Belief and Judgment
This is a post that I have been thinking about for a long time. It is also a post that I hope will propel me into writing again.
Here is a question I have: Why should I care what someone else believes?
I am thinking particularly about religious beliefs but I suppose it could be asked about any beliefs at all.
I would like to hear initial reactions as well as carefully considered responses to that question.
It seems to me that there are a couple of possibilities. One is that I care what another person believes so that I can carefully consider that person's point of view and learn something from it. Second, and more likely in my experience, is that I care what another person believes so that I can make judgment(s) about that person and either align with or distance myself from that person. I might also be seeking to persuade or violently force others to accept my own beliefs, which also involves judgment of the other person.
The bottom line is that I am wondering if this seemingly innate desire to know the beliefs of another is helpful for my life at all. Or is it something that I can stop asking and caring about?
Here is a question I have: Why should I care what someone else believes?
I am thinking particularly about religious beliefs but I suppose it could be asked about any beliefs at all.
I would like to hear initial reactions as well as carefully considered responses to that question.
It seems to me that there are a couple of possibilities. One is that I care what another person believes so that I can carefully consider that person's point of view and learn something from it. Second, and more likely in my experience, is that I care what another person believes so that I can make judgment(s) about that person and either align with or distance myself from that person. I might also be seeking to persuade or violently force others to accept my own beliefs, which also involves judgment of the other person.
The bottom line is that I am wondering if this seemingly innate desire to know the beliefs of another is helpful for my life at all. Or is it something that I can stop asking and caring about?
Labels: Acceptance, Belief, Christianity, Judgment, Religion, World View
posted by Cody at 1:50 PM
8 Comments:
You care because you are made in the image of God...and God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. He cares, therefore, you care.
These kinds of questions are never as cut-and-dry, black-and-white as we think, are they?
I'll give it a shot, nevertheless.
Good actions -- orthopraxy -- are always informed by some belief. Whether it's the belief that we can lead good and happy lives based on human reason alone (humanism) or some religious justification for "right living," belief always informs our actions.
I believe following Jesus is the very best way to live, and that belief is predicated on other substantial beliefs about God and Christ: that God is remaking all of creation, that God was made flesh in the form of Jesus, that Jesus lived and loved perfectly, that our work here is to join in God's rebuilding effort by communing with God and God's people. That simplifies it all a bit too much, I'm afraid, but in my experience, following / joining Jesus in rebuilding the world is the very best way to live.
Living outside of this way -- and the truths (beliefs) it espouses -- simply will not do, and I want to call as many others as I can into it.
I agree especially with the comment that beliefs very often affect what we do and what we support doing.
Sometimes religious beliefs have a heavy impact on political views and ultimately on national policy. Some people have a genuine interest in outlawing abortion, while other people have a genuine interest in legalizing gay marriage. If you want people to change their view on either issue, you might have to make a religious argument, rather than just a political argument, to get it done.
I could see how someone accepting Jesus as their personal-lord-and-savior, so that they can go to heaven, might have little impact on you personally. Still, people committed to evangelism are liable to talk to you about it (once they find out you're liberal), so you probably can't avoid it either way. If you handle those encounters gracefully, maybe it'll help other people learn to do the same.
Personally, I get competitive pretty quickly and just want to win arguments and convince other people. But in society there is also constant injustice and wickedness that I can't treat as tamely as the pet religious topics I'm in the habit of debating. On real issues, I can either punt, or else try to persuade people to believe and act in certain ways.
It raises the question of whether activism is better than simply living a quiet, respectful life (both approaches are advocated in the Bible), and whether there's such a thing as neutrality.
Paul: I agree that God is love, and therefore cares in some way about people in the world. But does God care about the beliefs of a person or does God care about how a person acts toward others? I can find both in the Bible, though that is not the only place I'm looking for information on the subject.
Steve: I agree that following Jesus is a good (possibly the best) way to be in the world. But if a person is acting in ways that are consistent with that, does it matter what that person believes? I think Jesus might say no.
Scott: I guess this is where it gets sticky for me. Issues of justice are the most difficult, and another reason I can understand why I might care what a person believes. But I think when it comes down to it humans all believe it is right to act justly and I think we all have a pretty good idea of what that means. I just think that some of us choose to act against our beliefs sometimes, and sometimes it gets out of hand.
Now that I have discussed my own BELIEFS about humanity...
Of course, if people are ACTing justly then I can't think of a reason to care why they are doing so. So I'm back to caring about what people do, not necessarily what they think.
I guess I care about what someone believes is just. But, as I said before, I think that we all pretty much know what it means to act justly.
i'll tell you my response to that question and the other responses the next time we talk! I dont want to go into it here
woops
by Cole
It's tricky to argue that people are going against what they "really" believe whenever they seem to disagree with you about justice. I'm not sure that's workable, since they're liable to just say the same thing about you.
To return to my two hot-button issues: I could support taking away a crazy man's freedom to keep him from hurting himself, and we might agree that that's just (if he's crazy enough and dangerous enough). And then someone else might argue that homosexuality is a disorder by which people hurt themselves, and so they should be restrained from acting on it. I know a guy who's an exodus counselor, and I'm personally convinced that he *believes* what he's doing is just.
And then abortion: I think it's *obvious* that abortion is unjust. And I'm tempted to say that anyone who says otherwise is just hardening themselves to how wrong it is, because of either a desire to not have a baby if they don't want one, or a desire to avoid having to deal with pregnant women getting hurt because of the injustice of the people around them. I have a feeling there are some readers of this blog who absolutely disagree with me. I don't want to debate the issue itself, but do we really have common ground to stand on and decide who's acting on a true belief of justice, and who's self-deluded?
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home