According to Christianity: are people to be tolerated or to be loved?

Question

What do you think is the difference?

Answer 1

Loved.

I don't think anyone actually knows what the word "tolerate" means anymore. It certainly doesn't mean "accept and condone and celebrate."

I can TOLERATE someone punching me in the face everyday for the rest of my life, that doesn't mean I like it. Great question.

Answer 2

To be honest, the correct answer is that people are to be loved. However, love should be considered the 'destination' that begins the other journey. What I mean by that is that love isn't just something that pops out of thin air. Nobody simply 'loves' another person without traveling love's path, however quickly or slowly.

Before you can love someone, you have to first be open to tolerating them, then accepting them, then embracing them, and finally loving them. Think of tolerance as the first stage to loving someone. If you can't take a small step into a place you are afraid of, then you can't walk all the way inside and figure out what it is that is making you afraid.

Of course there's tolerance and then there's tolerance. One is a fake, I'll-put-up-with-you-for-now-but-you'll-get-yours-soon-enough tolerance, and the other is the true, we don't really agree but that's ok tolerance.

What allows the person to pass from one to the other is the ability to answer the question: why should I? Why should I tolerate my enemies, those people I can't stand? If you can't answer that question, then you can't begin to tolerate someone, much less love them.

Answer 3

Well I can't think of a single instruction from Jesus to "tolerate" my neighbor. However, we are told that we are to love God and love our neighbors and upon these two hang all of the law and the prophets...

I would say being tolerant is a lame excuse for love. Tolerance is still a look down my nose and let your pitiful self slide because I am so tolerant. Tolerance is an excuse love is a remedy.

Love is giving not expecting a return. Love is forgiving having never been asked. Love is truly hurting when others hurt.

Tolerance looking the other way when someone is abused because "hey who are you to judge". Tolerance being afraid to stand up and call out a wrong. Being PC and oppressing the masses to appease the few that is tolerance.

Tolerance is not calling the police to haul off the homeless family, love is getting them a place to stay and a meal.

Answer 4

loved and tolerated are 2 different things I believe. As a Christian, I pray that I love others just as Jesus does- however remember that love did not tolerate sin. For a simple explanation- I love my 2 children- however I don't and should not tolerate their bad behavior. Loving people no matter what they do is godly- however being tolerant and saying it is ok for them to do whatever they want, is different.

Answer 5

Sin is what Christians are not to tolerate. We are to love each other, teach each other, and when needed, even correct one another. If one sins, they are to be reproved.
To say that a Christian must love the wicked, or tolerate sin is not a Christian ideal. We are to keep ourselves free of both.

Answer 6

People are to be loved. We can also should tolerate them.

Answer 7

We should love people.

There are two commandments that Christians really have to look at, if you want to think in the terms of rules.
1. Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind and soul.
the second one is like unto it:
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Who is your neighbor? Luke 25-37 you can read the passage there: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:25-37;&version=9;

the next question is: what is love?

God's love is unconditional.:He loved us so much, that
He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

It is hard for humans to love like God loves. In fact it is nearly impossible.

If you see a blind person walking toward a cliff and they are gonna fall in and die, will you try to save them, or let them fall in? What would be the loving thing to do?

Of course, in your experience and beliefs, you would probably think that warning the blind person about the impending danger is the loving thing to do, and I agree with you.

This is hard to work correctly, If I know you are about to get burned and I dont tell you that you are fixing to get burned, and you get burned, you are gonna look at me and ask why didnt I tell you. If you are fixing to get burned and I tell you, then you look at me and say that I am intolerant and hateful.

I think it is hateful just to tolerate people without trying to tell them the truth, but you should try to tell them the truth in love, then if they dont listen, then you have no choice, you just have to let them do what they are gonna do.

Of course tolerate has two definitions.

One definition is to put up with something.

todays definition is to embrace the thing that you do not like or agree with.

I think the definition of tolerate is just putting up with something that bothers you.

Answer 8

Great question! We are to love love love them :-) We dont have to agree to love!

I dont agree with my father in law about anything lol Yet I love him very much.

Once we respect peoples beliefs for the mere fact they are allowed to own them there is no worry about intolerance.

Gods peace

Answer 9

Your argument creates a false dilemma.

There is a third choice.

Put God first, then people will be treated as they ought to be.

Answer 10

Depends which Christian era you are talking about, during the Inquisition it was thought proper to imprison torture and burn dissenters...no question of tolerance or love at all.