What is "Christian tolerance"?

Question

Is it being totally accepting of everything, or are there limits beyond which you refuse to go? I guess what I'm asking is this: I want to know what the thresh hold is that will cause you to say, "This is far enough. Any further and I begin to compromise my faith and obedience to God." At what point in being tolerant do you feel you've been too tolerant, if at all? My own view is that those who tolerate and accept everything value nothing. Am I right? Wrong? Why?

Only serious and intelligent responses welcomed. Thank you.

So far I've received 4 answers and I've given all thumbs up. Interesting. Very interesting answers.

So far I've received 4 answers and I've given all thumbs up. Interesting. Very interesting answers.

SDW- Wow. You are a person after my own heart. For a moment there, I thought I was reading me. Outstanding answer in every respect.

Irish322- A very thoughtful and appreciated answer. It does lend a marked sense of grace to the question, does it not?

tuberoot- Thank you for your insightful response. I've read your answers to many questions in R&S, and the reigning attribute in all of them is your obvious devotion to, and love of, God. By the way- I don't know who gave you that thumbs down or why, but it was not me.

Utuk- Your answer poses almost as many questions as the responses this question has received, maybe more. Too bad there's not enough "stay-awake" time left to explore them. Maybe later. Good answer, too.

ozperp- Overall I agree with the premise of your answer. However, there are certain elements I would like to engage you in concwerning them, but as I just told utuk, there's not enough "stay-awake" time left in my eyelids to adequately address them at this time. Good answer, though. Thank-you for your insight. Very interesting.

Answer 1

The cliche is "Love the sinner, hate the sin."

Tolerance these days has become its own religion, it seems. Not only is everyone entitled to their own independent set of beliefs, but everyone has to feel that everyone else's beliefs are equally valid, and that truth is completely subjective to the individual.

The problem with that is that many faiths teach that, among other things: 1) their faith is right and all others are wrong; and 2) they are supposed to try to convert others to their faith. Christianity falls into this category.

Christians are considered intolerant because the teachings of their faith condemn certain behaviors. What these people don't like to see is that they are in fact intolerant of the Christi ans' fundamental beliefs. Tolerance in itself is the biggest hypocrisy.

Personally, I adamantly oppose tolerance; I actually preach intolerance. This is not because I don't think that people are entitled to their own opinion. But I feel that our current state of tolerance is a cop-out for the truth.

Truth is real, it is objective, it is absolute, and it is out there somewhere. We don't need to all sit on our laurels being accepting of all beliefs; doing that we are wasting valuable time that we could be working together to find the truth.

Answer 2

Tolerance is allowing something to occur even if you don't agree with it. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it, you don't have to follow it, you just allow it to occur and don't try to stop it or object to it.

For example, with homosexuality. Now, I'm against it. I don't agree with anything from homosexuality and think it is evil. However, if people really want to live their lives that way, I won't try to stop them. As long as they're doing it by themselves and not affecting anyone else or hurting themselves, that's fine.

Now, say that these people started attending the same church I did. I would not like this much more, but I would still let it happen. They have every right to be there. Even if I think they're going against Christianity and being hypocritical, I would still allow them to be there and tolerate their presence.

A borderline position would come if my children were being taught by a homosexual person. This would be a delicate issue. If I felt that the teacher was remaining neutral, that the influence that person had on my children was only educational, then I would tolerate it. However, if the person started talking about their opinions and beliefs, that is where I would being to object.

Going a little further, let's say that a homosexual person was put in a leadership position within the church. That would be the point where I would stop tolerating and start objecting. I believe that the church would be going against their own beliefs and I would do everything I could to stop it. If nothing changed, then I would leave that church because I could no longer tolerate the church's actions.

I think that would explain about places where you should tolerate something and places where you shouldn't. You should tolerate something as long as it doesn't really hurt anyone. If people are doing something but keeping it to themselves, then just let it be. However, once it negatively affects your life, that's when you have to stop tolerating and fight for what you believe in.

Answer 3

That last statement has undeniable logic. If you don't care enough to have a tolerance limit on any specific thing, and accept whatever comes at you as a result of your lack of care, then how could it be that you truly valued anything? It can't. I don't neccesarily believe that there is a threshold that I can ever cross that will cause me to compromise my faith in God, but if there is a view, or situation that directly opposes my Christian views, (Satanic worshipping for example) I refuse to have anything to do with it, and move on. I consider myself very open minded, so there is little that I cannot accept, meaning that I can accept whatever the fact is, not that I have to like it. Merely understand it, know that whatever information it presents me with has made me more learned to my own values and strengthens my bond with them. Basically, anything that opposes my beliefs I have nothing to do with, so there's never really a situation where I have to be tolerant of something I don't believe in. If there was such a situation, I guess I'd politely dissagree or something XD.

Answer 4

Those that tolerate and accept everything (negative things) are not following Christian values. Unfortunatly, I feel that sometimes I am too tolerant in things. For example, I am Christian, yet I am pro-choice on abortion. As far as gay couple go, they can do what they want, it's none of my business. I should care but I don't. I try to lead the life that I am supposed to.

I think that each person's tolerance level depends on whatever they are comfortable with. There is a lot of hate, and anger, and ignorance in this world and the more I expose myself to learning more I find myself dissapointed that values are slipping away.

Answer 5

I'd probably never go so far as to say all of anything sucks. For me, the problem occurs when the subject matter takes precedence over the music, and I've found many Christian bands tend to do that. Sometimes, it's like they just wanted a way to convey their message, rather than with many pagan bands, it seems they just needed a theme for their music (certainly not always). Of course, I haven't listened to them all, and wouldn't shun a band just because they're openly Christian. I did like the ones you linked, especially the second one. MQ2: Orphaned Land includes Christian themes, but they're not "Christian metal"... so not really BQ: I might like a song more if I find the subject matter interesting (something historical), but I'm fine with anything as long as there's no supremacism.

Answer 6

I don't think there's a relationship between your own faith and your judgement of the actions of others.

Your faith is about being true to how you believe God expects you to behave. Fortunately, nowhere that I know of does God appoint all of we mere mortals as judges of other people. God alone judges our actions, and we bear responsibility only for OUR actions, and only to God; the actions of others are an issue between them and God and have nothing to do with us.

Anything that another person does that has only negative consequences for themselves and their own soul and the souls of other willing participants - such as consensual sexual activities, saying or believing things that you consider blasphemous, or whatever - is nobody else's business. If God disapproves of their behaviour or beliefs, that's between that person and God.

If by tolerant you are asking whether you should interact with such people and be friendly and peaceful towards them - then I answer "absolutely"! You are not "condoning" their behaviour or beliefs, you are simply showing unconditional love to all people, and leaving the judgement of that person to the only One to whom that job is given - God.

If somebody is attempting to persuade you to do something that you feel is damaging to your soul, such as engage in murder or theft, then you should absolutely resist that and perhaps not associate with that person. But you still don't have a right to judge them. Report them to the police or relevant authorities, help those authorities do their job, and then carry on living your own life and practising your faith. Don't bad-mouth that person to others, and strive not to judge them. That's what I believe God requires of us.

Answer 7

To tolerate someones offense against you and be a forgiving person is Christlike, yet He did not tolerate those who desecrated the Temple, or who taught a false Gospel but drove out the money changers with a whip and called the false teachers whitewashed tombs.

Answer 8

You know what? I can't think of anything. I am literally willing to lose my life for God. I'm willing for the circumstances to appear before me that totally defy God's word. I know that God will fulfill His word no matter how the circumstances appear. In fact, any man of faith will claim God's word in the face of what is wrong. That's what I intend to be like. Defiant to the world in favor of God's word. And what God has promised is what I focus on, allowing me to be free of the circumstance spiritually.

You asked an interesting question:
"My own view is that those who tolerate and accept everything value nothing. Am I right?"

Not by me. What I am saying is that because I value God's word more than what I see, I am fulfilling God's word: "For we walk by faith and not by sight." What I then value is above what appears to be devastating, disconcerting, or ruinous.

I appeal to God, who "enters into all things to work His good." Jesus wasn't kidding by this life of faith when he said,"I am the way, the truth, and the life." It is most certainly a way of life that is evidence of peace through Christ and a state of mind that His Spirit teaches me.

Answer 9

We should give but not to the point that people use us as a bank.If people are hateful towards me there are 1 to 2 things I do either return that hate with love or act the same exact way they did to me so they can see how they look it all has to do how the Holy Spirit is working through me in that exact situation.

Answer 10

Tolerance simply means that you recognize the right for something to exist. How does it compromise your faith when somebody else does or believes something that you disagree with? Tolerance does not mean that you endorse, agree, participate or practice. It means that you tolerate.