Perhaps you’ve heard it said that
Politics and Religion should not be discussed. I personally have decided to stop listening to
political talk shows. Both sides, conservative and liberal, have a really hard
time remaining civil. In nearly every political discussion in the media there
is one or more of the following: name calling, accusing the other side of heinous
motives, yelling, interrupting each other, attempting to monopolize the conversation,
etc. Politicians themselves are guilty of such things. During election campaigns
we call it “mudslinging”. This often includes subtle and not so subtle twisting
of the truth.
Religious discussions are often
just as ugly. Christian people often get very angry with each other over pretty
minor details. There are literally hundreds of Christian denominations in the
United States. These divisions are created and maintained because we can’t
worship with people we believe are wrong. Some denominations refuse to let
pastors ordained in other denominations to speak in their churches. Some will
not observe the Sacred Rite of Communion with those who do not agree with them
in nearly every detail. It is not uncommon to hear people verbally look down
their nose at fellow Christians with whom they disagree. We Christians are a
pretty dogmatic bunch and we’re fond of declaring “we can’t both be right”. We
fail to recognize that we could indeed both be wrong.
In all
our religious and political huffing and puffing I fear we fail to change anyone’s
mind. As Ben Franklin famously said “A spoonful of honey will catch more flies
than a gallon of vinegar.” We would do
well to apply the wisdom of this statement in all our attempts to convince. And
don’t forget the words of King Solomon, “A soft answer turns away wrath.”
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