Why respect religious belief?

[CreepingJesus]

Here is a quote from something I read recently.

It perfectly encapsulates my own attitude towards believers.

If you claim that something is true, I will examine the evidence which supports your claim; if you have no evidence, I will not accept that what you say is true and I will think you a foolish and gullible person for believing it so.

Given the complete lack of evidence for a god, I am compelled to think of believers as foolish and gullible.

Given the amount of conflict between rival superstitions and the huge numbers of people being murdered in the name of various interpretations of the unprovable and improbable god, I am also compelled to think that religion does great harm in the world.

Given that each rival god cult believes that they will be rewarded for their piety upon their deaths by a deity who will eventually take terrible revenge on followers of all the other "wrong" faiths, heretics, and unbelievers, kill us all and consign us to burn for eternity in the pit of hell (no evidence for that either), I am compelled to think that believers themselves have trouble respecting the beliefs of others. (The first commandment forbids other faiths.)

Given the above I'm compelled to ask. Why should I, who cannot see the tiniest atom of value in religious belief respect the religious beliefs of others?

If I'm to respect someone's beliefs then they would need to provide evidence that these beliefs were true.

That's not going to happen so can anyone tell me why I should respect religious belief?

I'd really like to know.

[Polwarth]

Hiya, CJ...

[kathyv]

Hey CJ, nice to see you here again!

Your questions are very valid and very timely and I agree with a lot of what you have said.

A lot of damage has been done and is being done in the name of Religion. But what we forget is that this is man's creation, people accepting and following another persons interpretation of a religious law and I would like to point to your quote of the commandment 'forbidding other faiths'. It doesn't say that. It says 'Thou shalt have no other god before me'. And another god can be anything, not just some other belief's deity. It can be money, or possessions, or another person, it can be whatever you value more than the creator. It is whatever comes between you and your time for that creator.

What a lot of beliefs, especially Christian, neglect to remember is that the religious laws they are following are actually man law. I have 2 Biblical laws that I follow, "Love the Lord your God with all you heart, mind and strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." These 2 commands cover all the 10 commandments from the Old Testament and were given to all man. Not just me or others who believe the same as I.

If you do love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, then you have no desire to put another 'god' before that first love.

And as far as evidences, with Faith, I see evidences of God everywhere because of what I believe. That He created the world and set it in motion. So for me anyway because of my Faith and my relationship with Him, I see a miracle when the moon runs it's phases, I see a miracle when babies are conceived and born, I see evidences of him in the seasons of the year and the tides, all those things that help make out world work to support life.

I am never going to demand that you or anyone ever respect me for my belief, I do ask that you respect me for the way I try to live my life, because I try to live it as an example of His law. I won't ever condemn or judge you or any other person because as a Christian that is not my job, your judgment is between you and God, and only He knows the outcome of that judgment. I can not step into His shoes and do that. I think a lot of militant, zealots regardless of their religion have been doing this and it's caused a lot of trouble, it's caused you to question them and their motives, and you are not the only one.

I know Hell has been portrayed as a fiery pit, a lake of fire, etc. . . but really, it's an eternity with out God's presence in it, with his 'face' turned from you. I don't want that for myself, I don't really want that for anyone but I know the quickest way to send someone there is to insist that they do it my way. I won't do that but I will share my belief with you, when you ask.

And I will do it with love and respect because I truly believe that like me, God created you and all of humanity as well, be they agnostic, atheist, Islam, Buddhist, it doesn't matter because I know what I believe. We are all God's children.

I hope this helps you see a bit of what many Christians believe, and even with this relationship faith, damage is still done because it's not done with love and respect at times.

[aNonnyMoose]

Hullawrer CJ. Goat boart wi thi ithir pliss huv yi?

Iss pliss is pritty awfie, wi the excepshun ae a few ae wir auld pals.

[ANDY-J3]

A few years ago I would have answered that tolerance of religious beliefs was right because everyone is entitled to their opinions but I've changed my attitude. Christian evangelicals were tolerated and all it did was actively encourage them to aggressively promote their agenda. If you do a search on the internet for anything regarding evolution for example the chances are you'll be provided with a lot of creationist websites trying to challenge evolution with mindless rhetoric and lies. Kids will read these websites and instead of learning about evolutionary biology they learn about religious propaganda. If something is just plain wrong it can't be tolerated in fact it is obligatory to challenge it.

[Scottish_Republican]

Everybody goes on about the evolution/creation thing, but the fact is that this is essentially an American thing. Most European Christians believe in evolution, and if they believe in Creation, so what? It doesn't make a huge difference in much of everyday life - your average Jock Tamson believes in far weirder things, like horoscopes, and Aberdeen FC will win the premiership.

"That's not going to happen so can anyone tell me why I should respect religious belief?"

This is not a black and white thing. I think we should respect the belief - within bounds - i.e. when it doesn't impinge on the rest of us, and become dangerous. Otherwise we are essentially anti-democratic.

These days, the biggest danger is from Rupert Murdoch and multinationals - not the Kirk or wee free.

[kathyv]

Well stated SR!

In the States this whole evolution vs creation thing has become a political agenda, keeping the focus away from what's important. It makes absolutely no difference in the long run!

Evolution in it's most basic form is a theory, Theistic Evolution in it's most basic form is a theory, Simple Creation boils down to faith.

Whatever you happen to believe about how the earth was formed and how life came to be won't get you into Heaven or send you to Hell so it has become a platform for political posturing and media shark fests! So much bickering over trivial things only serves to reinforce the doubts and disgust of those who feel like CJ, I think it's a shame to cause anyone to look at their world or humanity cynically or with questions like this.

If a person professes Christianity, they should hold themselves, and police themselves, to a higher standard of respect and love and not let these kinds of squabblings taint another person's perception of their faith.