A New Concept

I went to an interfaith service today in memory of 9/11, where people of various faiths spoke about working together and respecting each other's beliefs in light of recent hate-mongering events that have taken place. The last speaker's words really got me thinking.

The gentleman, who is 19 and is Muslim, said he was reading a book by Mahatma Gandhi that spoke about tolerance. "Tolerance" is not enough, the speaker said, because it still implies an air of superiority. "We'll tolerate your religion" is the same as saying those other faiths are inferior. He instead mentioned a concept called ahimsa, which means to do no harm -- not even with your thoughts.

In essence, we need to transcend tolerance to reach a level of acceptance where we accord to other religions the same amount of respect that we give to our own.

That's a good idea, I thought. But wait: those of us who believe a certain religion do so because we think what we believe is thee right way. For instance, Christianity speaks of a straight and narrow path that few will find.

So with this in mind, is it really possible to give other religions the same level of respect that you give your own? I understand we can be intelligent enough to hear other ideas and whatnot, but if you believe your faith is the true faith, then how can you equally respect another religion?