Letter to Christians, With Respect

This is one of those hard conversations. I wish to start it from a place of compassion, love and recognition of your sacred attachment to divinity, as you perceive it. For the last few years there have been ever increasing protests that Christians in America are coming under persecution. As the diversity of faiths that makes up the fabric of spiritual beliefs becomes ever more diverse, there are those that paint this diversity as an assault on Christian values.

If these “other” religions were based on a Christian precept of converting those who do not accept them, the proposition that Christianity is under assault could have some merit. The problem with the argument is that these religions, with the possible exception of Abrahamic paths,  do not seek to convert Christians from their chosen spiritual paths.

If some Christians in this nation continue on the course of attempting to erode the spiritual freedom of others, one day we will all live under a theocracy. While the idea of a Christian nation may appeal to some Christians, such a nation would erode the very foundations of Christian religious liberty also.

Imagine a country where a single religion is adopted; eventually a single interpretation of the bible would become dominant. As this coalescence of religious principle evolves soon minority expressions of Christian faith would become unacceptable. Evangelists or Catholics or Pentecostals, would flee our nation in search of a land where religious freedom is guaranteed. Sound familiar?

The emergence of other religions, rather than being viewed as a threat can be seen as an opportunity to engage with other people of faith in addressing the many tragic manifestations of hunger, violence and crime that plague our nation.

We need not see our divergent beliefs as cause for friction. In our collective voice, as peoples of faith, we have the opportunity demonstrate that humanity can tolerate our differences and manifest real change that reflects all religions’ common themes of love, kindness and honesty.

Christian Brothers and Sisters, join with the religions of the world in putting an end to mistrust, division and the need to frame religious beliefs as a struggle, one against the other.  Together we can build a better world for our children and grandchildren where we all love and respect our neighbors.

Rev. Peter Dybing