Believe in Love

“In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.” ~Dalai Lama (b.1935)

Horrified, I read the pamphlet a second time:

“Who are those who might be good citizens or church members who are in danger of going to hell?”

“Those whose religious affiliations deny Jesus as Personal Savior such as the Jews, the Muslims, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons.”

“Those who are only trusting in their church or denomination membership such as Catholics, but who have not had a personal experience with Jesus.”

“Those who may live exemplary lives by giving generously and by living by the Golden Rule, but who do not acknowledge God, such as the atheist, the agnostic, the humanist, the materialist and the evolutionist.”

I put the pamphlet down on my desk rubbing my eyes and wondering, under these criteria, who wasn’t “in danger of going to hell”?

We have a lot of beliefs. We believe our political party is right. We believe our team will win the Super Bowl. We believe we got a good deal when we bought our last car.

But beliefs are inherently dangerous. Beliefs require justification, a rationale, or an explanation. There must be reasons; real or imagined. The “WHY?” is always the question. Beliefs operate, for the most part, on an intellectual plane.

Faith in action, on the other hand, requires no justification. In fact, by its very definition, faith operates well outside of the intellectual realm. It is something deep, intuitive and defies explanation. People of faith will often say, “I can’t explain it, I just know it.” In point of fact, it is not we who justify our faith; rather, we are justified by our faith.

When we encounter various belief systems: Christian, non-Christian, and even secular, we would do well to remember our disagreements tend to operate at the intellectual level. In other words it is out so called “belief systems” which are in conflict. Our justifications become arguments. If, however, we were to go deeper, to the level of faith, we find our noisy intellects tend to quiet down.

At the end of the Pope John Paul II exhibit at the Skirball Center (a Jewish cultural center) a listing of 22 versions of the “Golden Rule” (“Love your neighbor as yourself”) each from different faith traditions, was displayed. The totality of their wisdom can be said in two words: “love people”.

At the end of the day, regardless of our faith tradition, we are called to do one thing only: Love People. The rest is just polite conversation.

Dear God: Teach me to love people, regardless of their beliefs.

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche, German classical scholar, philosopher and cultural critic (1844-1900)

© 2011 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

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