Tolerance vs Adherence

Several years ago when I was still a faithful christian, I sought to look at all religions open-mindedly, thinking that they all deserve their own special place in the world. I did some textbook readings about some of the major religions, especially the Abrahamic faiths, and looked at some of the common aspects. I respected others' beliefs.

I was young and rather innocent. I wasn't able to fathom why the Abrahamic faiths had to diverge from one another. Moreover, seeing as the Christian faith itself is split into several denominations, I failed to understand the reason why. Still, with my innocence, I regarded the religions as equal. I would've probably tried joining other faiths if I had the time, resources, or the opportunity. I merely settled with Catholicism out of convenience.

As a Catholic, I went to Church and prayed regularly. But sometimes, I was being bugged by the assumption I made that the three Abrahamic religions supposedly worship the same deity yet have conflicting beliefs. Christians believe in the prophets of the Old Testament and Muslims acknowledge that Jesus is a prophet himself (disregarding the "son of god" business).

It turns out that these differences in beliefs have caused several conflicts among religions, each wanting a bigger slice of cake than the others. Conflicts ensued to the point of death and destruction. Tolerance was out of the question.

Viewing the religions as individual humans, we can see that it is but a mere conflict of greedy egotistical narcissists who won't back down from a royal rumble until the other opponents are dead. Greed for the limelight. For sole supremacy. For not just the largest slice of cake, but the whole cake itself.

I say this to my naive younger self: "You can indeed respect and tolerate other religions. But a religion demands belief and adherence, not respect or tolerance. What are you hoping of achieving from mere tolerance?"

Those with a deep-seated belief are, ironically, beyond redemption..