The problem with western organized religion these days, as far as Christianity and Islam, is that each group assumes that they are absolutely, without any doubt, correct. This is itself counterintuitive, as if one religion is absolutely correct; the others have to be wrong.
One of the fundamental views held by Christians is that if one does not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, then that person will burn in eternal hellfire. This is absolute. There is no way around this. They are right, and anyone else is destined to suffer unspeakable agony until the end of time itself. This leaves no ground for compromise.
From what I know of Islam, followers of that particular religion are also absolutists: they believe that there is only one true God, which they call Allah, and his profit, Muhammad, taught exactly how Allah wanted his subjects to live their lives. All those that did not live their lives as such are doomed, and followers of Islam should take any means necessary to enlighten and convert all people to their religion.
Judaism is one of the major western religions, but I know little about it. I do, however, know that they generally don’t believe in hell, and they don’t hold that the entire world should obey the same rules and doctrines that they do, or “reforming the earth,” as Muslims call it.
What this boils down to, in regards to Christians and Muslims, is that these groups seek to make the entire world exactly like they are. Which, in turn, reflects the inherent ethnocentricity of mankind. The real problems arise when groups hold their beliefs so firmly that they become violent and seek to actively assimilate or eliminate all opposing cultures.
Instilling people with such steadfast and uncompromising beliefs is not only dangerous, but can lead to manipulation of large groups. When one believes wholeheartedly that they are absolutely right and there is no room for discussion, those beliefs can turn a perfectly peaceful group into a horde of killing-machines bent on world domination.
It has happened numerous times with Christianity, from the Crusades to the systematic elimination of the American Indian people by Christian Europeans to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. We have just recently seen what extremists of Islam can do when we look to our recently altered New York City skyline.
If I said that the solution would be to eliminate such religions, I would be no different than the militant practitioners of these faiths. Spirituality is a good thing; being aware of one’s own mortality and having a sense of right and wrong can help a person lead a more productive life. But spirituality can hinder mankind when an individual begins to worry more about what others believe and how they choose to lead their lives.
So Eric, are we just supposed to let anybody do whatever they want? Should there be no laws about murder and other sorts of heinous crimes because those people choose to live their lives a certain way? you ask. Of course not.
But where are the limits to be drawn? Should we not look to our religious teachings for these guidelines? Sure, one can look to a religious text; one can also look to Aesop’s fables, or consult renowned philosophers. The moral fabric of our society will not disintegrate into anarchy simply because we take into consideration the viewpoints of other cultures.
I am not the man to consult when looking for the absolute moral standards that should be applied to all of mankind. I cannot hash out the rules by which all societies should abide, and I do not have the arrogance to try. I do, however, think when one is trying to decide if what they are doing is right or wrong, they should look to see if it would hurt or help another human being. Certainly, killing someone because they hold a position different from your own doesn’t exactly help them, does it?
Eric Harrelson is a senior in English. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
