Is tolerance a Christian value?

Question

The big thing with liberal Christians is tolerance and love. But if you look at God and Christ, they show no tolerance at all for sinning. In the Bible, Christ rejected people all the time who would not give up their current lifestyles to follow him. For example - He embraced the prostitute Mary Magdeline but not so she could keep on prostituting but so she could start a new life in Christ. Is tolerance something true Christians should be behind or is a trick of the devil to fool Christians into doing his work?

ADDITIONAL POINT

Note that I said is tolerance a Christian value, not love.

Think about it

1) Would you tolerate your partner sleeping around behind your back. You might love them but would you tolerate this action.

2) Would you tolerate you son steeling money from your wallet? If you do, does that make you a better or worse parent.

3) Would you tolerate your kid getting straight F's in school? Should you be more understanding and embrace the fact that your kid is an academic failure? Does that make you a good parent?

4) Would you tolerate someone stealing money from your business's cash machine? Why not?

5) When you get sick and go to the hospital, do you expect the doctore to just tolerate you illness or fix it.

So as I said, though everyone in teh world is teaching tolerance, is it a true Christian value.


The world equates intolerance with hate. Can;t you be intolerant with love?

Answer 1

I think all christians, including mormons ( ME ) should have
a certain level of tolerance. I think all people have to
have a certain level of tolerance to live in society.
But tolerance and embrace are two different things
What you are describing as "liberal" christian is
embracing not tolerance. We should always love
our neighbor no matter who he is remember that!
But we dont have to like what he does.

Answer 2

There's a difference between tolerance of person and tolerance of action. If someone you love is doing something self-injurious, you wouldn't tolerate it any more than you would say "it's your decision to take your life; I support your suicide". Likewise, you can be intolerant of sin while being loving toward the sinner. A lifestyle of sin such a prostitution is one that still damages the individual even when the lifestyle is no longer active. A committed virgin and a professional prostitute look at themselves differently and look at men differently. As such, even if both live outwardly the same lives, there is a different internal dialogue, and tolerance here means to be understanding towards the internal dialogue of the prostitute and hope to change her through love and grace. But tolerance does not include accepting illicit sex.

Answer 3

Some other words for "tolerance" include: support, endurance, indulgence, leinency, permissiveness, acceptance, abide, undergo. The real question we face as Christians is not "is tolerance a good thing?", but actually "What should we tolerate?".

The value system of any religioun is based on its deity, and
not on the desires of the worshippers! This has been, it seems,
forgotten by many people. If you want to know what Christians should tolerate, check out what has been revealed in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The Christian religion is NOT known for "tolerating everything under the sun", because it comes with a strong moral code set down by God almost 4,000 years ago. Rape, theft, and murder, for example, are not tolerated. Neither is cussing out one's parents or beating one's spouse.

"Tolerance" should really only be applied to the non-essentials in our lives; we are all different people with different tastes, and quite a lot of things are not affected by a moral code. With that thought in mind, if we were to meet for pizza, I can tolerate
you having anchovies on yours, if you can tolerate me having the vegetarian special. It shouldn't matter if we are white, black, or brown, male or female.

If, however, we meet for pizza, and you find me casting racial slurs on the children in the next booth, I hope as a Christian that you would not tolerate such behaviour.

The ultimately, supremely tolerant religion would seem to be either secular humanism, or perhaps satanism, which has as a moral code "do whatsoever thou wilt shall be the whole of the law". In the absence of a moral code, anything goes, and nothing matters!

As Christians, quite a lot of things matter, and some things should never be tolerated.

Answer 4

Probably it is not a "trick" as you suggest, but flows from Jesus's sugestion to "turn the other cheek."
One Website I visited makes a good point about tolerance: "The term "religious tolerance" has two distinct meanings:
Among conservative Protestants, it often means the viewpoint that all religions and their beliefs are true. If diverse beliefs are all true, and if various religions teach different beliefs, then one can conclude that absolute truth does not exist.
Among other individuals and groups, it generally means to avoid oppressing or discriminating against persons whose religious beliefs happen to be different from yours.
We use the second definition. However, we are continually criticized because some of our visitors assume that we use the first meaning."
It is not a matter of playing with the Devil, I am sure that our ability to survive on this planet mandates that we all exercise tolerance towards others.

Answer 5

Ok first off, there is no proof that mary magdalne was a prostitute. That was something made up by a catholic pope many years ago, and later taken back. There is no proof as to who or what mary really was.

Ok, now onto your question. Tolerance is a christian value. The bible tells us to love one another. Nowhere does it say only love the righteous, holy, or those we feel deserve it. It also says Let he who lives without sin cast the first stone, and judge not lest ye be juged.
With that being said though, many christians fall short on this one. We are only human. I think many get stuck in the "christian bubble" where you only surround yourself with those that you deem holy, and everybody else is dammed to hell for all you care. This is a very dangerous place to be. I think that is one of the things that breed intolerance. When the only ppl you hang out with are those that are exactly like you, it leaves little room for learning and growing.

Finally I think ppl forget that you don't have to agree with everybody to appreciate there thoughts and views. I have many friends that are like that. If we have even the littlelest difference of opinion, they freak out and don't want to talk about it. They think that if we disagree, even on something as dumb as flavored coffee creams, that we will get into a huge fight, and not be friends.

Answer 6

Uh huh, sure, Christ showed no tolerance for sin. Are you sure about that?

Think about it, we all know that Jesus loved a good party. He attended weddings and feasts, He ate dinners with people that even normal society shunned (like Zacheus (sp?)). Do you honestly think that He attended these events and spent the whole time with a pursed lip and a frown for the things going on there?

Jesus showed incredible tolerance for people's sins. That's the whole point of His teachings ... to show it's not the sin, it's what is in your heart that matters. The sin will be forgiven, wiped out as if it didn't exist, but it is the condition of the heart that matters.

And no, I'm not saying that we as Christians can freely sin with no worries, I'm talking about the lost .... those who have yet to meet Christ.

Answer 7

Tolerance...a disposition to allow freedom of choice and behavior.

Even when disputing/dialoguing over prominent doctrines, a Christian should exercise restraint and show respect. It is one thing to disagree with a position; it is quite another to disparage a person. We must hold fast to the Truth while showing compassion to those who question Truth. Like Jesus, we must be full of grace and truth both.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Peter strikes a good balance between having the answer and having humility:
1 Peter 3:15 “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear".
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Answer 8

That's a tricky one but i think it depends with what you are tolerating. For example, look, Mary Mag was a prostitute but Jesus didn't want her to keep doing wrong. And as Christians there are moral conducts and values that should be followed. Christ did not reject anybody, he was actually calling people to come to him, so they can have life. I think there should be no tolerance at all for sinning just as there is no tolerance for commiting a crime.. so there you go.. hope i have helped!

Answer 9

No, we are not to tolerate sin. We are not to coherce or encourage others to sin purposefully either.

It is always best not to compromise which is of the devil, (who is very subtle in his suggestive ways)

But we also know that we are human and God knows we are not perfect, but we strive to do our best or be the best person that we can be on purpose.

But we do have to forgive those who sin against us, so that our own sins are forgiven.

A true Christian will never look down their noses at others who do sin because we do not forget where we have come from and how hard it was for some of us to give up certain sin in our own lives.

Answer 10

The visible attributes of a Christian should most certainly include tolerance for PEOPLE, not necessarily their actions. The fruits as found in Galatians 5:22 and 23 are...love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. That love, longsuffering and self-control should spur us to treat people right and without judgement. We may not like they're actions or what they do, but we never have a right to judge them or devalue them as people. Be clear on righteousness and do so while avoiding casting judgement. The best way to do this is to make sure YOU YOURSELF are living by the Word and the Will of God. When we do this, when we act as Salt and Light as described by Jesus himself in the 5th Chapter of the book of Matthew, He promises that men will "see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." THAT is our only purpose.
Good question!! Peace.