Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!usc!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: oracle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Brian T. Coughlin) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Fundamentalism and Catholicism Message-ID: Date: 25 Sep 90 07:57:38 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH Lines: 62 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu [I a discussion about whether it is appropriate to teach one's religion to children, I commented >I find it frightening that a parent might *not* want to pass on their >ultimate values to their children. I believe Christianity is true, and >that we have an obligation to pass on everything of truth that we can >to our children... --clh] Bravo!! Rarely have I heard it better said! (I really enjoyed the rest of your article, too, Eric!) I, personally, have a somewhat unorthodox view of evangelism, as far as the Catholic Church is concerned... I find the idea of ACTIVELY trying to displace someone else's existing faith (provided that that existing faith is benevolent) as morally repugnant. I truly believe that all benevolent faiths are equal in spiritual value, and that these faiths should all be given free opportunity to exist and grow (given that the growth is not at the expence of the other faiths). I would consider a Catholic trying to convert a contented buddhist as shameful, and vice versa (though I gather that Buddhists don't operate that way). As far as evangelism is concerned, I'm quite in love with the idea of evangelism by example. Should I show myself to be not only a Catholic, but a good, decent, caring person, I will have some effect on those people I encounter. If that effect is conversion, so be it. If the effect is that the person starts taking his/her own faith more to heart, more power to them! I refuse to believe that my heavenly Father wants me to tear away the beloved faiths of others; in reflection on that, I remember (not verbatim) a passage from C.S. Lewis's "The Last Battle" of the Chronicles of Narnia. A certain Telmarine (foes of Narnia who worship Tash, a horrific demon who opposes Aslan (i.e. Jesus)) talks with Aslan, telling him of his lifelong service to Tash, and how he kept himself virtuous and good in the name of Tash. Aslan replies that every good act and every promise kept in whatever name is actually done in Aslan's name, and that every evil act, even though it be done in the name of Aslan, is actually done in the name of Tash. This shows my own belief on the subject; if anyone of any religion dedicates his/her life to goodness and virtue, I firmly believe that he/she will be rewarded in the life to come. God does not judge by words or by lip service, but by the actions and intentions of each person. But... I still assert that children should grow with a faith of their own. Sociologists and Theists agree on the point that it is healthier to grow to maturity WITH a faith tha WITHOUT one... even should the child in question leave that faith later in life; at least the child will know how to handle any new faith that he'she decides to embrace later. Above that, I see no reason why that beginning faith shouldn't be the faith of the parents. The fact that other faiths are just as valid does not diminish the validity of the parental faith. And, as a child, one would most easily learn a faith that has close applications to one's family life. (Whew!) I'm a dangerous one to go off on a tangent...! Sorry for the length and the "blabbering!" -- Take care! Sincerely, Brian Coughlin oracle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu