Acts of Intolerance

By David Bright

Staff Writer

his summer the Southern Baptist Convention got lot of attention when they announced their plan to try to convert Jewish Americans. In some of the media it was reported just as another wacko move by the "radical religious right" and within the context of other statements made (such as a Boycott of Disney for providing benefits to gay employees), it may have seemed like an act of intolerance. A few days later while at a friend's house, two Jewish friends of mine started discussing it. One of them was upset about it because he saw it as an attack on his culture and was worried about the increasing influence of conservative Christians. The other one felt differently. He said "In a time when people don't think much about religious issues, it's good for them at least to get people to talk, even though I disagree with them." I strongly agree with the latter, and I think he understood a fundamental truth that many people who were upset by it missed: part of the reason why those people are Baptists is because they believe Judaism is wrong.

With all the talk about "tolerance", we tend to ignore the fact that there are differences between different religions. Just because Muslims, Jews, and Christians all worship the same God, it doesn't mean that they're all basically the same. By not recognizing that there are differences, and realizing what these differences mean for followers of a certain faith, the whole concept of religious belief is degraded for everyone. As a result of the Southern Baptist Convention, my two Jewish friends and myself as a Christian, ended up having a long discussion about our differences. We left with a greater respect for each other's beliefs and got to think about things that we normally don't think about. If the convention's announcement got other people to think and talk about it I think it actually may have helped improve tolerance.

It is only natural that the Baptists would want to convert more people. They believe that their way is right, not just for them, but for everybody. If a governor of a state passed gun control legislation and you asked him what he thinks other states should do, what response would you expect? You'd expect him to say that he thinks all other states should adopt gun control legislation, and it would sound quite silly if he said "Just because gun control is right for my state doesn't mean it's right for every other state." It's just part of human nature to believe that what's good for you is good for everybody else. How intolerant is that?

Related Links:
Anti Defamation League
Association of Baptists for World Evangelism