Religious pluralism, the opposition to one single belief system, is becoming a dangerous, up-and-coming religion of the United States. In my opinion, pluralism expresses to ourselves and the rest of the world we simply don't have the guts to commit to one single set of beliefs as a nation. We fein tolerance to all beliefs (or lack thereof) in pursuit of a trend named "coexistence". Wishy-washy as ever, our directionless country seems to stand for less each day, clinching on to our crumbling resources as we fall.
Dare I suggest, much to the dismay of the thousands of Americans who plastered the "coexist" sticker on their bumpers, that coexistence isn't what we should be striving for anyway. Say we reach this coexistence, what will we have gained? Certainly not strength in numbers, definitely not care for each other, no momentum in getting our country back...no, coexistence is absent of love. Its empty, just tolerating the fact that there are other humans around you and they can do what they want with their lives, and you with yours.
But what if we strived for a unity, a working-togetherness, strength within our own nation, not merely a feeble coexistence. Granted, here lies a problem: "a house divided within itself cannot stand" (Mark 3:25), but why the need to divide? This nation used to stand together on the foundation of God, what happened? The battle over the of removal of the phrase "one nation, under God" from the pledge of allegiance speaks loudly, and they minus well remove "indivisible" while they're at it, then. Pluralism is being portrayed as progressive, but we're only taking steps back, steps towards being divisible, weak, aimless.
Irregardless, hiding behind a disposition of tolerance is hugely destructive. "Wounds from a sincere friend are better than sweet kisses of the enemy" Proverbs 27:6. A very cool verse, showcasing that we're not doing our fellow brothers and sisters any good by merely being "tolerant" or "coexisting" with them, no, we're causing more damage than good in this regard. A huge key to this verse is the word: sincere; in that, if your motives for restoring somebody to a moral place are sincere, you're covered. Even if the other person reacts irrationally or angrily, at least you know (and God knows) you tried to restore them with nobility.
Don't read me for what I'm not saying. This is not a pull for rejecting or closing out people of other belief systems. I believe in a whole and true love towards every single God-created being, no matter what ethnicity or background or faith or past. But if you had access to a very important, soul-saving piece of information and you kept it to yourself throughout all the people you encountered, quietly tolerating their beliefs, is that helping or loving them in any way? Of course not, it's just easier to be tolerant, it's selfish, harmful, even murderous. I am fully aware that religious talks are sensitive areas, but "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17. At the risk of holding a naive viewpoint, let us sharpen each other up out of love, and we'll become strong, we'll far surpass coexistence, and become true brothers and sisters.
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