How Do Christians React To "Tolerance"?

Most of the readers probably noticed that the word "tolerance" as it appears in the title is in quotation marks, the reason being that while most people have a good sense of what the word means, it can be interpreted slightly differently. It's certainly a buzz word in today's culture and is preached to the masses more and more as America continues to grow more diverse in opinions, practices and ideologies. Before I continue, this is not me pretending to know the answer to the query presented in the title, nor do I assume that all my propositions are correct or sound. These are simply my thoughts on what I feel is something that all believers should think about; I've simply been thinking about it. 

Tolerance is defined in the dictionary as "a fair, objective and permissive attitude towards those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, ect., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint". At face value, tolerance seems like a very good thing and the only right way to behave in society. When we think of intolerant people we think of Al-Qaieda and Westboro Baptist Church; people that genuinely hate others that are different, resorting to violence and terrorism to somehow prove a point and advance their ideology. However, it is not always these kind of people that are labeled as "intolerant". That is why I want to dissect the definition and also look at what our culture's expectations are with regards to the word. 

The first definition is pretty straightforward and really needs no further analysis. Note that your attitude must be fair, objective and permissive, objective meaning that you have a goal in mind that you are working towards attaining and permissive meaning that you must allow others to do what they want regardless of differing opinions or ideologies. The next definition simply states "freedom from bigotry". Bigotry is generally a very negative word and is used as a label for someone who is stiff-necked in their own beliefs. The dictionary definition of bigotry is essentially "intolerance of a differing creed, belief or opinion". This definition is circular but the point can be seen. Unfortunately the word bigot is very subjective because it could be applied to anyone from a terrorist to someone who simply won't compromise their beliefs. I find the last definiton to be the most interesting, however: "a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint". Here, being dogmatic is portrayed in a negative light. However, the definition of dogmatic is "charaterized by or given to the expression of opinions very strongly or positively as if they were facts". In our culture this is perceived as a bad thing, and at this time I will digress for a moment. 

Let me paint a picture of the country we live in. We live in an "I'm ok, you're ok" society. I'm not hurting you, you're not hurting me so let's just all get along. We also live in a culture that strongly dislikes the concept of truth. Having a belief and sticking to it is discouraged (only sometimes though, and I will digress again to come back to this). There is no right or wrong, there is only "you think" and "I think". Truth is bad. Truth is bigotry. Truth is intolerance. Unfotunately, this isn't a fantasty world; it's the real world. You can't create truth. Not matter what you think that truth happens to be, you can't create it. It is already there and you have to live your live around that, not the other way around. This kind of thinking is dogmatic and this kind of thinking is what's discouraged in America. Actually, truly living your life according to what you believe to be true is perceived to be ignorant, foolish and arrogant. Why? Because it's convenient for everybody to be right and nobody to be wrong. Without truth there is no right and wrong. If everyone creates their own reality and no one interferes with anyone else's we can all be happy. 

That is why being dogmatic is painted in a negative light. However, there is a double-standard in place that I will digress for a moment to address. There are certain groups in America that are allowed to be right and others that aren't. I will give a few examples. The ACLU is a group that preaches tolerance like nothing else but they only protect those they agree with. The differing opinions are painted as the "bad guy" and silenced. They said it best during the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers: "We must change the climate overall from one where abortion providers are vilified and assualted to one where they are honored and upheld as the heroes they are". How is this tolerance? What about the people that oppose abortion. According to the ACLU, the whole country must change to accept this worldview. This is only one example of hypocrisy among the "tolerance" camp. Apparently, anyone who votes against gay marriage hates gay people. THAT is about the most ignorant and arrogant thing anyone could ever say, claiming to know the heart of someone else. I voted against gay marraige and I most certainly do NOT hate gay people. I love them like I love anyone else. I simply am living my life according to my beliefs, just as they are. But why are they allowed to and I'm not?This is my problem with tolerance today. I don't see it as what it's proclaimed to be. For many, the word is simply something to hide behind and make people feel guilty into siding with their opinion. This is one way to view what tolerance means. 

Here's the other view. Before I go any further, here is the worldview that I'm coming from. I believe that the Bible is the revealed and perfect word of God. That is my truth and that sets the standard and the stage for my life. I believe that it is the only truth. In our society, that makes me dogmatic, a bigot and, you guessed it, intolerant. 

How should I, a Christian, react to my culture's demands for tolerance? How should I behave towards others who believe different than me? Based on my beliefs, my behavior should have two main aspects present: the presence of love and the the unwavering of my beliefs. These two things can exist at the same time and this is what many people do not understand. You can disagree with someone and not hate them. 

Romans 12:18 says that "if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all". Pretty straightforward. God's standard for his followers is that they are peacemakers and that they love all people, regardless of their differences. This behavior was demonstrated by Christ himself all throughout the Bible as a model for how we are to live. Romans 5:8 says that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". That verse in itself sends a strong message of how while we were enemies of God, he chose to make us friends of his. That is the standard for all believers. We are to love our enemies, and if we are to love our enemies, how much more are we to love those who we simply disagree with? This is the presence of love in our lives. It is to be present in us every day towards every one that we come in contact with. 

Great! So that means that we agree with everyone and conform our beliefs to the world, right? Not exactly.

Scripture is clear on loving others but the main problem with God and man is that we both have different perceptions of what love means. In America, love implies the absence of conflict, at least in a general sense. If I refuse to change what I believe to fit your beliefs, there could be no way that I could have love for you. It's that "I'm ok, you're ok" mentality. Any sort of difference or conflict is viewed as hostility. Claiming to "know" something is arrogant and living in accordance to that knowledge is insensitive towards others. This brings me to the second aspect of my relationship with others: the unwavering of my beliefs. 

Note the clause at the start of Romans 12:18: "if possible, so far as it depends on you". This implies that sometimes, it will just not be possible to be at peace with some people. At least not possible by God's standards. It's possible to be at peace with just about anybody if you conform your worldview to theirs but the minute that happens, you've just disowned your own. God states in Romans 12:2 to "not be conformed to the image of the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect". This verse throws a wrench into the world's thinking. It implies that there are things that are NOT good, acceptable and perfect. It implies that there IS right and wrong. And most importantly, it makes a powerful statement to not change your beliefs to fit the worlds.

This is the difference between worldly and Godly tolerance. The world doesn't just ask you to be at peace with them, they demand that you say that they are right and you are wrong, or at the very least, agree that everyone is right and no one is wrong. God says to live in peace with men but to never compromise what you believe. The priorities are clear. Yes, peace among men is good but our culture has made it a god, throwing truth and anything certain out the window to acheive it. In my worldview, God is God and everything else works around that. I believe that we can respectfully agree to disagree and that is what tolerance means to me. But if you ask me to vote yes or no on something, I'm sticking to what I believe. There was a time when standing up for what you believe in was a good thing. In today's world, it still is, but only for certain people. Why can pro-choicers stand up for what they believe but pro-lifers can't? Why can those who want to change marriage stand up for what they believe but traiditionalists can't? Why can other religions have prevalence in the public square but Christians can't? Because tolerance in our world isn't tolerance at all. It's name-calling. "You're mean, you're a bigot, you're arrogant because you don't agree with me". Sorry. I live in the real world, not a fairytale. I'm not writing to advance an us-against-them mentality. You're missing my point completely if that's what you're gathering from all this. I will sum it all up in this last paragraph.

I have a lot of friends and family that believe different things that I do. I know this. And yet, I can say with certainty that I have the best family and friends I could ever ask for. I have never fought with any of them; to the contrary, the best times of my life are spent with them and I love them all very much. I would do anything for them. I just wish the culture could be the same way and I believe that it could be. If I vote no on a ballot and you vote yes, why take it so personal? It doesn't mean I hate you. It means I think something else. Tolerance today seems to mean that I need to change to fit your worldview. I disagree. I think it means that we can all be civilized and get along in spite of the fact that we disagree. Disagreement does not equal hatred. You can genuinely love someone even if you don't believe the same things they do. If I or anyone presents a different opinion on something or vote against something, call it dogmatic, call it bigotry, call it intolerance. I'm call it living according to what you know to be true.