there is something i never understood about people of (any) faith. sometimes, you hear someone saying something along the lines of "all [insert group here] are going to hell, only my religion is the right way" to which someone else will inevitably respond with "how can you say that? what kind of religion is so damning of others and is so close-minded? how medieval". actually, i don't think anybody uses the word "medieval" in everyday conversation but you get the idea.
but in reality, what is really so wrong with that idea? it's one thing to make such a statement in a haughty, self-righteous, holier-than-thou kind of attitude but isn't that what faith is? faith is belief in something and if what you believe in is the truth, then everything else is false, correct? so why can't a statement like that be made without fearing accusations of hate, bigotry, self-righteousness, etc.?
for example, let's say we have a glass of water on the table. there are 3 people around the table, 1 believes that the glass is full of vodka, the 2nd believes it's full of sprite, while the 3rd believes it contains water. obviously, the 3rd is right. but by him being right, that makes the other 2 wrong. it's not so much that he's any better than the other 2, it's just that 1 conclusion automatically cancels out the other 2. in the same way, if i believe in a faith that's central tenet is belief in bananas and other religions hold bananas to mean nothing (which they do. they're delicious but they don't mean anything. sorry.), then clearly, i am not wrong by stating
according to my beliefs, that you are wrong and i am right.
and i would expect the same from the accusotary party as well. if my attacker said "well i believe that there's room for other groups, that i don't have a copyright on the idea of a deity, that i'm not brimming with so much self-piety that i can't acknowledge that other people may have a point", then he doesn't really have true faith. he doesn't 100% without a doubt believe his faith is real unless something in his beliefs states that his religion is not the only correct one. however, if it does (which it should, what religion doesn't preach some kind of exclusivity? that's the point of religion, seeking truth, and there is only one truth) then if you have true faith, you must believe your own religion to be right.
i'm not saying that religious groups all over the world should be like "yea see you guys all suck and are going to hell so just suck it up and get ready for eternal damnation or join the winning team." that's not only ridiculous and rude but probably not the most effective method of proselytizing. but given that, i don't understand these "false" partnerships between religions that try to leave room for both in the eternal landscape. that simply is not possible and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either a fool, or one of those existential, post-modernist, hey look at me i took 1 philosophy class in college and now i know there is no such thing as truth! kind of morons. either way, their opinion is equal in value to soiled toilet paper so who cares.
