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kooka_lives - I'm almost completely on the same page as you are
The only difference being that I add this qualifier: "We do not have to admire what they believe, which in any real sense would be impossible anyways." I insert this qualifier on the basis that inevitably we will be subjected to or become aware of a set of beliefs held by others that we cannot possibly respect. The Westboro Baptist Church comes to mind immediately. Once we are made aware of beliefs such as these, the right of any individual to believe what they will is not negated by the fact that what they believe is ludicrous from the perspective of all normal people. Instead it is their actions manifested from these beliefs that we have every right to legitimately curtail if they infringe upon society.
In the case of hypothetical characters such as Captain Righteousness, there are no concessions to the rights of others in society pertaining to their religious freedoms. In any real sense there is also no acknowledgement of any other faith system or belief system other than his own having any form of validity. This single mindedness and rigidity of thought, amongst a number of other self serving philosophical inconsistencies are what make this hypothetical person such a pathetic joke. Especially as a self appointed spiritual leader. The fearless hypothetical Captain sees absolutely nothing wrong with a completely unequitable, one way street of consideration towards the beliefs of others. He is even miffed when he is rebuffed by people after presenting this nonsense in plain English stating that what they believe is meaningless and only he is right.
posted by
gomedome
on November 17, 2007 at 1:41 PM
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Gomedome- Respect for other's beliefs goes beyond though
I think know you wel enough to believe you have the kind of respect I am talking about. You do not have to admire the beliefs in full in order to respect them. You can admire aspects of the beliefs sand understand that those beliefs do have value to them for other people. You can respect other people's beliefs by looking at them open mindedly and seeing that there is good that people find in those beliefs. You may not find it there, but that does not mean you have to show disrespect by saying any set of beliefs is 'nihilism' just because those beliefs are not right for you.
I have yet to find any set of religious beliefs that do not have something worth respecting in them. And if someone gains some level of clarity or purpose in their life because of those beliefs, then you should have respect for them on that level, even if you disagree with them. Spirituality is such a personal thing when it is true, and right there if you wish to have your personal beliefs respected you need to have an understanding and respect for other beliefs as well. Once someone writes off all other beliefs as being empty and meaningless, that is when they start to show no respect and so in turn are showing their beliefs to be truly empty and meaningless.
I don't think that either of us has ever tried to make the claim that Christianity is meaningless and has done no good in the world. We both understand and respect the ideas behind. And we both know people who have needed those beliefs to pull their worlds together, which we also respect. Our problems come from certain 'numbnuts' who seem to wish to use Christianity as a way to disrespect all other belief systems and place themselves as being morally superior to everyone else.
posted by
kooka_lives
on November 17, 2007 at 1:07 PM
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kooka_lives - it would be funny if it were not so pathetically sad
We've run into a number of these types of people here on Blogit. Those who are promoting a supposed message of spiritual enlightenment yet cannot see that their perspective is premised upon nothing more than a blatant hypocrisy.
The subtleties of the term "respecting the beliefs of others" seem to be in question here. Where the word "respect" is quite often synonymous with the word "admire" in the case of respecting the beliefs of others, the inference in common use is actually a bit different. When we use the term "respecting the beliefs of others" we are simply saying that we respect the right of any person to believe what they believe. We do not have to admire what they believe, which in any real sense would be impossible anyways. All we are compelled to do as persons of conscience is to allow everyone their right to believe as they do.
Some not so bright folks cannot make this distinction. Subtleties in the English language are not beyond them but are instead viewed as an escape mechanism when they want to lie their way out of something. I had a similar experience as the one you describe about 30 months ago. I was told in similar language that I was an inferior being. Since that time, the individual has made a number of overtures about burying the hatchet and becoming friends. What can you say to such convoluted reasoning?
posted by
gomedome
on November 17, 2007 at 12:41 PM
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