Pet Peeve #4326

[Josh]

I just got back from a presentation on religion, given by a man who is an extreme relativist, embracing the idea that all religions are true and no religion is wrong.

...except, of course, Christianity, which he seemed to have major issues with. I can certainly respect his opinion, but I would just like to say that I really, really hate it when people try to refute Christianity by bringing up:
1. The Crusades
2. The Spanish Inquisition
3. The witch trials

This is not an especially good way to argue the case against Christianity, and, ironically, people who use this kind of rhetoric generally end up looking like bigots even as they are preaching their messages of tolerance and inclusiveness.

And that's really all I have to say about that.

[DvChWi]

I can certainly respect his opinion, but I would just like to say that I really, really hate it when people try to refute Christianity by bringing up:
1. The Crusades
2. The Spanish Inquisition
3. The witch trials

This is not an especially good way to argue the case against Christianity, and, ironically, people who use this kind of rhetoric generally end up looking like bigots even as they are preaching their messages of tolerance and inclusiveness.

 

I hate this, too, because those three things always make me think of Monty Python instead of the subject at hand. =D  

[danny316]

Definitely not a good way of refuting it - that'd be like holding up Osama as the only reason against Islam. You can't let the crazy things that don't line up with the sacred texts become what you judge the belief system on, you have to judge the beliefs based on the beliefs.

Although, if we were talking about discrediting crazy things within the church, he'd have a debate....

Random question: Do we know he's a relativist, or was it just for the sake of showing each one fairly? It's a little hard to say "so and so believes that...." before every sentence when discussing other faiths.  

[bethany]

I hate this, too, because those three things always make me think of Monty Python instead of the subject at hand. =D

Man, you totally scooped me. As soon as I read Josh's post, I was going to reply, "Well, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition."  But you beat me.


Curses, foiled again!  =D  

[Josh]

Random question: Do we know he's a relativist, or was it just for the sake of showing each one fairly? It's a little hard to say "so and so believes that...." before every sentence when discussing other faiths.

I think it was pretty obvious when he made statements like "all religions are true" and "the only bad religion is the one that says that all other religions are wrong."

[oneafroboy]

Don't a lot of religions say all other religions are wrong?

The problem, Josh, is that unfortunately, he probably didn't come off as that much of a bigot to many people. I know a good many people who would probably whole-heartedly agree with his sentiments.  

[murlough23]

Relativism isn't logically consistent unless you believe that all religions are only partially true. You can't believe they're all true, because at least one of them states that it is the only correct religion. I suppose this could be seen as a matter of interpretation (I've heard some people argue that Jesus is a way, not the way, but there are other reasons why that one doesn't really hold water), but the bottom line is that you can't be a relativist about religion without leaving out at least a few of them.

I do believe that every religion has some true beliefs behind it. I don't think anyone is 100% wrong about God. I think religions other than Judaism and Christianity have come about as a result of people observing some true things about God and then going off and creating a system that is comfortable to them based on some true observations and some untrue assumptions. And even Christians create beleif systems in this fashion most of the time.