Can a Person Be Tolerant of Other Faiths, Yet True To His Own?

I first pondered this question in my Christian Ethics class back in college. My Catholic professor said that his best friend lived a more Christian life than he himself did.

His best friend’s name? Ahmed.

Professor Ahmed-friend blithely informed my impressionable class that he was sure that Ahmed was going to heaven, that God couldn’t be so heartless as to relegate such a paragon to eternal flames.

He went so far as to say (and may God forgive him for saying it) that he wouldn’t want to worship a God that disregarded such a good heart for the mere sake of staying true to His own teachings.

I pondered it for a while, and then came to the conclusion that maybe God had some secret stratagem for making His judgements, come J-day, that I myself didn’t know about… and that I should just keep on keepin’ on.

If I wanted to hang out with Jesus for eternity, anyway.

Yes, it was a cop-out at the time.

But then, a few semesters later, I met an Indian girl that I got to be close friends with. I’ll call her Choka, because she loved chocolate.

Anyway, one day Choka and I were taxiing around town, looking for sparkly shirts to wear to the International Student Association’s yearly shindig. For some reason, we got around to discussing religion, and she told me that she believed in Jesus, since she’d gone to a Catholic school.

I was more than pleased to hear this, until she informed me that she also believed in about 30,000 other gods (and, as everyone knows, believing in Jesus as the Son of God has to accompany the whole “Thou shalt have no other God but me,” bit).

She must have picked up on my feelings, because she asked, in a silent tone that didn’t betray her feelings, if I thought she was going to hell for the 30,000 gods thing. (This was back in my more “You must be born again!!!” days, emphasis on the exclamation points.)

I had pretty much walked into that one, so I chose my words carefully.

“Well.. as you know, Choka, I was born into this faith. As you also know, I am stubborn enough to never in my life accept something that was handed to me without questioning it. Hence, I am a Christian because I have examined the facts–as well as the facts behind other faiths–and chosen this one. Meaning, I choose to put my trust in the Person behind the Bible, Jesus Christ, as well as His teachings therein. You know I believe that the only way to get to heaven, per the Bible, is to believe that Jesus Christ is my saviour, that He died to save me from my sins, that He rose on the third day, and that He is the Son of God. You know that I believe that a faith that inspires works is important, that the works won’t get you anywhere. Good intentions won’t get you anywhere. And you know that the Bible calls us to love.”

She paused, still silent. Then she said, in a tone that was softly deceptive, “Then you believe I’m going to hell.”

I couldn’t answer that because, even though her beliefs didn’t match what my perception of salvation was, I thought that maybe–as before–there was something about Judgement Day that God was keeping from me.

So I said the only thing I could say–”Choka, I am not God, and I can’t judge whether any human is going to heaven.”

I know what she had wanted me to say. She was hoping I’d toss out a fiery “Yes, I think you’re going to hell!”
I may even have said that later on in the day, I can’t remember. But. This leads me back to the question that I began with, the one that asked whether a person could tolerate other faiths whilst being true to his own.

See, as far as I know, the beliefs of the Big Three (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) are mutually exclusive.

Meaning, a Christian has to believe that Jesus is the ONLY way to Heaven; if not, he’s just a non-believing believer, or vice versa.

A Muslim MUST state that there is no god but Allah, and that Mohammed is the messenger of god, or else he’s not a Muslim.

And many of the Jewish faith state that a Jew who believes in Jesus as the Messiah is not a Jew. (Much to the chagrin of the many Messianic Jews out there.)

So. If I believe one thing for my own life, can I tolerate people of other faiths?

Sure I can. I can love them and hang out with them and meet up with them to go power-walking in the mall at 6 a.m.

BUT. At the end of the day, if I am true to my Abrahamic and mutually-exclusive faith, I CAN NOT modify my beliefs to believe that “all good people are going to heaven,” or “she was born into a religion that I disagree with, and that my faith disagrees with, but she’s definitely getting into heaven.”

Which all means that:

1- I can’t just believe what I want and expect it to be true,

2- I can’t think that people of other faiths ARE (unequivocally) going to heaven if I belong to one of The Big Three, and

3- maybe God does have some form of judgement that He hasn’t seen fit to share with me.

So. While I might never preach (unbidden) at my friends for 18 hours, secretly hoping they’ll convert, I can clarify my faith for them when they ask me about Jesus over cinnamon rolls and that 6 a.m. power walk…

The African-American Myth

(This article originally appeared in the American Daily .)

I was recently told that I didn’t qualify for entrance into a photo contest that was only for “Americans of African descent.” The “judgement” was made after looking me up and down.

I am, in fact, an African by both blood and nationality. It’s true. I’m a Copt. I’m an Egyptian. I spent (almost) as much time in Africa, as a child, as I did here in the States.

Ok, so I’m as pale as an Irishman and my nose is more Greek than anything. Does that make me less of an “African American?”

Having said that, I’d like to challenge the current definition–nay, usage–of the term “African American,” on the following premises:

1: You’re making a judgement on WHERE they’re from based on their appearance.
I know, judging a book by its cover isn’t really a sin, but that doesn’t make it any more correct. IF you don’t know what I’m talking about, rank the level of ‘mean and nasty racism’ in the following scenarios, where 10 is the worst:

A- You see someone from afar, and describe him as “African American.” He is, in fact, a very dark-skinned man from Bombay.

B- You go up to a Chinese-looking beauty with the only word of Mandarin that you know, and she glares daggers before informing you that her great grandmother came over, but neither granny nor her offspring have ever been outside of America.

C- You inform a South African and a Libyan–whose forefathers have been there for 6 generations–that they aren’t African because they don’t look it.

Hmm, the last one sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it. As in “photo contest unfairness” familiar, perhaps?

But anyway. Moving on to the next reason..

2: “African American” is just another big, fat case of Americentrism.
Why? Well, just think about it. Have you NEVER met a British, German, or French person with dark skin?
I have.
They dislike being mistaken for American as much as Copts dislike being mistaken for Arabs. (aka “lots.”)
Speaking of Copts (and Libyans, Algerians, and other North Africans), in regards to using the phrase “of African descent” to describe a “black” person… while it’s (marginally) better than “African American,” it’s actually still a slap in our (relatively light-skinned) faces. Don’t we count?

This brings us the next reason..

3: The term creates, establishes, and maintains a sentiment of “You’re not African!” towards light-skinned people from Africa (who “look White”). Case in point:

One day, I went to Taco Bell after an especially taxing lecture. The guy at the checkout was tall, dark, and handsome. “Dark” meaning “black.”

I recognised the look in his eye as he gave me a secret smile, then proceeded to inform me that “You don’t like black people, do you.”

What?

“Excuse me, sir?”

“You don’t like black people!” It was said with a smile, but I heard the question in his voice.

“I don’t know what you mean, but I love everyone. Part of being a Christian and all that,” I said, trying to veer away from the racist overtones of the convo.

“Are you married?” he began again, trying a (very) different tack. I, however, would not be deterred!

“Let’s go back to the “black people” thing. What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t I like black people?”

He sighed heavily, then clarified his ridiculous statement: “You don’t date black people. You know, AFRICANS.”

O ho, young varlet! If only you realised your mistake! Thou hast messed with the wrong “white-looking” lass!

“That’s interesting that you should say that, young man, for I’ll have you know that I actually am from Africa. I spent my childhood IN AFRICA. Yes. I am an Egyptian. More specifically, I am a Copt, which means that my ancestors were in Africa before the wheel was invented!”

That shut him up for a moment, and then he apologised.

“I’m sorry, girl, I just thought that you were White, you know. I had no idea you were a sister!”

Be that as it may, this trend of making non-dark-skinned Egyptians (and other Arabic-speaking North Africans) into “Whites” is rather disheartening. (Especially since I just spent a few months making a documentary about the 1950s murder of a black youngster named Emmett Till!)

The last reason almost isn’t worth mentioning, especially in a land such as America, where many of the X-Americans out there have never visited their X, meaning the place their parents (or grandparents) have escaped from. I mean, relocated from.

But I’ll go ahead and share it, anyway.

4: How many “African Americans”–or anyone within three generations, even–have actually been to Africa in their lives?
This has nothing to do with making them less African, by the way; it’s just to open people’s eyes to the fact that some people actually HAVE come from Africa today, and DO carry passports stamped in Africa–and are being denied from the pride and glory of a title that represents the beloved continent we were born upon.

So what’s the answer, then?

Some people don’t like calling others “black,” as though it were a bad thing. (Yes, I’ve actually met people who whispered when describing someone as a “black fellow,”

And “dark-skinned” could, as previously mentioned, refer to someone from Africa, India–ok, well half of Asia, actually–or other places. “Dark” is a relative term, after all.

You know, my ire at being denied status as an “African American” isn’t so much about being thrown in with a race that I don’t belong to (as my geno- and pheno-type will prove); rather, it’s to do with the fact that I am bursting with pride over being part of the noble race of people who have come from the ancient kings of Egypt!

Not Another New Year’s Resolution!

No, you won’t find any resolutions on this page. Why? Well, because:

1: I never make resolutions at the beginning of a year,

2- We should strive, year-round, to improve ourselves,
and perhaps most importantly,

3.) This ain’t no online journal!

On a lighter note, I’d like to wish all my dear little AntiSocialites a warm and wonderful New Year. May each of you remember that God is with you always; you just have to look up, feel His presence, and know that His help is there for the asking.

So many people forget that! Or they pray to the tune of “O, God, be with such-and-such..” when the truth is that He never left their side! They just may have never tapped into His healing presence. (Sorry, I know that the word ‘tapped into’ seems a bit New Age, but you know what I mean..)

At any rate, take care and watch out for some probing and controversial posts in the New Year!

God’s blessings to you and yours,
sally