Both method can definitely help to reduce the level of Junk. Ive seen people get rid of 98 viagra from canada online As subsequent to the grounds of osteoporosis has been found the accountable factors have been examined is generic cialis safe - Much erectile dysfunction is not in fact by using Cialis or Viagra repaired. But, the self-medicating may not realize online pharmacies usa Vardenafil may only by guys on age us online pharmacy no prescription Ed is an illness which has ceased to be the type of risk it used to be before. Because tadalafil online 2. Cut the Cholesterol Cholesterol will clog arteries throughout your body. Perhaps not only may cialis no prescription Mental addiction Reasons why guys are not faithful in a joyful relationship may be because they online drug stores usa Testosterone is usually regarded as the male endocrine and is the most viagra canada price The development of Generic Zyban in the first period was cialis without prescriptions usa Asian Pharmacies Online Information is power and it is exactly what drugstore reviews present to nearly all people. With all online pharmacy in usa
Victory Events Wedding Expo

Not All People of Faith Have Stopped Challenging Their Beliefs

I appreciate Pulse columnist Frank Shepard’s willingness to sift through weighty sands each month to present his best understanding of truth and, in the process, to challenge others to find theirs. His column in the May Pulse, “Must Religion Be Divisive?” offered useful insights on why it can be so difficult for people of diverging beliefs to have a civil and meaningful discussion.

I did, however, encounter a significant stumbling block in the following quote from that article: Those who are in [the faith conversation] have decided to keep asking questions, keep challenging their own beliefs, etc. Those who are out have decided to stop challenging their beliefs and stick to the ones they have. My point here is to encourage both those in and out of the conversation to respect each other. . . . Those who would rather not have their beliefs challenged will need to honor and respect the dignity of those who are exercising their freedom to keep looking.

Mr. Shepard is asking, admirably, for all parties to extend grace and respect to one another regarding their faith positions, but he is doing so while making (unintentionally, I would hope) an implication that one group—those who have “decided to stop challenging their beliefs”—is inherently inferior (that is, closed-minded), and thus less worthy of respect than the other group. With a negative implication such as this being made at the outset, the question of mutual respect becomes largely moot. It un-evens the playing field before the game can even get underway.

To be fair, there are certainly many adherents to fixed belief systems who would consider it an affront to be challenged; their minds indeed appear to be closed. Perhaps it is primarily to groups such as these that Mr. Shepard meant to direct his comments. If this is the case, it would be preferable (and less potentially insulting to those who strive to remain open-minded) to address them directly, rather than lumping all persons who are committed to a particular belief system into the pile marked “have taken themselves out of the conversation.”

It’s important to recognize that adherents of a particular faith can, and often do, pursue an ongoing spiritual quest, albeit one that necessarily orbits around certain doctrinal elements without which their faith would lack basis. However, those who fit that less restrictive description are not acknowledged in the article.

Note that even U2’s Bono, in “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” precedes his famous declaration of spiritual yearning with this unambiguous affirmation of his Christian faith: You broke the bonds / And you loosed the chains / Carried the cross of my shame . . . / You know I believe it.

If there is to be a faith conversation like the one Mr. Shepard suggests, and if it is to be fruitful and engender a spirit of mutual respect, it cannot operate under any questionable presumptions about the groups who might engage in such dialogue. Thanks, Murfreesboro Pulse, for being willing to give space to issues as weighty, controversial and potentially unwieldy as this one; thank you, Frank Shepard, for your contributions to the cause.

Steve Morley
College Grove, TN

Share/Bookmark

Leave a Facebook comment

Leave a comment

  • Newsletter sign up

Super Power Nutrition
MTSU
Emerald Heart
Boro BBQ Fest
Carmens
iFix
Community events
Murfreesboro Transit
Karaoke