Hate? Love? Respect?

There was a time not too many years ago that I would have absolutely relished the opportunity created by the recent "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" video online. I would have stayed up until a crazy hour of the morning writing blog posts and commenting on other blogs. I would have taken a smug posture toward the "poet" and anyone "liking" his work.

The fact that I have shown restraint on this occasion is not an indication that I agree with the sentiments expressed, or that I don't care about the debate. But these days, I honestly have greater respect for adherents on both sides of the discussion. I see points of ignorance and/or misunderstanding, but instead of pouncing on them to demonstrate some sense of superiority on my part, I recognize that (a) I've been there myself, and (b) there is ignorance and misunderstanding on both sides of most debates, even among the people who are supposed to be demonstrating higher levels of learning and maturity.

Who can authoritatively say that the young poet in the video below is a heretic who is doing damage to the real message of Christian faith? Who can say that the young priest in the other video below is a heretic doing damage to the real gospel? It could be argued that these two are opponents on an "essential" point, but who wants to say whether one may be in danger of eternal hellfire? If neither of these opposing views has eternal consequences, what may that mean?