At this point, where we have come to expect our leaders to go from one religious shrine to another, there might not be anything worth worrying about. The old boundaries between religious belief and practice are quickly melting away. Even if we downplay Islamic terrorism, we can't ignore the results. Islam has managed to force the world into setting a growing list of distinctions aside and trying to embrace one global religious belief. Which would suit most modern liberals just fine.
Exactly how other religions see it, I don't know. My guess is they are split between traditionalists who see something unique in their own religious tradition that is simply incompatible with other faiths, and those who see refusing to completely embrace other faiths as the only incompatible belief. After a century of genocide and global war, Cold War and borderline nuclear annihilation, followed by a wave of tens of thousands killed in the name of religious extremism, we shouldn't be surprised that there would be some form of reaction on the part of the major world religions. Especially since radically anti-religious advocates have seized on the extremism to condemn all religious beliefs. Given the disproportionate level of influence such secular voices have in our modern academia and media, religious leaders had to act.
So we'll see. I try not to jump to conclusions. But based on what I've seen, I doubt I'll be surprised by what happens, one way or another.
The Maya represent what may be one of the toughest jobs of inculturating the faith the Church has ever faced. I understand that when the Spanish first explained the faith to the locals, that the idea of blood sacrifice made so much sense to them that they imitated Christ by crucifying their own children. So if God gave his only son then who were they not to do the same. Sounds like the going has been slow.
ReplyDeleteYeah, slow going indeed. That's one of the hardest parts of bringing the Gospel to people who see certain elements of the Faith, but only through the prism of their own beliefs. At some point, we have to say 'No, that's wrong!'
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