Do you think it’s possible to have certainty in your beliefs while also being respectful of people who believe differently?

That is the challenge, isn’t it? Whether it is my belief in Jesus as the Son of God or anything else – I have to ask myself is this belief life giving? If not, why not? Is this belief putting me in conflict with others? If so, why? My belief in God in of itself does not put me in conflict with others – regardless of their brand (or lack thereof).

If I choose to impose my beliefs on others then I can be in conflict with other people.

(Yes, I realize I’ve made some rather broad brush strokes here.)

For me, I choose to embrace – Love God and love others. If I’m doing those 2 things, how can I be in conflict with others?

BTW – for me – respect means, “unconditional high regard” – it is not predicated on another believing the same as me. When I don’t do that, it is my problem.

I think it’s fairly safe to say that yes, there are some amazingly self-aware, wise, gentle, gracious Muslims and Jews and … really people of any faith, as well as atheists, agnostics, and Pastafarians, who are willing to continue to choose to work within their faith system while being also willing to respect and dialogue about others’ faiths. In fact some of my favorite people are people who have helped me become more willing to do this myself.

Wow, sounds like your sister and her husband have an amazing story =). A couple years ago I met this beautiful lady named Ann Redding who had been led by God to practice both Christianity and Islam at once. She was an amazingly gracious, self aware outgoing person, and it was really a privilege to converse with her for a while.

Benjamin,
In thinking further about my friend she grew up in a Southern Baptist Church and may have transferred what she knew about Christianity from that perspective on to me. I like your expression of this concept about being a club member. I have often wondered how it works for my youngest sister. Her husband is Indonesian and he is a devout Muslim. She is a Christian and follows her faith. They have been married for seven years and love each other deeply. They are both respectful of each other’s choices. I wonder though if they ever have kids if that will change things in how the kids are raised. For now, it seems to be working.

I wonder why your friend thought that you thought she was going to hell? I can imagine I would have trouble being friends with someone if I sensed that they thought that about me, no matter how kindly they acted.

I think you asked a really interesting question about exclusivity claims and ability to accept/embrace others. It seems to me that if the exclusivity claim is saying that some people are in the club, and some aren’t, and you have to do or say or think x, y, or z to get into the club, and being in the club is better than not being in the club, then of course it is not going to be possible to be fully present with/accepting of the people outside the club, when one is a club member.

I can really relate to the part about both parties needing to be willing to admit they could be wrong. I think it’s really cool Julie that you were willing to explore different areas of spirituality with your friend. It’s too bad she wasn’t willing to reciprocate. I definitely think it’s possible to navigate difference like this and learn from each other. But yes, both people need to flex a bit.

Anybody out there have any friendships where you are able to navigate difference? Why do you think it works?