Pluralism vs totalitarianism

The idea of pluralism crops up in many publications these days. There are so many arguments for it, and there are some against it. We wind up on diverse sides, and sometimes any one of us might wind up on both sides at once.

I am surely no one to write about pluralism with any authority, but I feel I must listen and entertain the idea that pluralism is good. With totalitarianism - the opposite end of the spectrum, we cut ourselves off from too much of the world. What kind of belief system calls that good? I don't think mine does. If I cut myself off from others, I cannot get to know and love them. I remove any chance I have to interact and, yes, share the love of my God with them. And to love, as my God loves, is what I think I should do. This love is a gift to me. Sharing it with others is a gift to me, too, because love IS a gift.

On the other hand, if we believe that what we believe is right, the one true way, how do we interact with others who believe entirely differently? If our way IS the way, can we intermingle and appreciate the perspective of the other? Somehow, I think we have to. These people who believe differently are our neighbors and sometimes even our families. I would not want to miss knowing them and learning about who they are. My job is to test my own beliefs to see that I am where I want to be, that I learn to respect others, and love them, but learn to do this while I honor our differences.

I'm sure that I'm a person who believes pluralism deserves a lot of consideration. I'm sure that I don't subscribe to totalitarianism in any sense of the word. Although I believe in an absolute truth, I don't think I know it. I don't think I'm ever meant to know it. The absolute truth is so far above my meager understanding. It's an attribute of God, not of man.

Who does totalitarianism save? In my thoughts, it would save only the individual who subscribed to it, and I'm not even sure about that.

I have a knack of remembering certain statements people make, and one such remembrance is the statement of a former pastor:

It is better to err on the side of forgiveness.

To that, I can only say Amen!

I listened to a podcast this morning entitled The Dangers of Religious Totalitarianism, presented by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Here's a link to the Web site: http://www.gracematters.org/