It’s Only Words

I have Muslim friends. I have Christian friends. I have Jewish friends. I have friends with no faith at all. I know a guy who believes a chance encounter between two spinning planets deposited aliens here who conducted experiments on early man, resulting in the genetic defects we experience in our species today. I saw him explain his theory to a devout Catholic and make the Catholic question his own faith for the first time. My personal opinion on their opinions is that each is as valid as the last because I simply don’t know who is right or wrong, and neither do you. That’s why it’s called faith and not truth.

There have been people of great faith in my family whose rights to be so entirely devoted I do not share, but I completely understand and respect. If Pope John Paul II had told his flock to cover themselves in Cheese Whiz and dance in the moonlight my beloved Polish Grandma would have immediately begun whipping through grocery store flyers to find a sale on Cheese Whiz. Grandma was hard core. But if she had felt the Pope insulted members of another religion, she would have thought he was having an off day, and dismissed it…and then prayed for him.

Pope Benedict has apparently insulted the entire Muslim world in a speech he says was meant to demonstrate the incompatibility between faith and war. Some Muslims are so offended at being characterized as warmongers, they’re throwing Molotov cocktails at Christian churches. This behaviour is not indicative of all Muslims. Only the ones angry enough at being called violent are acting, well, violently.

If you find any of this disturbing, I have a book to recommend. I am still moved and changed by The End Of Faith by Sam Harris. He calls on Muslims, Christians and brothers and sisters of any religion to do a better job of influencing the most radical factions of their own flock. He says a lot of other things as well. If you’re offended by anything that questions your faith this book is not for you. If you like to explore the big questions and appreciate a smart mind that offers food for thought on the state of the world today and where it may be headed, you might enjoy Harris. It’s just one man’s opinion but it’s a compelling one.