A conversation struck up amongst some friends of mine this week about Mitt Romney (trust me, I’m not going political on you). We were discussing the likelihood of him winning the president election, when I mentioned that I didn’t think he would have mass appeal since our society, in general, views Mormons, Romney’s faith, pretty negatively.
One of my other friends piped in saying, “Yeah, they believe in some crazy stuff. Like everyone has a star dedicated to them in the sky.” To which of course, we all chuckled—oh, how preposterous.
When I left the conversation, somehow I could not get that phrase “they believe in some crazy stuff” out of my head.
Was my faith really less outlandish than believing in a personalized star in the sky? (also, I can’t validated the whole Mormons believing in the star bit—I’m just trying to make a point).
I mean I believe in a man, born of a virgin mother, who performed countless miracles and in fact arose from the dead. You could rationally assert that any one of those things (virgin birth, miracles, rising from the dead) are all equally as ridiculous to a non-believer as a dedicated star would be.
So why was I being so self-righteous about my faith? Why am I normal but other people who believe in equally crazy things are absurd?
Well, the truth is that I have no room to judge someone else’s faith and beliefs. Jesus makes this very clear during his Sermon on the Mount, where he discusses the Mote and the Beam parable.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)
My hypocrisy in unabashedly dismissing another person’s sacred faith is clearly not a Christian principle.
We are free to choose whatever belief system we like and that choice is certainly not mine to criticize. What we should be focusing on is reconciling our differences and working together toward a better world—no matter if you believe in a dead man risen from the grave, a talking tree, or a shining star.
Your faith is just as sacred and just as beautiful as mine.
So the next time you hear someone making a crack about another person’s “crazy” religious beliefs think about just how crazy yours are. You may have a lot more in common that you think.
