Suppressing the Laughter: Being Respectful But Honest
I have been teaching a class on sects at a local church. Over the past two weeks I have taught on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. It has been a fun class, one that I advertise as “Sects Education.”
It is easy, when teaching such a class, to laugh at some of their beliefs. I was challenged on this, and rightfully so. We want people to respect our beliefs and so we should respect other people’s beliefs. I fully agree with this.
Having said that, there are beliefs that really sound silly. This is true for Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and yes even for some Christians.
The challenge is, how do you react when a religious belief or practice sounds really bizarre? I will confess my bias and will admit that it is difficult for me to report on some sectarian practices in a completely sober manner.
This is a good place to bring in the Golden Rule. How would I want someone to speak of me and my beliefs? To be honest, I would be fine with someone thinking that my beliefs were strange as long as they did not accuse me of being stupid for believing them. When it comes to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, I do see some of their beliefs as strange. But I do not think that they are stupid or bad people for believing them.
I am far from perfect when it comes to the balance of being honest about some theological positions and yet responding with gentlness and respect, at least when I am speaking to a Christian audience. The laughter comes too easily. I will strive to be more respectful but at the same time, I cannot be dishonest about my opinion.
My next session will be dealing with Scientology. I already know that it will be a struggle to be respectful.
We recently invited Jehovah’s witnesses into our home, and we had a lovely respectful chat about our beliefs and theirs, and I think it was helpful.
One of the things I impressed on our kids (age 13 and 15) was that this couple in our home are made in the image of God, the same as we are, they just believe some ‘weird’ things. So they are not ‘weird people’ they are people, like us, who believe ‘weird’ things. And I hopefully impressed upon our kids that we must treat them with respect, even if we disagree with what they do or believe.
It is easier to be respectful when you have actually talked to someone, rather than it just being abstract. It is also easier while you are in their presence. The tricky part is remaining respectful when talking in a ‘Christian’ context!
Whole article here:
http://simonmcc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/jehovahs-witnesses-visit-our-home.html