In a recent episode of "How to Lose Influence & Alienate your Congregation", Pastor Hank mentioned that he doesn't respect all religions, and then proceeded to list the Ku Klux Klan and White Slavery as religions. (I think he confused the movie Taken with The Mission.) Nevertheless, I think his initial question is interesting:
What religions do you respect?
Do you respect Methodists, Catholics, Mormons? Do you respect Jehovah Witnesses, Muslims, Buddhists?
Now you know, I pretty much have no use for any organized religion. But I understand from the comment section that a lot of you crazy zealots, think differently. And I'm genuinely curious to hear which religions you respect? Or more specifically, which religions do you think will get into heaven? Do Jews get to go to Heaven?
If I remember my teachings at City Bible Church correctly, most Methodists will go to heaven and some Catholics, but that was about it. Mormons and JW's are a cult. And Muslims and Buddhists are straight up the enemy.
Anyway, genuinely interested in what you all think on this issue? And what is the deciding factor that seperates religions you respect from religions you don't?
Will you qualify that Christianity is a religion as well? Christians differentiate themselves as having a relationship with God, semantics perhaps, but the expectation of a human relationship is much different then a “relationship” with God. Do other religions make the same claim that they have some special connection with God (god)? The sensation I had around the Charismanic Churches was somehow, no matter how far off base they were, they had a special connection with God–their get out jail free card–yet it smacked of the same entitlement that the Jews felt assuming that God was only interested in their destiny. Oops.
Yeah, of course. I assume that most people on here are Christians. So, I’m more interested in what people think of other religions.
Takes something to earn my respect and most Christian-based denominations do not have my respect. What I do respect is an individual’s spiritual beliefs, which I believe are personal. What I don’t respect about most denominations is their belief that their beliefs are the only way. I don’t believe there is one truth for every person. What I respect is an individual’s pursuit of their own truth. If Muslim or Buddhist beliefs resonate, then I fully support and respect that. It’s incredibly arrogant to assume that your truth is the only way and that all other faiths and beliefs are wrong. Who says?
Totally agree. Couldn’t say it better myself.
I think the only one I can safely say I respect is Buddhism – but I don’t really consider it a religion. Maybe Judaism? But that’s probably because I wasn’t born/raised Jewish.
I respect all* religions rights to worship whomever they want, just about wherever they want and just about however they want and even moreso I respect the individuals’ spiritual/religious journey as that is highly personal.
I think religion, generally, is a detriment to the world. Sorry :/
I know you wanted Christians’ perspectives and I’m not one anymore BUT…I DO remember what I thought of other religions when I was a Christian. Specifically Mormons, Catholics & JWs: they were all for sure going to hell. Christians (like the kind I was) LOVE to include Mormons, Catholics & JWs when they want to inflate their numbers in the world…but every Christian I knew would have stated without a doubt that those other religions were decidedly NOT Christians, NOT saved & NOT going to heaven. When it came to any Eastern religions, considering them wasn’t even something I did – they were immediately dismissed out of hand as “of the devil”, or “evil” if you will.
Woops – I forgot to explain my asterisk by all:
*There are most likely religions out there that I know nothing of but whose rights I would not respect – but they would have to be unequivocally evil for me to feel that way.
Now you really are stirring it up!
If you believe the Bible, then Jesus really is the only way…remember that little scripture that says “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can get to the father except by Me.” (John 14:6). Now if you don’t believe the Bible or perhaps believe this could have been re-worded by translators in order to adhere to a specific agenda, then you would probably feel otherwise. There is no doubt that organized religion is as harmful to the world as beneficial. Why? Because organized religion is run by imperfect, sinful, and destructive people with their own agendas, interpretations, and selfish desires. For thousands of years people have manipulated religious beliefs, traditions, and customs to control others. Even American slavery (one of the most evil things that ever occurred in world history) was justified by the use of religion.
Personally, I believe Jesus is the only way. However, I don’t believe someone of another religion is automatically going to hell, especially if that person is never told of Jesus or at least the real Jesus. Only God knows a persons heart. Only God knows the truth in it all. We humans can only speculate and rely on our individual faith to live our lives the best way we know how. I believe there will be some who spent their whole lives “serving” God and yet will be judged very harshly because their service was in vain, while there will be others who never even heard the name Jesus, but lived with a sincere faith to their own beliefs and will sit at His feet. Either way, in the end all that REALLY matters is God’s judgment and NOT our own.
Buddhists.
Can’t think of anyone else at the moment…
I don’t “respect” regligions, per se, but I do respect PEOPLE. Because they’re people. In terms of religious beliefs–inside and outside of Christianity–I find that I truly respect people who know why they believe what they believe, who have undergone a process of research and can articulate what they believe and why. Far too many people merely parrot what they hear from others without actually “owning it.” That is hard for me to respect. Yet, even those people are worthy of being treated with respect.
Reformer is right, Jesus is the only way to God, and God is the only one who can see people’s hearts.
Jesus also said that if we’re not for him, we are against him. Christians mocking or otherwise denigrating other religions, however, usually repels people from God, from the Gospel. Shocker. The superiority thing makes no sense if we truly understand the source of our righteousness. I’ve always thought that the main distinction of Christianity (vs all other religions) is that everyone else tries to work their way to God, to buy salvation, but God, knowing of course that was impossible, sent Jesus to us, to purchase salvation and everything else we need on the cross, and to give it to us for free.
I’m going to go with Reformer’s post, I think he spoke well.
I have visited Hong Kong and Bangkok, and saw some buddhist temples, to include the temple of the emerald Buddha, but they seemed repressive to me, and I wasn’t a Christian then. The Tiger Balm Gardens in Hong Kong seemed like an endless series of statues depicting people in combat, gutting each other out etc…I didn’t find any comfort from it, to say the least.
The whole idea in Hinduism, that there is a class of people that are worthless (untouchables) is also repells me.
The way the muslims treat women makes me uncomfortable, I can’t imagine myself going there.
I do, however , respect each persons right to worship as they wish, but I guess that is different than respecting another religion.
It is easier to admire any religion from afar, but once you get to know them, they would all have their own warts and hyprocrisy. I remember seeing the “Great Buddha” in Japan, lost much of its mystery once I climb the steps inside its head! Sincere people in any religion, where there sincerity comes from within, rather then forcing themselves to live by a religious law, without the preceeding life change from within.
[Comment ID #38346 Will Be Quoted Here]
It’s funny, because this sentiment is essentially straight out of the Qu’ran.
If you remove the “extra” stuff from Islam (which was added later, after Mohammad’s death) and read only from the Qu’ran (the supposed “last message from God”)… it states that every nation receives a prophet and/or message from God, and that on Judgement Day each person, as an individual, will be judged by God depending exclusively on how well that person listened to their “katnah” (conscience) and the prophet/message that was given to them.
So if you lived in Moses time, according to the Qu’ran you would be judged with Moses as your prophet, the rules/regulations set down in the Torah, and how well you followed your conscience.
All that to say, I “respect” the religion of Islam… but only as it is defined in the Qu’ran and *not* how it has evolved to what it is today. (Which generally the Qu’ran, the Hadith, and the totally man-made Islamic/Shariah Law.)
(Surprisingly, Islam (from the Qu’ran, not all the extra stuff) has a very similar message as the bible.. except for Christ’s divinity, it’s pretty much the same thing.)
(To answer the OP’s question.. I could not put my answer without including the “why”. Sorry.)
Oof.. the quoting system in the blog included too much. Here is the only part that I meant to quote:
Sorry about that.
Although there are some comments above that I agree with, I really hope that most of those that wrote above don’t claim to be followers of Christ, because if they do, then doctrines like those taught at The City Church are the least of our problems. Sorry guys, due to the nature of the topic, religious truth is not relative. This is not a question of whether or not you like coke or pepsi, this is a question of whether or not a medication can cure your disease. It either can or it can’t. You can say that “whatever truth works for you is fine” or that Islam and Christianity are essentially, but a some simple research will show that they differ in all major issues such as the nature of God, the person of Christ, the role of man on earth, the sharing of one’s faith, treatment of other people…etc.
There are many aspects of other religions that I respect. I respect that Mormon’s ask their youth to conduct missions, I respect that J.W’s are brave enough to go door to door, in some ways I respect the Muslim’s zealousness. I also respect any individual’s right to practice their religion. However, the respect I have for other religions says nothing about the validity of their truth claims. All religions are not created equal, and they all make contradictory claims about reality, so though they may all be false, they can’t all be right.
Mammonism.