From: kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu (Dr Nancy's Sweetie)
Subject: Re: Did Jesus respect beliefs?
Organization: Glassboro State College
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 15:56:10 GMT


Jesse Carnes wrote:

> "Did Jesus respect Nicodaemus' beliefs when He told him '...and
>   you are a teacher of Israel'?"
> "Did Jesus respect other's beliefs when He told the Pharisees, 'You
>   are badly mistaken in this matter ... make a correct judgement'?"
> "Did Jesus respect other's beliefs when He said to the Pharisees,
>   'You snakes ... vipers ... how will you escape condemnation to Hell'?"

... and people have been arguing about what `amen' means in Jesus' discussion
with Nicodemus.  However, I think this is completely missing the point.

Jesus respected the religious beliefs of those listed as 2, 3, and 4 above:
all of those people were Jewish.  Jesus was Jewish.  Of course he respected
their religion -- he did NOT respect how they lived out their religion.

As for the case of Nicodemus, Jesus never rebukes him for asserting
falsehoods, but only because he doesn't understand things when he is supposed
to be a teacher.  Similarly, Jesus' major complaint with the Pharisees is not
that they believe false things, but that they are hypocritical in living out
their beliefs.

So far as I can make out, none of Mr Carnes's references have anything to do
with whether Jesus respected other religions.  Perhaps he can explain how a
Jewish preacher chewing out a Jewish audience is relevant to how we should
view the beliefs of non-Christians.  (I'd understand it if he were saying that
we should dis other Christians, but that doesn't seem to be the point.)

 --

My own take is that all ideas, religious or otherwise, should be treated
equally: they should be understood as to meaning, examined for veracity, and
considered for effect.  Some will be dismissed as false, and others will be
accepted in full or in part.

The major criterion I use for "respecting" a belief is examining its support;
that is, "How good an argument is there for the truth of this belief?"  Given
the available evidence, does the belief make sense?

Phlogiston made sense to a lot of people, though we don't believe it now.  The
idea that light is a particle fits most of the experimental data; it took a
long time before somebody found the problem with it.  I think phlogiston was
wrong, and that "light is a particle" is only semi-right -- but both ideas had
good evidence to support them.  Because they were based on evidence and
reasoning, I respect those beliefs.  I wouldn't respect them in someone who
believed them NOW, but scientists now have access to data that were not
available many years ago.

Those examples are scientific in nature, but the same principle applies to
religious beliefs.  Religious ideas which can be reasonably justified and
which help people avoid sins may not lead to salvation -- but the person who
holds them has a basically correct idea (testing his ideas, if imperfectly)
and gets some benefit (recognising and avoiding sins).

"Respect" is not an either/or thing -- it can include degrees.  To the extent
that another's beliefs are reasonably supported and help him to live as he
should, I respect them.  Where some ideas either lead one into (what I
consider) sinning, or are (what I consider) unjustifiable, I do not respect
them.

 -- 

Consider this:  many of my fellow Christians believe things that I think
are false.  Should I respect their beliefs or not?  Some examples:

 a) Some believe that God is responsible for, and actively controls,
    everything.  God made Adam eat the fruit; God is the author and source of
    all sin.  I consider this blasphemous.

 b) Some consider themselves infallible; that they can read the Bible and come
    to flawless beliefs.  They believe that their ability to reason is not at
    all affected by their sinful nature.  I consider that unspeakably
    arrogant, humans claiming to infallibly know truth.  

Should I respect beliefs I consider false?  What difference should this make
in how I react to other Christians?  Should there be one set of rules for
beliefs of Christians and another set for non-Christians?  If so, why?


Darren F Provine / kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu
"Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem."
                                                         -- John Galsworthy
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