• It is natural that there are differences in traditional customs and religious views among ordinary people.
• How can we reduce conflicts arising from differences in religious views?
• What kind of attitude should a true Christian have?

 Differences in traditional customs and religious views among ordinary people are natural.
Even among children of the same parents, there are rarely cases where they share the same thoughts, behaviors, and values. It is known that even identical twins have significant differences in intelligence and values if they grow up in different environments (Dong-A Science, 2022. 5. 17). Therefore, it is natural that there are differences in traditional customs, religious values, and other values among ordinary people.

The causes of differences in people's thoughts and values can be classified into internal and external factors. Internal factors include biological genetic factors, while external factors include family or social environment, education, etc. Internal factors are genetic phenomena that are difficult for individuals to overcome, but external factors can be reduced through human effort.

How to reduce conflicts arising from differences in religious views?
What kind of wisdom is needed to maintain good relationships with people who have different traditional customs or religious views?
To develop into lasting friends, it would be good to acknowledge the differences in external factors such as religion and tradition and discuss what we can learn from each other's religions and what difficulties we face in practicing them.

This effort requires patience. Many religious people have been superficially religious and have not actually studied the truth for themselves. It is also true that they have only found external differences in conversations with religious people and sometimes even fostered misunderstandings or conflicts because of these differences. Therefore, everyone should be able to fully understand the truth of their own religion and introduce it with consideration for others. In other words, human-centered communication that considers others should come before dialogue on religious views.

After that, if each person fully understands the truth of their own religion and gains enlightenment, they will be able to understand the essence of their religion and find areas of common ground even if differences in religious views are found. In the New Testament of Christianity, the apostle Paul saw the division within the Corinthian church and urged them to "be of the same mind and of the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Christians and Catholics who worship the one true God should consider what true faith is when they encounter other religions. Regarding faith, the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

 What kind of attitude should a true Christian have?
This requires a rebirth through life. To do this, we must follow the first commandment given by Jesus, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." In other words, we must live a life of obedience to the Lord's will, having fully understood the word of Scripture. The second commandment is "Love your neighbor as yourself." In other words, we must live a life of sharing and putting into practice the love we have received from the Lord. Only then can we truly be considered a reborn person. Only then will we be able to move from being a Christian in appearance or name to being a child of God who lives according to the truth of God's Word.

Probably any religious person would be moved by such a life of a Christian. Ultimately, it is important to not simply remain a religious person, but to live according to the essence of Christianity and the truth of the gospel.
True Christians should remember the words, "Faith without works is dead," (James 2:17) and continue to strive.

June 4, 2023. 참길