A lot of the rhetoric here seems very all or nothing to me. First, I
do see the purely logical issue that if you have a worldview in which
you are invested, then it logically suggests that you think yours is
the correct one, unless you believe that multiple worldviews can be
simultaneously true. I suppose this is possible. This, however, does
not imply, to me, a lack of respect or hostility for other views. I
believe that polytheisms have historically been more flexible in
accepting a multiplicity of religious choices. If every group has
their God, you can have yours and I can have mine. This sentiment can
also be true of universalist positions where all truths are one truth.
Ted, in an earlier post you ask how you can respect something you
think is wrong, but I think this question suggests a real
simplification of the issue and may lead to problematic results. I am
not a vegan but I respect people who are, and I think they are
generally trying to do the right thing, even though being a vegan just
won't work for me. I may think the Christian world view is deeply
wrong, but I can still respect individual *practitioners* of
Christianity, and I do. Christianity is a complex and multifaceted
thing. Religious people are also complex, multifaceted, and
internally inconsistent about their beliefs. I think it's perfectly
possible to respect a religious impulse while still thinking it
doesn't explain the world as I see it or inspire me as an ethical
model.
One aspect of this debate which is key is the role of salvation in all
this. Christians who try to share the Good News are not generally
trying to be rude, they are doing this out of deep concern for the
future of your soul and the world, and they are required to do this.
And yes, this worldview is incompatible with any other worldview.
There is no room for another. If, however, your religion is less
focused on the afterlife and more focused on practice *now*, then it's
probably easier to be more tolerant about what people do. It really
probably is easier for Wiccans to respect Christian beliefs than the
other way around because of the nature and focus of the various belief
systems involved. One can be more inclusive than the other. There is
no one Wiccan view of the afterlife as far as I'm aware, but salvation
is the underlying principle of Christian belief. That's a huge
determinant in how you treat other faith groups.
Amy
On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 5:16 PM, Ted Hand <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Do you see a difference? Why would this difference be important? How do you
> see it solving the problem?
>
> I still don't see how somebody who is hostile to the point of view of
> another can be said to be respecting it,
> whether we're talking about "spiritual" or "religion." You can have all
> kinds of fun attacking straw men if, like
> Humpty Dumpty, you make the words mean whatever you want them to mean. My
> concern is that we lose
> out ability to communicate with each other if everybody has the "right" to
> make up their own definition.
>
> The phrase "Wiccans respect the spiritual choices of other people" still
> strikes me as problematic. Whether
> or not we agree that faith positions can't allow contraries, I still find
> this notion of "respect" dubious, self-
> serving, and question-begging, for the reasons that Robert explained.
> Spiritual choices have to mean
> something to the people who make them in order for them to be intelligible
> as spiritual choices. If nothing
> is at stake, spirituality seems empty. I suspect that Wiccans actually do
> have good reasons for believing
> what they do, but I guess I should apologize for having offended their
> sensibilities by asking innocent
> questions in an effort to better understand the way they reflect on the
> reality of their spiritual choices.
>
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