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| Sia, in a storefront in Ann Arbor |
I was asked the question, "Would a Muslim be welcome in your church?"
My answer was, "Yes!"
And Buddhists, Hindus, and atheists are welcome, too.
I welcome all of them, as Jesus does the same. I would love to have them come. (I have had atheists come to Redeemer, who are mostly students who have been in my MCCC philosophy classes. A few of them have converted from atheism to theism, and then to Christianity.)
I say yes and amen to loving and welcoming all kinds of people.
Does this mean I affirm all the beliefs of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and atheists? Of course not. No one can logically (coherently) affirm contradictory beliefs.
I welcome all of them, as Jesus does the same. I would love to have them come. (I have had atheists come to Redeemer, who are mostly students who have been in my MCCC philosophy classes. A few of them have converted from atheism to theism, and then to Christianity.)
I say yes and amen to loving and welcoming all kinds of people.
Does this mean I affirm all the beliefs of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and atheists? Of course not. No one can logically (coherently) affirm contradictory beliefs.
Consider, for example, the following three mutually exclusive beliefs.
1) God does not exist (atheism, and Buddhism)
2) There are 330,000,000 gods (Hinduism).
3) There is only one God (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).
Unless a person is on drugs, it is not possible to say "true" to these three beliefs, held simultaneously. (Only people on drugs can sing the song "Imagine" and mean it.)
From this we learn an important truth: No one can affirm all the various beliefs of the world's religions.
1) God does not exist (atheism, and Buddhism)
2) There are 330,000,000 gods (Hinduism).
3) There is only one God (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).
Unless a person is on drugs, it is not possible to say "true" to these three beliefs, held simultaneously. (Only people on drugs can sing the song "Imagine" and mean it.)
From this we learn an important truth: No one can affirm all the various beliefs of the world's religions.
To believe something is, ipso facto, to deny many things. Beliefs, by nature, affirm and exclude.
Going further, No one person affirms all the beliefs of any other person. The fact that I, or you, do not affirm the beliefs of someone else should not be shocking. Anyone who claims to affirm someone else's entire belief system is to be dismissed as unbelievable.
Going further, No one person affirms all the beliefs of any other person. The fact that I, or you, do not affirm the beliefs of someone else should not be shocking. Anyone who claims to affirm someone else's entire belief system is to be dismissed as unbelievable.
Let me prove this. Consider the statement It is irrational to affirm all beliefs. If you think this statement is true, then you believe it is irrational to affirm all beliefs. If you think this statement is false, then you contradict yourself and prove the statement to be true, since you disaffirm the statement.
In the Jesus worldview, I welcome and love all people. I do not (because it cannot be done, epistemically) affirm all the beliefs of people. It is irrational to expect that I should do so. It is not unloving to say, "I think you are wrong about that." It is unloving, because untruthful, to treat people as if our different beliefs are harmonious.
In the Jesus worldview, I welcome and love all people. I do not (because it cannot be done, epistemically) affirm all the beliefs of people. It is irrational to expect that I should do so. It is not unloving to say, "I think you are wrong about that." It is unloving, because untruthful, to treat people as if our different beliefs are harmonious.
