A Challenge of Religious Tolerance and Acceptance

There are Christians and people of other faiths, including myself, who like to have our views challenged.  I put a lot of time into learning about other faiths, and I sometimes find learning about some of their views challenging.  The most challenging part of it for me, however, is not finding out about differences or problems.  The biggest difficulty I have is seeing acts of love and compassion being performed by people of other faiths.  For me, when I help people out, I frequently think about it as a Christian, and I try to help without question.  That is fueled by and rooted in my Christianity.

I was at a backyard party with several Pagans, celebrating a major Pagan festival, and there was someone nearby who needed help.  My reaction to help was as usual.  However, I didn't have all the resources needed.  It felt strange for me, seeing what I should have expected, as these were all nice people.  The host of the party helped the person out, and to all of our knowledge, things turned out fine.

The strange thing here, and I'll admit that this is not a good thing about me, is that I was almost upset to see non-Christians showing acts of love and compassion.  I felt like these were things that belonged to Christians.  The thing is, however, these aren't values that are strictly Christian.  Due to the actions of Fundamentalists, many people de-convert from Christianity, in favor of these values.  Other religions promote these values as well.

Something I realized a short time later was that this is something Jesus addresses.  To quote the full story:

[Luke 10:30b-35] “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

I frequently have quoted that parable and talked about it, usually looking at it in context with passages from the so-called Old Testament about how the Samaritans turned away from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  However, this was a time where I really needed to reflect on the message of that parable.

The message Jesus gives is that those who have different religious practices and beliefs from us are also good people.  The message is not only that we are to accept them, but that we are to also embrace the similarities we share.  I'm not as good at it as I appear to be.

I frequently comment to people that people of all religions have values that they feel are strictly theirs, but belong to many faiths.  Intellect isn't strictly an Atheist value, personal spirituality isn't strictly a Pagan value, religious devotion isn't strictly a Muslim value, and love isn't strictly a Christian value.  However, I don't seriously apply it.  Truly understanding this can be a challenge.  Many of us like having a feeling of superiority of our religions, even if we're accepting of other faiths, but we have to admit that we're not superior.

Shalom!