You are Wrong!

This was originally written for the Oakland Independent on June 28, 2017.

I think you're wrong. I don't know what everyone who reads this article believes but I am sure that on some issues we disagree and I think you're wrong. If I did not think I was right, I would stop believing it.

Furthermore, we cannot both be right when we believe things that contradict one another. We all know this in the physical world. If you step in front of a moving bus, one of you is going to win, you or the bus! Likewise, in areas of politics and religion, everyone cannot be right because we are often believe contradictory things. For instance, believing that the government should fund a single payer healthcare system cannot be reconciled with the idea that everyone should pay for their own healthcare individually. Likewise, you cannot logically believe both that Jesus was just a good human teacher and also believe that he is the Son of God and one of the three persons in the Trinity.

In polite society we sometimes simply refuse to talk about these issues or gloss over real differences to keep the peace. Often I think we do this because we are not sure about what we believe and why we believe it, so talking about it makes us uncomfortable.

I want to challenge you to be willing think and talk about what you believe about what might be called spiritual questions, such as: Does God exist? Did Jesus rise from the dead? Is any religion true and if so why? The Apostle Peter tells Christians that we need to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have within us (1 Peter 3:15), so we should be thinking about these questions anyway.

When we begin to study and talk about these ideas, we should be prepared to be challenged by those who disagree. If what you believe is true then it should hold up to the challenges, but you will have to study more to discover why it is true. You may find that in some things you were wrong, while in other areas your beliefs are strengthened.

I am currently in long conversations with two religious people who are not traditional Christians and one secular person. I have not lost my faith in Jesus, but I have been challenged to study and understand it more. I am more convinced of the truth of Christianity, but I have learned that I was often wrong about what they believed. In the process my life has been enriched getting to know them, and I have had the opportunity to share what I believe is true.

Christians can tolerate people who believe different things, because no matter what they believe God created them in His image, so they are valuable. We can love them even we think their ideas are wrong. In fact, as Christians we are commanded to go into the world to share about Jesus. In practice this will mean both showing people that we love in concrete physical ways, and showing them we love them by telling them about Jesus, even if they do not believe us.

As ambassadors for Jesus we can be both humble and knowledgeable, loving and clear. In this way, we can seek to tell people what we think is the truth while still respecting them enough to listen to them tell us we are wrong.

Of course, maybe you think I am wrong about my approach. You should write a letter to the editor and tell me why so I can hear about it!