How should we respect other's religions?

[Socrates1889]

I didn’t yell at him or anything. We came to an agreement that he would stop criticising my faith. I don’t think there is any need for an apology. If I had’ve mentioned that particular religion being wrong in front of someone who believed in that religion, I would certainly apologise to them.

What I don’t understand is: Why do teenagers and people my age (I’m 18) look at religion as something to make fun of? It seems to me to be that pepple are more critical of Catholicism than other religions… What’s with that? Is it because they are scared of the curiousity they have for it?

Sorry… somehow I totally missed this page.

While he may have wholly meant it when he said it, I see him braking his promise in the future, try not to be to hard on him, at least for now it seems in his nature(to pick on people/ things) and hopefully he will grow out of it.

Sweetie, teenagers make fun of and criticize everything, not just religion. It’s part of learning as well as figuring out what you truly believe. Arguments can give you a lot of information not only about the subject being argued but also yourself. The key is to maintain control and not take it personally. If you can do that, you can go far in life. Prime example… presidential debates.

 

[Eman_resu]

Sorry… somehow I totally missed this page.

While he may have wholly meant it when he said it, I see him braking his promise in the future, try not to be to hard on him, at least for now it seems in his nature(to pick on people/ things) and hopefully he will grow out of it.

Sweetie, teenagers make fun of and criticize everything, not just religion. It’s part of learning as well as figuring out what you truly believe. Arguments can give you a lot of information not only about the subject being argued but also yourself. The key is to maintain control and not take it personally. If you can do that, you can go far in life. Prime example… presidential debates.

Thanks for that. It’s frustrating sometimes but I’ve got to learn to be patient with others, which is something I’m working on. I try not to take it personally, but I feel bad if I don’t try to fefend the Church.

 

[peace2u2]

I’m studying Information Technology. We’re just about finished the first semester, next one starts next year. I do pray for him. He’s not a bad guy, and I consider himself one of my friends. Often I think of these answers like the one you suggested, too late. I’m horrible at thinking on the spot.

Do you recommend I confess that I said that about another religion when I go to confession tomorrow?

I’m really bad at thinking of a reasonable answer on the spot as well. But, I do find that if I pray even silently for the Holy Spirit to come and help me and to put the right words in my mouth, well, what can I say, God has never disappointed me yet, even if we just plant little seeds of faith in people’s hearts - pray, pray and pray some more for people’s hearts to be changed and then let God do all the heavy lifting.

Going to confession is fine and you could just tell the guy that you are sorry if you offended him in anyway and that its just that Jesus has done so many amazing things in your life that you felt compelled to defend him and that perhaps you didn’t think thru really how to respond on the spot like that. This way you are showing that you have a compassionate heart like Jesus.

Try and express to this person how God has changed your heart or tell him your personal conversion story. I find when we speak too “theologically” people get lost and are looking for simple answers to their complex questions.

Simply tell him that the whole point of Jesus coming into the world was to change hearts. If we don’t speak about Him, how could that possibly be done?

Tell Him what the Gospel is in your words. I remember growing up and at a very young age my mother started teaching me about who Jesus was thru stories of personal experience, her own personal encounters with the living God and those of her mother.

She shared throughout my childhood stories of how 7 years before I was born, my brother who was 9, died of this terrible illness and how she would have to sleep next to him to make sure he stayed propped up on his pillows or else if he rolled off the pillows, the cancer that strangled his heart and lungs would choke him and he couldn’t breathe.

She would tell me about the night the doctors openend him up to try and give him some relief of this choking cancer but it was so spread and so advanced there was nothing they could do for him so they stitched him back up and sent him into the children’s ward and told her to go home and they would call when he passed. Outraged that they could even think of leaving a child alone to die by himself in a cold hospital room, my mother insisted on staying which they allowed.

She told me how the children’s ward was filled with young children, sick and weeping for their own mothers. My mother was the only mother there. I can just imagine her going from bed to bed giving comfort to those little children, not just her own.

My mother told me that just before 5 am in the morning, the sun was not up yet, the room over the area where my brother lie, became very bright and all the children suddenly were overcome with joy and their sufferings disappeared and they all sat up in their beds and looked over towards where my brother was and started talking quietly and smiling as if they were witnessing something really beautiful and my mother believes they were witnesses to Jesus and His mother, the Blessed Virgin walking my brother home to Heaven. And then the children, content, went to sleep.

I suppose as a young child, listening to the story of Jesus was easy for me to believe, for I had a brother who had died that I never met, yet I loved him deeply and so to love Jesus was so easy. Especially knowing that He walked my brother home to heaven. I also think my mother received the gift of healing at that moment. She was so brave. Also my brother lovd snow and it did not snow that season yet after the funeral Mass as soon as my brothers casket hit the open air, the first flake fell, and snow it did - 12 inches worth! What a beautiful sign that God gave my mother that her son was being well taken care of!

What God has done for us in Christ Jesus is not a reward for anything we have done out of our faithfulness to Him but we have been saved and liberated from the effects of sin and death for no other reason than God’s deep love and compassion for each and everyone of us. Its that personal! Tell him that Jesus died on a cross for him. When we allow Him in to pour out His grace, we allow Him to transform us. I can’t think of a more beautiful gift that God gives us than His Son, Jesus.

Peace 2U

 

[R_C]

The guy’s agnostic. He says he doesn’t believe in anything because he has no proof. He constantly puts me in difficult situations, and I don’t know how to react. For example the other day he said that abstinence was only 99% effective because Mary got pregnant anyway. I’ve told him to stop today, but I’m not sure he will.

I mean, what can I do when he puts me into difficult situations?

If he said this, I would no longer talk to him at all, because this is extremely disrespectful and blasphemous. I’d spend a prayer for him every so often, period. He’s not putting you in difficult situations, he’s just embarrassing himself.

 

[odile53]

If he’s approaching you with specific questions, evaluate the emotional tone before responding. Is it honest inquiry, or an attempt to draw you into an argument?

If it’s an honest question, respond as best you can, or direct his attention to some sources where he can find the answers out for himself. If, however, he’s trying to make some sort of point, and baiting you with questions, calmly tell him that if he’s interested in honestly knowing something about your faith, there are resources available to answer his question, and point him in the right direction.

 

[oldcatholicguy]

I’m studying Information Technology. We’re just about finished the first semester, next one starts next year. I do pray for him. He’s not a bad guy, and I consider himself one of my friends. Often I think of these answers like the one you suggested, too late. I’m horrible at thinking on the spot.

Do you recommend I confess that I said that about another religion when I go to confession tomorrow?

1. If you wish him to stop, tell him to stop making comments about religion or you will have to report him to the school authorities for violating the schools anti-bullying and or discrimination policy (if it’s a typical university, I’d put money on him having done so).
2. Ask your confessor about your comments. He is in the best position to tell you if you crossed any moral lines.
3. This guy sounds like he is trying to convince himself that he is agnostic, or he is just an censored. Best way to deal with that is to either ignore him or tell him to write down his question or criticism and you’ll look up the answer or response and get back to him. If he responds to this by mocking your lack of complete knowledge of your faith, just respond back with Socrates’s statement about being a wise man (“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”) Only a fool thinks he knows everything and only a fool expects someone else to know everything.

 

[oldcatholicguy]

I didn’t yell at him or anything. We came to an agreement that he would stop criticising my faith. I don’t think there is any need for an apology. If I had’ve mentioned that particular religion being wrong in front of someone who believed in that religion, I would certainly apologise to them.

What I don’t understand is: Why do teenagers and people my age (I’m 18) look at religion as something to make fun of? It seems to me to be that pepple are more critical of Catholicism than other religions… What’s with that? Is it because they are scared of the curiousity they have for it?

People your age generally look at authority figures and institutions as something to be critical of. It comes from the search for their self identity and where they fit in the world. People pick on the Church because it’s an easy target (generally not an organization they belong to or have ties to, it’s safe to pick on, picking on it is accepted by society, etc).

 

[Rich_C]

Do you think it was wrong that I said that? I’m sick of this guy and his comments. I know we should be respectful towards other religions, but to what extent? Are we allowed to say or think that other religions are ‘wrong’?

In this situation, he was being provocative and you lost your temper. Enough said. I’ve been there.

In general, to what extent should we respect other religions?

Traditionally, it seems like the Catholic position has been to respect the people who are members of other religions, rather than according respect to the religion itself. We can absolutely say other religions are false to a greater or lesser extent (some seem entirely false even), but its not always charitable or prudent to put it that way to an adherent’s face. That comes off as rude. St. Paul wrote that being right without charity can be wrong, because the only point in telling someone they’re wrong is to help them come to the Truth, and provoking them works against that.

I don’t think what you said was improper except to the extent that you were uncontrollably angry, but for a better answer I would ask a priest.

 

[Socrates1889]

People your age generally look at authority figures and institutions as something to be critical of. It comes from the search for their self identity and where they fit in the world. People pick on the Church because it’s an easy target (generally not an organization they belong to or have ties to, it’s safe to pick on, picking on it is accepted by society, etc).

Picking on faith is also safe because they can’t be proven wrong.

 

[fpt]

Basically this guy in my class is always critical of religion. Anyway I sorta exploded today as he was talking about God being jealous because he wants no other god to be worshipped. He said that in another religion the god doesn’t mind if other gods are worshipped. I lost it and said ‘well (that particular religion) isn’t right’.

Do you think it was wrong that I said that? I’m sick of this guy and his comments. I know we should be respectful towards other religions, but to what extent? Are we allowed to say or think that other religions are ‘wrong’?

FOR INFORMATION

ronconte.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/is-it-blasphemy-to-insult-mohammed-or-islam/

Is it blasphemy to insult Mohammed or Islam?

From a Catholic Christian point of view, is it the grave sin of blasphemy to insult Mohammed or Islam? Yes, it is.

There are two ways to commit blasphemy: directly or indirectly. Direct blasphemy would be any thought, word, or deed that insults God himself. This grave sin has, as its proximate end (its morally-immediate end) the expression of insult, denigration, contempt, or anything similar toward God himself.

But one can also commit blasphemy indirectly, by insult to persons, places, or things that are close to God in holiness: the Church, the Saints, the Pope, the Bible, the moral law, as well as any sincere belief in God, any holy prayer, and any good works toward those in need. For all that is good and holy is a work of God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 2148) condemns both types of blasphemy:

Direct: “Blasphemy is directly opposed to the second commandment. It consists in uttering against God – inwardly or outwardly – words of hatred, reproach, or defiance; in speaking ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one’s speech; in misusing God’s name. St. James condemns those ‘who blaspheme that honorable name [of Jesus] by which you are called.’ ”

Indirect: “The prohibition of blasphemy extends to language against Christ’s Church, the saints, and sacred things. It is also blasphemous to make use of God’s name to cover up criminal practices, to reduce peoples to servitude, to torture persons or put them to death. The misuse of God’s name to commit a crime can provoke others to repudiate religion.”

Blasphemy is intrinsically evil and always gravely immoral: “Blasphemy…is in itself a grave sin.” (n. 2148)

Is it blasphemy to insult Christianity or the Saints? Yes, it is. For Christianity is the truest form of religion, and Christians worship the one true God, who created heaven and earth. And the Saints are cooperators with God in works of religion, morals, and salvation. To insult Christianity or the Saints is to insult God.

Is it blasphemy to insult Judaism or Moses or Abraham? Yes, it is. For Judaism is true religion, and Jews worship the one true God, who created heaven and earth. And Moses and Abraham are cooperators with God in the work of the holy Jewish faith. To insult Judaism or Moses or Abraham is to insult God.

Is it blasphemy to insult Islam or Mohammed? Yes, it is. For Islam is true religion, and Muslims worship the one true God, who created heaven and earth. And Mohammed is the great Prophet of Islam, the leader of the faith for all sincere prayerful Muslims. To insult Mohammed or Islam is to insult God.

(I am not here referring to violent extremists, who feign the worship of God, but who really are worshiping violence and power. They seek only their own glorification. They do not give glory to God.)

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the three great monotheistic religions of the world. The deliberate choice of any thought, word, or deed insulting to any of those three religions is indirect blasphemy against God.

See my post: Roman Catholic teaching on the Islamic Faith

Addendum:
(added 14 Nov 2012)

It is not a true insult to Islam or Judaism or Protestantism or Catholicism to point out the faults or sins of particular individuals, to disagree on matters of faith and morals, or to criticize aspects of a non-Catholic religion that are in error. Neither is it an insult to criticize a Pope if he errs or sins, or to disagree with a non-infallible teaching of the Magisterium — as long as one has sufficient basis in truth. So it is not blasphemy if a Pope or anyone else points out the errors in other religions, or the sins of particular persons of any religion. (But it is an error to treat every expression by every Pope as if it were infallible.)

What is indirect blasphemy — and this is all too common today — is to treat Jews or Protestants or Muslims as if they were necessarily condemned to Hell, to treat the Jewish, Protestant, or Islamic faiths as if they were not worshiping the one true God, or as if they were not worthy of respect for all that is true and good in their respective religions. Furthermore, it is the grave sin of heresy and schism to reject the teachings and authority of the Second Vatican Council. See my article: Is it heresy to reject the teachings of Vatican II?

 

[Socrates1889]

In this situation, he was being provocative and you lost your temper. Enough said. I’ve been there.

In general, to what extent should we respect other religions?

Traditionally, it seems like the Catholic position has been to respect the people who are members of other religions, rather than according respect to the religion itself. We can absolutely say other religions are false to a greater or lesser extent (some seem entirely false even), but its not always charitable or prudent to put it that way to an adherent’s face. That comes off as rude. St. Paul wrote that being right without charity can be wrong, because the only point in telling someone they’re wrong is to help them come to the Truth, and provoking them works against that.

I don’t think what you said was improper except to the extent that you were uncontrollably angry, but for a better answer I would ask a priest.

Very well put.

 

[mharren]

I’m not sure that talking about these things is at all appropriate for studying Information Technology and his comment about Abstinence suggests perhaps he is attempting to be inflammatory. Maybe you should just refrain from talking about this subject and if the professor is allowing it, go to the professor and assert that religion really has nothing to do with what your studying and you’d prefer if he or she would please control persons in the class.