No matter what you think about religion, the statement, “All religions are just the same” is just a dismissive line, intended to squelch debate about the subject. In an age of supposed “toleration,” the one thing we don’t tolerate is the possibility that one type of religious belief trumps all others. It’s amazing actually – we evaluate doctors, schools, political ideas, movies, food, books, business, art – everything else. But the idea of actually saying that “I’ve seriously evaluated the options and have come to the conclusion that _______ is the one true faith” pretty much makes you a crazy person. Perhaps it’s because we live under the threat of radical Islam. Most people don’t commit violence over evaluating a piece of art; but religion? We’re scared to death of offending someone. But the truth is, what could be more important than coming to terms with the biggest questions? Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Is there a God out there?
Plus, I’m tired of the lame idea that being confident that you’re right, means you hold everyone else in contempt. Once again, we don’t feel that way when we express our opinions about anything else.
That’s why I think it’s time for a serious, honest, and civil discussion about religious faith.
So let’s do this: Ask your Facebook friends, re-tweet, and blog the question. Then do the same with your answer. (No one-word answers. We want to know why you believe what you do.) Let’s start a global conversation that points out the hypocrisy of expressing everything but our true feelings about faith.
Let’s see what happens…
