I respect your points and perspective on this, Richard, but I come out on the other side. I think promotion of interfaith harmony is a very good thing and an extremely important thing. My love for Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Shintos, Muslims, Jews, and my fellow Christians across denominations is central to my spiritual stance. I listen to sacred music from every faith on a regular basis, and this deepens the bond for me. Most American Christians believe that all good people go to Heaven, and most of us are ecumenical these days. The sense of belonging to humanity is of ultimate importance, yes?
I think the POINT is that they can all be reduced to a symbol very easily and are essentially worth the same. I don't have any bumper stickers and find these people insufferable as well, but they're usually nonbelievers (or ex-believers) who are trying to be nice about how hateful and terrible the plague of religion is by shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Can't we all just get along? This is all very silly." It's not helpful, but the reductionism is deliberate. I doubt these people are unaware that they're implying all religions are meaningless. That's the whole point: it's a stupid thing to fight over no matter how extensive the history or intricate the rituals.
Amelia I agree. I believe many bumper sticker people are taking a shot a Christianity and don’t realize they’re reducing every other faith depicted as well. They are unaware of how they’re reducing their Buddhist or Hindu neighbors.
That is the ultimate, 'wise' bumper sticker to slap on a life that's taped to a treadmill.
It's the same thing as, "I'm short on time here but I have something to say, so I'll post a *~meme~* in the meantime. That will do. Yeah, it's not my exact thought or words but I can't afford the time to really think or express what I think to others. I have too many more important things going on in my life, but at least I've tried."
Mike, I'm sorry its taken me so long to respond. I'm not opposed to interfaith harmony. I've spent much of my career working in ecumenical settings both at home and abroad. It is because I respect other faiths (my own beliefs aside), I don't want to see their vibrant intellectual and theological traditions reduced to a single slogan. The two ideas aren't mutually exclusive. To answer your question, yes, it is possible to promote religious harmony and good will. That is the goal. I would also argue that each faith tradition should be respected on it's own terms, not through our western, Christian, or American ideas what ecumenism ought to resemble. The theology (or ideology for our secular friends) represented by the sticker wasn't decided by a committee of theologians. It's a distinctly western approach to reducing religious belief into a global commodity, traded on terms never agreed to by our Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu sisters and brothers.
Oddly, the people who have Coexists and the Fiction bumper stickers vote nearly the same way, advocate for some of the same social and cultural policies for their politics and are mostly White, Liberal, and Educated.
I respect your points and perspective on this, Richard, but I come out on the other side. I think promotion of interfaith harmony is a very good thing and an extremely important thing. My love for Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Shintos, Muslims, Jews, and my fellow Christians across denominations is central to my spiritual stance. I listen to sacred music from every faith on a regular basis, and this deepens the bond for me. Most American Christians believe that all good people go to Heaven, and most of us are ecumenical these days. The sense of belonging to humanity is of ultimate importance, yes?
I think the POINT is that they can all be reduced to a symbol very easily and are essentially worth the same. I don't have any bumper stickers and find these people insufferable as well, but they're usually nonbelievers (or ex-believers) who are trying to be nice about how hateful and terrible the plague of religion is by shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Can't we all just get along? This is all very silly." It's not helpful, but the reductionism is deliberate. I doubt these people are unaware that they're implying all religions are meaningless. That's the whole point: it's a stupid thing to fight over no matter how extensive the history or intricate the rituals.
Amelia I agree. I believe many bumper sticker people are taking a shot a Christianity and don’t realize they’re reducing every other faith depicted as well. They are unaware of how they’re reducing their Buddhist or Hindu neighbors.
That is the ultimate, 'wise' bumper sticker to slap on a life that's taped to a treadmill.
It's the same thing as, "I'm short on time here but I have something to say, so I'll post a *~meme~* in the meantime. That will do. Yeah, it's not my exact thought or words but I can't afford the time to really think or express what I think to others. I have too many more important things going on in my life, but at least I've tried."
We need more than that.
Yes. It’s way of short circuiting serious discussion.
Sadly, yes! A soundbite just in time for rush hour traffic :/
Mike, I'm sorry its taken me so long to respond. I'm not opposed to interfaith harmony. I've spent much of my career working in ecumenical settings both at home and abroad. It is because I respect other faiths (my own beliefs aside), I don't want to see their vibrant intellectual and theological traditions reduced to a single slogan. The two ideas aren't mutually exclusive. To answer your question, yes, it is possible to promote religious harmony and good will. That is the goal. I would also argue that each faith tradition should be respected on it's own terms, not through our western, Christian, or American ideas what ecumenism ought to resemble. The theology (or ideology for our secular friends) represented by the sticker wasn't decided by a committee of theologians. It's a distinctly western approach to reducing religious belief into a global commodity, traded on terms never agreed to by our Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu sisters and brothers.
Oddly, the people who have Coexists and the Fiction bumper stickers vote nearly the same way, advocate for some of the same social and cultural policies for their politics and are mostly White, Liberal, and Educated.