advice and information about human nature and how to live one's life, all of them tend to become more negative than positive when followers take them too far. Numerous examples of this pepper contemporary society: Christians who follow Jesus' teachings versus the Westboro Baptist Church, atheists who hold their views due to lack of evidence versus anti-theists disguised as atheists, Muslims who follow Muhammad's teachings versus the 9/11 bombers, agnostics versus... agnostics who claim all other belief systems are silly, perhaps? I'm not certain about the last one, but it seems likely that even agnosticism can go too far. Ultimately, I think that there are very few beliefs which are inherently bad; it is simply fanatic adherents who commit atrocities, falsely, in the name of the belief.
The concept that there are both conservative and more laid-back or liberal Muslims is certainly worth taking note of, as it is both true and woefully unknown amongst many Americans today. Additionally, it raises the idea of extremism in other belief systems. While almost all religions (and lack thereof), I believe, contain valuable advice and information about human nature and how to live one's life, all of them tend to become more negative than positive when followers take them too far. Numerous examples of this pepper contemporary society: Christians who follow Jesus' teachings versus the Westboro Baptist Church, atheists who hold their views due to lack of evidence versus anti-theists disguised as atheists, Muslims who follow Muhammad's teachings versus the 9/11 bombers, agnostics versus... agnostics who claim all other belief systems are silly, perhaps? I'm not certain about the last one, but it seems likely that even agnosticism can go too far. Ultimately, I think that there are very few beliefs which are inherently bad; it is simply fanatic adherents who commit atrocities, falsely, in the name of the belief.
Response: Deliberate Lack of Understanding
In response to Adam Tobin's post "The Western Bias" (April 21, 2012):
I agree that the American educational system strongly encourages students to remain ignorant about and prejudiced against other cultures and religions. However, I do not think that curriculum makers do this to shelter the youth of the United States; instead, I think that they do it to ensure that adult Americans will possess a strong, and probably unjustified, sense of patriotism which enables them to ignore the atrocities that America may commit against other nations, often in order to procure resources to boost the economy. As an example: if most Americans believe that all Muslims, and all people in the Middle East (if they are ignorant enough, they may assume that the two are synonymous) are evil fanatics who want to bomb America until no one there is alive, they will not object when the government sends troops over to the Middle East. They will assume that the troops are there to fight the evil, American-hating, backwards, and ultimately fictional people who live there, rather than realising that the war may instead be primarily for economic reasons. Furthermore, if in the process of 'winning the war' in the Middle East, America acquires access to large amounts of fossil fuels, they will simply claim that these are just spoils of war, and that America has every right to them.
I agree that the American educational system strongly encourages students to remain ignorant about and prejudiced against other cultures and religions. However, I do not think that curriculum makers do this to shelter the youth of the United States; instead, I think that they do it to ensure that adult Americans will possess a strong, and probably unjustified, sense of patriotism which enables them to ignore the atrocities that America may commit against other nations, often in order to procure resources to boost the economy. As an example: if most Americans believe that all Muslims, and all people in the Middle East (if they are ignorant enough, they may assume that the two are synonymous) are evil fanatics who want to bomb America until no one there is alive, they will not object when the government sends troops over to the Middle East. They will assume that the troops are there to fight the evil, American-hating, backwards, and ultimately fictional people who live there, rather than realising that the war may instead be primarily for economic reasons. Furthermore, if in the process of 'winning the war' in the Middle East, America acquires access to large amounts of fossil fuels, they will simply claim that these are just spoils of war, and that America has every right to them.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Off Topic: Good Company
(This is not directly related to the topic of Islam, but I thought it merited a blog post.)
Of late, I have been communicating with an individual who follows a very strict version of Christianity. Some of the things he has to say are reasonable (i.e., don't drink or do drugs), others blatantly offensive (even thinking about self-harm or suicide will get one sent to Hell, homosexuality is a sin, etc.), and still others quite interesting. One of these was the idea that one should not associate with those who do not conform to one's own system of religious beliefs. Personally, I am quite opposed to this idea. If one refuses to investigate alternate theological viewpoints, one is far more prone to be intolerant, confused, or even violent towards people who do not follow one's belief system. Furthermore, by failing to so much as spend time with people of different or no faiths, one will undoubtedly miss out on many valuable relationships - as evidence, most of the people I know are of different faiths than their best friends.
Of late, I have been communicating with an individual who follows a very strict version of Christianity. Some of the things he has to say are reasonable (i.e., don't drink or do drugs), others blatantly offensive (even thinking about self-harm or suicide will get one sent to Hell, homosexuality is a sin, etc.), and still others quite interesting. One of these was the idea that one should not associate with those who do not conform to one's own system of religious beliefs. Personally, I am quite opposed to this idea. If one refuses to investigate alternate theological viewpoints, one is far more prone to be intolerant, confused, or even violent towards people who do not follow one's belief system. Furthermore, by failing to so much as spend time with people of different or no faiths, one will undoubtedly miss out on many valuable relationships - as evidence, most of the people I know are of different faiths than their best friends.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)