I was reading Sara’s page and she posted about the Dalai Lama again- that he was in her town and speaking and she was wishing she could go to hear him speak. And she wrote about the responses she got from people. And there were people who were concerned that she wanted to go to listen to a man who wasn’t a Christian speak. People were concerned about her admiration for a man who isn’t a Christian.
And I am sorry Sara, I don’t mean to be rude to your readers or friends or the people who harbor this opinion, but I cannot wrap my head around that. Seriously, we shouldn’t have admiration for any person outside of the Christian realm? Dear God.
I guess I thought people were generally more open minded than to think that someone who is of another faith is somehow less than ones of the same faith as myself.
And what surprises me more is that I am currently surprised by this because I went to a tiny Christian college where someone who was *gasp* Catholic or worse yet, Episcopal or Lutheran (omg!omg!omg!!!) was less than a protestant who knew the day they were ‘saved’ and looked down at Catholic/Episcopal/Lutheran liturgy and found it to be silly and ancient and sad. Yup. My friend Patrick and I actually left a class and complained to the chair of our Religion and Humanities Department because a professor not only allowed a class of students to put down the Catholic faith, but contributed to the conversation. It happens. And so I shouldn’t be shocked that people do not see others’ faiths as having value.
But for some reason I am surprised. And saddened.
(Perhaps it is because I am having week 2 of miserable-ness, I’m not sure).
