Religion Paper

A Letter to Dr. Stephen Prothero on His “Multiple Mountain Metaphor”

Dear Dr. Stephen Prothero:

This letter is meant to make you understand that your Multiple Mountain Metaphor for studying religious traditions is not a perfect solution to understanding the furiously religious world that we live in (Prothero, 2011). In this regard, I want to appreciate your contention that the worlds religious differ fundamentally. I recognize and indeed respect your argument that Christians do not go to Mecca and neither do Muslims profess their faith in trinity. I want to comment your view that true pluralism insists not on the imaging of Islam o Christianity nor does it image Christianity in the form of Islam. Additionally, I concur with you that pluralism should recognize the great diversity across and inside the great religious differences. Comment by Nick Mayrand: Excellent first paragraph.

I want to say that I have articulately considered your argument that God is not one and that the world’s religions as many as they are, differ on matters that you claim that they are as central as the mathematics of divinity. Furthermore, you assert that Buddhists affirm to no god and that many Hindus affirm to many gods. Moreover, I am considerate of your view that the nature of the divine person/object varies greatly from religion to another. I would like to register my agreement with you that no child of whatever age would mistake the Hinduism kali for the Christianity Christ (Makransky, 2011). Your views and opinions are rational and considered, but I want to disagree on you on a variety of issues. Comment by Nick Mayrand: Excellent way to affirm his argument and transition to your own! The first 2 paragraph here were excellent.

The first issue of disagreement is the fact that there exists no one God. I would like to first register my disappointment with you from the fact that you did not consider the obvious fact that all faiths have a belief in one Supreme Being. As a result, you have failed to appreciate the beliefs that the various religions are attributed to. Whereas Christians believe in a supreme god in the name of God and Jesus Christ, Muslims have great trust in Mohammed and Allah who are so important to them. As a result, your contention that there is no one god is unfounded and unsubstantiated. Additionally, there are others who believe in a supreme object which is very important to them and which represents their molder and creator. In that case, your assertion that there exists no one god is a contention that I passionately differ with you. Comment by Nick Mayrand: You might want to adjust this claim to “many faiths have a belief in one supreme being” since not ALL do… for example, Hinduism does not really have this belief.

Secondly, I would like to address you on how the furiously religious world that we all live in can be understood. But before then I would be glad to examine with a heavy heart your religious multiple mountain metaphor which you so clamorously developed. This metaphor is not only false but also misleading. Although I see sense in its contents, it cannot be said to solve the current religiously enmity that exists in the world. The religious competition is evident and profound in the current state of affairs. The rise of ISIS as well as other sects that are of bad will such as Al Shabaab are the best example of religious extremism that has nothing to do with the belief in god or any other supreme being for that matter. Comment by Nick Mayrand: So we want to be able to say this… it makes us very uncomfortable that these groups claim that they are religious groups… but it’s hard to say that it has nothing to do with belief in God when the people involved in these extremist groups claim that they believe in God! We can certainly argue that they wouldn’t do what they do if they truly believed in the God they claim to believe in, but to make that argument we have to acknowledge that this all does have something to do with belief in God. In other words, we cannot dismiss entirely their claims to be acting in the name of God… we have to be willing to say why they’re not really doing that. So for this section of your paper, try to revise this a little bit… I don’t think you need to change too much, but giving this a little more thought will make your paper stronger.

You will agree with me Dr. that the Christian and Muslim religions are the largest and second largest religious denomination in the world. As such, their coexistence directly infers the coexistence of the whole world. In this regard, nobody can be heard to say that these two religious are different in their norms and practices. They believe in one supreme God. Whereas Muslims believe in the existence of a messenger in the name of Mohammed, the Christians believe in the existence of a messenger in the person of Jesus Christ. As a result, these two largest and most popular religions have a common ground; the belief in God. Comment by Nick Mayrand: Qualify this with “totally different” instead of “different”… as you say it now, it sounds as though you’re saying they’re basically the exact same… but they definitely have some distinctive practices and norms! The claim of Common Word is that they agree on some of their central norms/practices though.

The other point that I would like to bring your attention to is the place of the religions in the maintenance of peace and coexistence in the society. In this regard, the two most popular and largest religions have for a long time coexistent without any hiccups on any part of each other. As such, they respected the beliefs of each other and believed in unity even when there was diversity. As a result, the world was at peace. But when these two start fighting against each other due to religious extremism, the world starts to bleed. Their unity is therefore the unity of the whole world irrespective of whether one believes in god or in another Supreme Being or object. The fact that Christians do not go to Mecca dos not necessarily mean that they hate or dislike Mecca. Their beliefs may be different on the significance of Mecca but their resolve in one god cannot be twisted. The fact that Muslims do not believe in the existence of pope as the leader of the Catholic Church does not in any way depict any enmity towards the Christians (McInerney, 2013). However, the lack of control of the religious sects has led to ill motivated people using their beliefs to poison the minds of young men and women. The diversity of religions cannot be said to be responsible for the extremisms but the society at large.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge your contribution to this debate on whether there exists a common god. Your views and opinions are greatly appreciated. But with all due respect Dr, the furiously religious world that exists today cannot be explained by your multiple mountain metaphor. They can only be explained by the existence of religious extremists that are not untamed. Additionally, other factors which include radicalization and poverty can be attributed to the nature of religious competition and enmity that exists. Moreover, the inequalities in the society are to blame for the turning of one religion against the other. Besides, all religions are supposed to be treated with equality and respect. Lack of that will lead to an unending religious enmity that cannot be explained using your metaphor.

References

Makransky, J. (2011). Thoughts on Why, How, and What Buddhists Can Learn from Christian Theologians. Buddhist-Christian Studies, 31(1), 119-133.

McInerney, P. (2013). 'Nostra Aetate': The Catholic church's journey into dialogue.

Prothero, S. (2011). God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World, And Why Their Differences Matter. Black Inc..