Last year, I had a conversation with a churchgoer who complained about religious intolerance. He said (and I paraphrase), "When it comes to religious beliefs, I really don't like people who think they're the ones that are right."
Something about his words made me uncomfortable. As I squirmed in my seat, I realized why.
When a church or denomination takes a doctrinal stance, then of course it's because they believe they're right. After all, that's what doctrine is about, isn't it? Furthermore, if they believe they're right, then logically, they must consider groups with different doctrinal views to be incorrect. That's simply the nature of logic. So any church that puts a measure of thought into its teachings will consider its own views to be correct. And naturally, it must conclude that churches with differing beliefs are in error. This isn't a moral condemnation (at least, not necessarily); rather, it's just plain common sense.
The same holds true for individuals. When an individual -- whether theist, deist or atheist -- claims to be correct, then that person naturally holds that contrary views are in error. Again, it's just that simple.
The only way to avoid this is to say "Oh, there is no genuine right or wrong. Truth is relative." Now, most people would never actually say such a thing; however, this worldview is often reflected in their actions. When a church says that there are multiple interpretations of a text, for example, and that no single interpretation is preferable -- that's pure relativism. Or when a church refuses to correct the doctrines of other congregations, that is practicing relativism as well. In effect, it's saying, "You believe what you want, and we'll believe what we want. In the end, it doesn't really matter."
In fact, that statement -- "there is no genuine right or wrong" -- shoots itself in the foot. Is it true that there is no genuine right or wrong? To put it another way, is it true that there is no genuine truth? This claim is blatantly self-contradictory, and therefore, self-refuting.
A pastor of my acquaintance once said to me, "We all just need to decide what we want to follow." I was rather deeply disappointed by his statement, since I don't think it's entirely accurate. We must certainly make a decision, but that's not ALL that we must do. It seems to me that people -- again, whether theist, deist or atheist -- must make sure that our paths line up with the truth. It's not enough to merely decide which path to follow rather, we must also ensure that these paths are logically informed and consistent with the truth.
