Subjective absolutism
That was the claim made by a friend who was fiercely holding on to a position of faith. It is generally true, that at a certain point we just must take a position, subjectively, willingly or not. However, what when these various subjective absolutisms collide with each other? The Talibans are "subjective absolutists" for example. Then, my friend says, we need to exercise our individual absolutism with tolerance and kindness. Sounds good. But where do tolerance and kindness come from? Neither Christianity nor Islam have a convincing record when it comes to the treatment of others or of people thinking differently. According to the logic of both religions, only God is absolute - man is relative. This basic principle makes a 'tolerant' exercise of subjective absolutism really difficult. In other words, the profound problem here is not subjectivity, we all have got that, the problem is "absolutism". We all hold positions - absolute they are not.
Subjective absolutism
That was the claim made by a friend who was fiercely holding on to a position of faith. It is generally true, that at a certain point we just must take a position, subjectively, willingly or not. However, what when these various subjective absolutisms collide with each other? The Talibans are "subjective absolutists" for example. Then, my friend says, we need to exercise our individual absolutism with tolerance and kindness. Sounds good. But where do tolerance and kindness come from? Neither Christianity nor Islam have a convincing record when it comes to the treatment of others or of people thinking differently. According to the logic of both religions, only God is absolute - man is relative. This basic principle makes a 'tolerant' exercise of subjective absolutism really difficult. In other words, the profound problem here is not subjectivity, we all have got that, the problem is "absolutism". We all hold positions - absolute they are not.