Tolerance vs Intolerance (Am I the only one getting annoyed about this?)

I am becoming more than slightly annoyed with people lately... Society, I think, would be a much more pleasant thing, if people could at least attempt to do a few simple things such as think before being offended or giving offense (we’d hope that this would also prevent both...but you never can tell), or being willing to admit (to themselves and to others) that they could be wrong. But what's mainly bugging me right now is how people seem to make every effort to ignore the possibilty that different beliefs/ ways of life can be right or even simply accepting that they may not be wrong...Not even what would seem to be the more difficult thing to accept - that it is possible that their beliefs may be wrong or perhaps just not right....

I don't think that there is any belief system that is definitively 'right' or 'wrong'. There are things that I don't agree with or that don't agree with my moral code... But just because beliefs are contradictory doesn't mean, to me, that they are mutually exclusive... Belief is much too intangible, much too subjective to be completely wrong or completely right... Yet so many disputes/ wars etc are started because of them... Or perhaps more accurately because people refuse to accept the possibility that the other's beliefs may not be wrong...

The manner in which religion is presented, in my opinion, cuases many of the problems. Many of the religions today (I would hazard to say most of the prevalent organized ones) teach that their ways are THE WAY. Thus implying that other paths are wrong.... Opening the way to bigotry of other beliefs (Not, I will point out, forcing such a thing...simply ofering an easy path.)

Christianity, one of the most dominant catgories of religion in the world, teaches that there is one god... (Now I would be the first to admit that I know very little about each religion specifically so don't get angry if I get little things wrong)... It also teaches (for the most part) that the first step to heaven is believing in that one God.... This first step is not live your life well... Respect others or anything of the such... it is believe in THIS God.... No other...

It teaches that you can be damned simply for not believing in this particular God... Many people see no problem with this... I on the other hand do... (Setting aside whether I believe in THAT God or not because in this discussion my religious beliefs are irrelevant). I do not think that a God should judge a person on something that depends on what religion you are exposed to... That you are taught.... Should a person who has, perhaps, never heard of THIS ONE God be damned just because they have been brought up knowing and believing different things... Even if they live their life well and following their moral code? Damned just because they are classified automatically as 'pagan' or some other all encompassing/ miscellaneous, you don't agree with me groups.

Now accepting that others may not be wrong even if they hold different beliefs is not asking you to say my beliefs are wrong... You can hold your beliefs to be extremely important and still be able to extend this respect to other's beliefs.... Particularly if you recognize that whatever the 'truth' is it has been interrpretted by people, recorded, by people, interpretted again, translated (in most cases), interpretted once more, passed down by people... And in all these multiple changes is subject to human error... And, not least of all, fallacies that sneak in disguised as an easy way to tell the story so that people 'understand'

Take for example the 'apple' that christianity says Adam and Eve ate... The simple story says essentially 'evil snake convinced Eve to eat the apple that God said not to... Eve convinces Adam to also eat it... Adam and Eve were then kicked out of Eden by god'

This simple story cause no end of confusion for me when I wsa younger. Kicked out of paradise because they ate an apple? I love apples... Sure God told them not to... But why weren't they given more than one chance?

The real story, on the other hand, makes more sense... And also, I might add, allows for a great deal more interrpretation... There is no apple... seriously remove that image from your mind... It is actually the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil... (and I think that the 'apple' inventors need a serious lesson in what SYMBOLISM is because I'm sure that the 'apple' misunderstanding causes a lot of confusion for a lot of people)... When Adam and Eve ate of this fruit they gained the knowledge of good and evil and so Eden (paradise) could not exist for them... So they were forced out of Eden (<-- very sketchy I know but oh well.)

Now not only does the real story have value as a metaphor... It is also open to many interpretations... Classic Catholic views, for example, are that the eating of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil was the 'original sin' and that this sin is carried down upon every one of us today... (Also why women are lower on the heirarchy than men classically in this religion seeing as it says eve was convinced first and then convinced Adam in turn)... Interestingly enough classic belief is that we are each given God's grace and everything we do is predetermined by, essentially, how much Grace God gave us... It is these type of contradictory messages in most religions that makes it so hard for me to understand why people find it so hard to accept that different belief systems don't necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

Another interpretation of this story could be that Eden was a gift from God to Adam and Eve (ie humanity). Because Eden (the world, essentially) contained everything of the world around humanity it also contained both good and evil. Protected from knowledge that some things are bad and some things are good... essentially protected from the need to choose between them... Or the guilt of doing bad... the world was a paradise... because without the knowledge the world contains in it simplicity. When, however, Adam and Eve (humanity) came to find this knowledge, began to see a dichotomy things changed... With the knowledge of good and evil, things became less clear cut... Particularly as Good and Evil are no black and white and are as open to interrpretation as anything else... It introduced uncertainty, fear etc into their lives... And so Eden could no longer be a paradise... If you take the story as a metaphor for the world and humanity's place in it Adam and Eve were not forced out of Eden... It is simply that they were given the ability to see the imperfections in Eden... And so it ceased to be Eden and became simply the Earth

In this interpretation the loss of Eden was not a punishment... There was no real sin committed... and instead it was simply the price of knowledge... The price, you could say, of having a belief system... Because what is that if not a view of good and evil?

Perhaps this story of creation is a caution, or a reminder... That in taking the 'knowledge' (A word that I must wonder hadn't been mistranslated/ interrpreted/ misused) offered by the belief system (essentially the kowledge of good and evil). That you will be sacrificing something else... A caution perhaps of an even broader thing that in the gaining of anything you will also lose something... Then again it might not be... Or it could be that at the same time as being something else.

Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Ogres are like onions. And Stories are like ogres. Stories do not have to mean one thing... in fact I don't think I've read a well-written story that does... I don't think I've read any history that can be taken as having only one meaning either.

And I think that Religion is just another variety of story... Just like green onions are a different variety of onion... (yay mixing metaphors :P)

Now I've been talking mainly about religion... Mainly because its the easiest thing to talk about... But my point extends (or so I hope it does anyway) to all beliefs... Political, moral, economic... Etc...

And in all of them, perhaps even particularly in political, a little more thought, consideration etc would go a long way. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it isn't true... Just because you don't WANT to belive it doesn't mean that someone else isn't justified in doing so. Just because you don't agree with something doesn't mean you should outlaw others from agreeing with it... Or being allowed to allow others to agree with it...

Take Gay marriage for example... It seems to be a major issue... And Ralph Klien certainly doesn't want to let it die because its one of his easy fall backs to cover up the many mistakes he makes. (sorry slipped a bit there in my attempt at a neutral tone... But its true... Whether you like him or not if you look at his patterns of action he almost always follows up a mistake that angers enough people, by bringing up a volatile issue like this to draw attention away from the mistake).... The debate centres around morals... Some people thing its morally wrong... Others don't agree... But it comes down, once again to belief... And it is my opinion that whether you believe that homosexuality is 'right' or 'wrong' there should be the willingness to accept that other people have the right to believe the opposite... The reason I was perfectly happy and perhaps even impressed with the supreme court's ruling was that it did just that... It allowed those who believe that Gay marriage was acceptable to act in that way, it allows those who do not believe in it to decide not to have a part in it... Essentially it says let people take their own moral road... And don't let anyone force them to invalidate that moral code... (At least that's what it says to me)


OK its late... I have to go to sleep and stop this meaningless babble.... Goodnight all.