Convert really?

I don’t often watch Hannity & Colmes but I happened to catch part of last’s night’s interview with Ann Coulter on her more recent book. The part I found interesting was when Alan Colmes asked her again about her post 9-11 quote "We should invade their countries,
kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." He was asking her if she really meant that we should convert other countries to Christianity and seemed dumbfounded at her reply that we should. What I found interesting is that I saw his question as a cornerstone of modern liberal ideas about religion. To them it is more akin to being a member of the Elks or Moose lodge. Then they would further delineate by liberal and conservative lodges. That you would ask anybody with any sort of beliefs whether they would want all people to have those same beliefs is just a dumb question. If you ask an atheist if they thought it would be better if all people were atheists they would also reply in the affirmative.

There is only one reason to hold any belief, because it is true or at least that you believe it to be true. To put all religions or unbelief on equal footing is syncretism at its worse. Either something is true or it is not. Contradictory beliefs are either both wrong or one is partially or wholly correct, but they can’t both be true. Of course this bias against religious belief is weighted more against Christianity. Reporters go out of their way to say after each terrorists attack that Islam is a peaceful religion but intone the opposite in the rare case of the nutcase Christian who performs a violent act. They will use the word fundamentalist as if the word alone would explain that person’s violent act.

This view is not surprising since the word dogma has now become a dirty word. Being a missionary is now seen as unhealthy fanaticism instead of working to spread the good news. It is no surprise as churches and religious orders become more modernist that they also become less missionary. Respect for other people’s beliefs does not need to lapse into the relativistic view that if it works for them – then fine. We were created for truth and it is no surprise that Jesus said that he is the way, the truth, and the life.