I don't think it's just simplistic. I think it's mildly insulting to tell the Muslim guy that he and I believe in the same thing, ultimately. We don't. We have some overlap, though...usually about how people are to be treated. To suggest that Hindus and Jews are really talking about the same thing is, in my view, to completely undercut what both groups actually believe. And, in the process, I don't think it affords either any respect. The idea that we all have to agree in order to get along is silly to me.
every faith group in the world evangelizes. every faith group in the world has a history of evangelism. you don't need to look further than the fact there is an idol in buddhism to discover their history...they went into parts of SE Asia spreading Buddhism. there was a huge conflict with other faiths that worshipped idols...they wouldn't submit to Buddhism because they wanted an idol Buddhists were split on it...because if you study Buddhism, you know how foreign the idea of gazing upon a visual representation of Buddha would be. He's not to be worshipped...in fact, it's a movement to a state of things that aren't concrete...an escape from suffering into the spiritual. but they went with it anyway...because it would attract new believers...and the tradition stands even today. go into any buddhist temple and the idols are still there.
Oh, I know and agree to an extent. I'm just trying to take something off the table that is just a constant source of conflict and struggle. I find it kind of amusing that human beings get insulted when someone doesn't agree with their view of the unfathomable and the incomprehensible truth... Let it be. In my opinion, the words in our Holy Books are guidelines at best. I'm constantly amazed at how readily Christians (my faith) want to talk about the inerrant word of God which has been translated 143 times by mere humans across two thousand years. I'm sure that other religions face the same challenges to their Holy Books. I'm just tired of all the one-uppping that goes on and this also drives much of the constant warring that humans engage in. Is it wrong to worry only about my own family's faith and leave everyone else's alone?
MadMax is right, to an extant. Buddhism has had its own period of prosetlyzation and still is. A good argument could be made that groups like Falun Gong are the equivalent of Buddhist Evangelicals who are aggressively proselytizing Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is the most well known form in the US but different denominations will push the idea of the Buddha(s) as a deity and the idea of salvation through worship of the deity. Further there is also a prosperity Buddhism in terms of using Buddhist ideas and practices to materially better oneself. While many Buddhist will argue that none of those traditions represent authentic Buddhism they are widely practiced and have served as very potent tools for spreading of Buddhism. In regard to idolotry in Buddhism, representation of the Buddha appeared relatively early in Buddhist history. From my own study of art history there was a prosetlyzing aspect to it but it also seemed to have to do with that people in just liked physical representations and it wasn't so much as a conscious move on the part of proselytizing Buddhists to make idols but that was what people were doing at the time in India. Buddhism spread throughout Asia ended up absorbing and adapting many local religions but also became a political force so representations of the Buddha became mixed with representation of Kings. Also most of the great Buddhist idols, Bamiyan, Borobudur, Angkor Thom, Dunhuang, etc.. All were made by locals who had long since converted too Buddhism so it wasn't a matter of some Buddhist building an idol to convert the locals.
None of the religious people I know, except for some of the people in the big mega-churches, believe that the only way to heaven is to practice their particular faith. Even if they did, what's the problem with that? You're so sure they're wrong why does it matter what their answer is? Why does it bother you so much that people have differing viewpoints than you do? Also, not all religious people wish to use the government to push their faiths. You're buying into the hype. Even if they were, non-religious people are all for using government to push their "faiths" also. There is just a different basis for the "faiths" that both sides are trying to push. It's not presumptuous of me to know your problem because you made it clear how unwilling you are to try to understand that not all people of a religious background are the same. The problem with a lot of non-religious people is that they don't care if they're wrong about religious people because it makes them feel better about themselves. I'm not saying this is you, of course. I'm saying that a lot of what you hear may not be entirely true and much of what you think you know about the religious may be based on something that just isn't true.
There's nothing wrong with that and if we really want to live in a peaceful society we should do that. There will never be 100% agreement regarding religion and by its nature we can't empiracally or rationally prove that one faith is wrong or right. The most we should ask and expect of other faiths is tolerance and civility.
I've always found it ironic when Non-Christians get upset that Christians think that Non-Christians won't get into Heaven. My view is if you are that concerned about getting into Heaven then maybe you should be a Christian. I don't believe in Heaven in the Christian sense and I don't worry about whether I am getting into Heaven in that sense and if a Christian tells me I'm not going to get into Heaven that's fine. Christianity is believe that through Jesus Christ you will get to Heaven if that's the case then obviously those who don't believe won't get in anymore than those who don't chant "Namu Ammita Butsu" won't get into Ammita's Lotus Paradise. While its an interesting philosophical discussion whether good non-Christians deserve to get into Christian Heaven I don't think Christians should be bashed for not believing so. For that matter I find it somewhat condescending to argue that non-Christians should get into Christian Heaven as that is a backhanded way of saying that Christianity is correct about Heaven.
i disagree. i'm not worried about getting into heaven or not, it is just divisive to think that others are doomed to hell.
^ Is it divisive to think that others are going to be reborn as cows or be forced to wander the realm of hungry ghosts?
Well if I ever decide to change from Christianity I am not interested in any of the other religions... I am going back to drinking, chasing women and playing in a rock-in-roll band.
wouldnt that be the same thing? if you believe in the Christianity hell, wouldn't that mean you also believe in the heaven too? or...if you're arguing that by our thinking that non-believers are doomed to hell, we're judging your lifestyle, trust me, we're not (or at least we shouldn't be), whether you goto heaven or hell solely depends on your genuine belief and acceptance of Christ as your personal savior, it's got nothing to do with if you're gay or straight, soldier or interior designer, priest or doctor.
The thing is most people in our culture believe in Heaven & Hell even though they might not really be Christians etc. It's weird I know. So they get upset they are told they are "going" to hell for not being one of them even though believing in hell is kind of being one of them. The idea of a soul is completely ingrained. So it isn't as divisive here to tell someone they are going to be reborn a cow when the idea is kind of silly to them. But telling them that they are eternally doomed not for the person that they are but for what they believe is what is really divisive. "There is no salvation outside the church" is more divisive than "there is misery for evil doers".
If they believe in Heaven and hell, then goto Church. I don't see what the problem is. If they don't like the Christianity viewpoint of Heaven and hell and how to get there, then goto Islam or try out some other thing, or start your own. You should have enough conviction in your beliefs that you won't care if someone's telling you you're going to hell based on their faith's beliefs. And if you don't have enough conviction in your beliefs to not be bothered, then maybe you need to re-examine your life and what yoru actual beliefs are.
