Of Books and Bigotry

Nicholas D. Kristof has a big problem with the Christian fundamentalist inspired fiction series "Left Behind." Best-sellers turn off 'left behind'

Kristof does a very nice job poking fun at the absurdity and hypocrisy of authors collecting million dollar paydays while preaching that the Rapture is nigh.

LaHaye and Jenkins might spend less time puzzling over obscure passages in the Book of Revelation and more time with the straightforward language of Matthew 6:19, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth."

Or Matthew 19:21, where Jesus advises a rich man: "Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. . . . It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven."

Good stuff and well deserved. But as I read Kristof's piece I began to wonder if he preserves a place for any devoutly religious person of any faith to stand that doesn't require them to be labelled a "bigot"? According to Kristof no religious person can believe in their faith's claim to exclusivity without being a bigot. As I've always understood the term, being a "bigot" required a person to be actively intolerant of others. I find it hard to see how a religion's claim to exclusivity must de facto require intolerance. Tolerance is a question for the political or social order, not for the internal workings of this or that faith. The mere writing of a piece of fiction that represents fundamentalist Christian claims to exclusivity in no political or social way affects me as a non-fundamentalist. Krisotf himself doesn't seem to argue that they are attempting to even promote some erosion of our political freedoms through their claims of exclusivity. So while I'll agree that Kristof proves his charge of "hypocrite," I'll disagree with that of "bigot."

Besides, I've always thought that being truly committed to "diversity" must mean that people are allowed to believe completely in whatever matters most to them without outside restrictions being placed upon them. Kristof, on the other hand, seems to advocate a position that religious faith is fine as long as you don't really believe it. I suppose there is "diversity" and then there is "diversity."