© 2005 – Tim
Arensmeier
As published in the Sonoma
Index Tribune,
February 18, 2005
Some of the members of the
In the aftermath of our recent “bloodless coup”
which we experience every four years in
As a pastor in town I’m fascinated at how the various religions approach interpersonal issues, such as how to get along when we actually disagree. While unabashedly a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ, I’m not ignorant of the similarity of other religious writings to what in Christianity is taught as
The Golden Rule:
Jesus said, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Luke 6:31)
In Buddhism, it is, Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
(Udana-Varga 5,1)
Islam’s version: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. (Sunnah)
Orthodox Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. (Talmud, Shabbat 3id)
Zoroastrianism: That nature alone is good which refrains from doing to another whatsoever is not good for itself. (Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5)
Taoism: Regard your
neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.
(Tai
Confucianism: Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state. (Analects 12:2)
Hinduism: This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you. (Mahabharata 5,1517)
So, are all religions the same? Do all roads lead to
Having been involved in pastoral counseling for decades, my wife and I have observed that there is an inverse relationship between security and hostility. When security is up, hostility is down. When we encounter people who are hostile, it may be a reflection of their insecurity. Responding with equal hostility only exacerbates the fray. Attempting to build up that other person’s security frequently quells their hostility.
Let’s work at being constructive of our friend’s security. Jesus is honored by that, and nobody else is offended.
==========
1st
response & reply:
Dear
Reverent Arensmeier,
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on getting along with others until I came
to: "So,... do all religions lead to God?"
You said: No.
If you had said: "I do not think so", or "I do not believe
so", I could have respected this. But a straight
"No" speaks to me of arrogance and of the arrogance of all the
different churches, temples, mosques, and of their people who claim to have The
(only) Truth, and it better be their version that is recognized as such,
or else!
As for the rest of your article, I have found the insight very useful and hope
that you will continue to bless us by sharing with us your and your wife's
experience.
Sincerely,
(Name withheld as I haven’t obtained his permission to post it . . .)
Dear Mr. (See above . .
.) -
I appreciate your
observations. As the person writing the article, my opinion was what was
being unfolded. Therefore, my response to the rhetorical question was
given.
As to whether or not it was
arrogant, I would simply ask if truth is flexible. For instance, in a 10
base system of math, is 2 plus 2 allowed to be 5? (Have you seen the wonderful play that the
My own position is that truth has
always been . . . narrow, and, yes, arbitrary. In the world of science,
two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen make water. If you vary the
molecules or their makeup, you don't have water.
While I adhere to the biblical
understanding of truth and that Jesus Christ is Truth, unlike some who would
chop off your head if you disagree with them, I'm not suggesting a holy jihad against all
"infidels." I just accept the biblical teaching that if a
person is going to be in a right relationship with the holy God of the
universe, it will be because that person has expressed belief in Jesus Christ.
An obvious question which could be
posited in response to that observation could be, "What about the other
religions?" I respect the daylights out of many of the teachings of
many of the religious systems of the world, and am familiar with many of them,
however, the biblical teaching of Jesus, the Christ, is that "God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever
believes in him will not perish, but [as opposed to perishing] will have
everlasting life."
My understanding is that the hope of
everlasting life is predicated upon repentance for our inherent sinfulness and
belief in Jesus Christ and his substitutionary sacrifice of himself in our
places for our nature of sin, or self-centeredness which appears to be a
universal blight on all of mankind.
I personally really enjoy the sense
and confidence of being forgiven of my sinful nature by God as expressed in
Jesus Christ and all he has done in living for us, dying for us, being raised
from the dead for us, and currently interceding for us before his father's
throne in heaven.
Remember: I'm responding to a
request for some input in how to get along with people with whom there may well
be a significant disagreement at some rather substantial points. So, my
response is pretty much my belief and that belief is based on convictions which
are based on my own study of the bible and the other religious writings of the
world.
Arrogant? It could be
interpreted that way, and I'm truly sorry if someone chooses to so interpret
it, but I'm comfortable with the joy of Christ's salvation and the knowledge
that my acceptance by God is not predicated upon my own good, but on the good
of Another, namely Jesus Christ . . . That's a giant encouragement
to me, and has proven to be a winsome attraction to others to seriously consider
the claims of Jesus Christ on their lives.
I invite you to respond and would
buy you a cup of coffee someday if that would interest you. We could talk
and explore some of the claims of Jesus Christ on our lives together.
Kind regards,
tim arensmeier
2nd Response ‘n Reply:
Dear Mr. (name withheld),
Thank you for your response to my reply to your letter to me. I seriously mean that.
Having said that, I will reply throughout your
note to me -- in the context of your comments to me. Okay?
-----Original
Message-----
From:
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005
To: 'Tim Arensmeier'
Subject: RE: Newspaper article
Dear Reverent,
I
thank you for your lengthy response. I am glad that you find comfort in
your branch of religion. It is the idea, isn't? To find solace, and
to find it in God is the most secure kind, I discovered for myself.
Your comments are appreciated, and I value your
reply. Regarding [my] branch of religion, I would only wish to
convey that I am not religious. I don't like religion. I don't
even like Christianity. Having said that, I wish to quickly add,
however, that I am a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, as that is what He
invited us to do: "Follow me."
My
path to God might have been different from yours but I will not invalidate in
words or deeds other paths that other people take because doing
so would cut me off from the rest of humanity. I am God's as much as
the rest of creation.
While I will celebrate and respect your thinking, I remain committed to the basic concept conveyed in my initial response to your letter to me: Truth is essentially inflexible. The concept that, "It doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you are sincere," doesn't hold a scintilla of intellectually credibility. I may "believe" that the earth is flat. That doesn't alter the facts that it is round. Right?
Having said that, I acknowledge your comment that you are
"God's as much as the rest of creation." In saying that, you
are acknowledging that God created the universe and all that is in it. I
applaud you for that wisdom. Many, today, adhere to the evolutionary
theory that we are the amalgamation of time plus chance plus nothing. Therefore,
we are not accountable to anyone
for the moral decisions which we make. I would submit that God is alive
'n well; that we will, ultimately answer to Him for the moral decisions which
we make.
I
believe that God created diversity and that differences are to be embraced and
rejoiced in, even in religious styles and beliefs. The refusal to do
so have always resulted in great misery, as all who knows a little of history
have to admit.
Agreed! In part . . . God did create us as
diverse individuals, and when we acknowledge that, we may celebrate
the differences amongst us. However, if we acknowledge
that God created us, we must, philosophically and intellectually,
acknowledge that God indeed did "create" us and therefore
has something to say about how we live and conduct our lives.
I
believe that the diversity of style of worships is not an affront to God but a
celebration of his infinitely diverse creation. I like the story of
the elephant and the blind men because it illustrates this belief. They
each described the part of the elephant they touched and were each absolutely
convinced that the others were wrong in their diverse
descriptions.
While the myth as suggested exists, the facts of the allegory are
that there is truth, and various approaches to it do exist. The
allegory has various blind men telling their respective stories of truth as the
"feel" it. The fact is that there is an elephant, and their
"feelings" of what it is are less than accurate. What they "felt,"
while imperfect, was the accurate rendition of their subjective experience. However, the
"truth" which they all missed, as "blind" men, was that the
elephant was a truly amazing creature, created by the God who invites us all to
come into His Presence, by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Thanks, again, for your thinking. I'm still committed to buying you a cup of coffee (wherever you choose) and talking about these matters,
Tim
3rd Response ‘n Reply – All from same person:
February 22, 2005
Dear Reverent,
I believe God has created
and is still creating and recreating all there is. I believe in a living
God, the very
breath we breathe, therefore to me
evolution is only a continuation of God's work. All we have to do is
to look around us to see it.
Dear (Name withheld),
Once again, your reply is
valued and appreciated. While we may
differ in our understanding as to how God created everything, we’re certainly
in agreement as to that He did that.
God is the master artist and his masterpiece
is in constant flux and constantly evolving. All around me I
see a magnificent recycling system. I see no
contradiction between the theory of evolution and creation, two
aspects of the same thing.
Your delightfully poetic
language and expression are an extension of what I see as your reflecting that
you have indeed been “created in the image” of a creator. Of all the
world’s religions, only the bible of the Christian faith addresses why we’re
creative. If you are created in the
image of a creator, you are creative by definition.
And if we agree that
God is eternal, million and billions of years of evolution to
God are but a second. Why cling to old images and ideas (which
at the time made sense) when using our God given mind help us appreciate His
creative genius even more? Today's ideas are only the spring board
for tomorrow's further deepening of our appreciation of God's presence.
The more we understand this, the closer we will be to a peaceful world.
Bless your heart, at this
point in your letter I find a need to express a respectful disagreement, while
honoring your thinking. It would appear
to me that one of your underlying premises is that mankind may with certain
improvements of thinking issue in a sort of ideal world. While I’d love to see such, the biblical
scriptures tell us that we’re really not capable of that, because of a flaw in
mankind. Not a design flaw, but a
response to being creative flaw. Created
in God’s image, included, among other things, the capacity to create those
things which are beautiful, gracious, beneficial to others, and consistent with
God’s very nature. It also, granted
mankind the capacity to say “No,” to God Himself. Or, stated another way, to disobey God. The essence of that is called in
scripture: sin.
When the federal head of
the race, Adam chose to creatively disobey God, it set up a problem endemic to
mankind to this day. We’re all stained
with the effects of his sin, in that we are inherently sinful to this day, and
can only come into a relationship of righteousness with God by being clothed in
the very righteousness of Jesus Himself.
Without that, we’re left in our sin, and if we haven’t chosen to respond
to God’s grace in this life, being the quintessential gentleman, God will not
require us to spend eternity with Him in heaven.
While I enjoy your
reflections and the way your mind works, it seems to me that you’re working
awfully hard to circumvent the biblical thinking of mankind not having the
capacity to generate an ideal world.
When people come to an awareness of God’s love and His means to a
relationship of loving dependence upon Him, then there is hope of real progress in the development of a
civilized society.
In the world today, where
the message of God’s saving love has actually penetrated, circumstances for
people are truly enhanced. Where that
message has not penetrated, mankind remains in a pretty bleak situation. It’s even fascinating to observe the various
religions of the world and see what they’re doing, or not doing for the
ultimate betterment of mankind.
Just some thoughts in
respectful response to your last note.
(Signature
withheld)
Kind regards,
tim
707-938-8100 v.
800-478-6766 f.
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posted: February 20, 2005
Updated: February 23, 2005
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