Single-Mindedness and Religion in the JC

Every week there is at least one time – where I walk thought the JC in the early afternoon on weekdays, and there is at least one kiosk that, in some way or another, talks about SOME kind of Christian denomination (or Christian organization on campus) or another.

Whether it’s the ‘Lutheran Campus Ministry,’ the ‘One God, One Message’ group, the ‘Tuesday Night Encounter’ group, or, more recently, the group with the sign that says, “What does the Bible really say?” I respect their right to free speech and the freedom to practice their religion, however there’s one problem in how they got to where they are: they don’t read their religious texts with an open mind.

If anything, they’re biased toward the faith they call true. I’m not saying these people are necessarily wrong, but when it comes to promoting religion, it seems like they give don’t give a fair shot to both Christianity and whatever religion they are trying to get people to leave.

I’ve spoken with several of these Christian organizations, and I can tell that they don’t give other religions enough open-minded thought or consideration. Pretty much every religious person is guilty of that to some degree or another.

Those who work with the ‘One God, One Message’ group, for example, read the Bible, apparently, with the opinion already in their mind that it is infallible and the absolute Word of God, and then, they read the Qur’an with the intention to find some kind of fault in it.

If their opinion on these texts were truly valid and not based on some form of bias, then they would read these texts with the intention to read it not as the word of God, but rather as just regular, plain text on pages between two covers.

That goes for both the Bible and the Qur’an, as well as any other holy book for that matter.

Do I think there is one true religion? Yes. But I didn’t find it by reading a text with an opinion on it already. I found it by studying with an open mind as if the religious texts were just books, not God’s word.

Not only would that make them a little more credible, especially considering it in the sense that they will have given all sides a fair shot, but also, they will be more likely to find the religion that is true without having a preconceived opinion of a religion that may be the right religion or may just as easily not be the right religion.