Why is it that Christians, who espouse “love,” are the most intolerant, non-inclusive people I know?
Thanks for your question. My quick and easy answer is a question: What do you mean by intolerant? I don’t think there is a better example of how definitions change our values, than the usage of “tolerate,” “tolerance,” or “intolerant.” It wasn’t long ago that the word ‘tolerance’ meant bearing up or putting up with someone or something not especially liked. Just a quick check of my computer dictionary (Mac Dictionary/Thesaurus) validates that idea: “Tolerance: noun; the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.”
Our culture has a new working definition of tolerance. It has come to mean accepting all truth claims, lifestyles, and values as equal. (A good work on this is The New Tolerance, McDowell and Hostetler [Tyndale House, 1998])
So the truth of the matter is, that it’s only this “revision” of tolerance that has, by definition only, rendered Christians as intolerant. (In saying this, I am not advocating that all Christians are tolerant, just as I would not advocate that all non-Christians are tolerant). But most people don’t see how illogical and self-refuting this new definition is. That is, if someone condemns the Christian truth claim, they are not treating that belief as ‘equal.’ So by the new “revisionist” definition of tolerance, they have become intolerant. The result is intolerance towards Christianity from people who espouse tolerating all views.
When someone asks me, “Why are you so intolerant,” I will respond, “Are you, right now, by your words and attitude, showing the kind of tolerance of my view as you expect of me for your view?” The result is a stand-off. I prefer to really, by the dictionary definition, tolerate their beliefs and they disagree, but “really” tolerate mine!
Thanks for your question. My quick and easy answer is a question: What do you mean by intolerant? I don’t think there is a better example of how definitions change our values, than the usage of “tolerate,” “tolerance,” or “intolerant.” It wasn’t long ago that the word ‘tolerance’ meant bearing up or putting up with someone or something not especially liked. Just a quick check of my computer dictionary (Mac Dictionary/Thesaurus) validates that idea: “Tolerance: noun; the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.”
Our culture has a new working definition of tolerance. It has come to mean accepting all truth claims, lifestyles, and values as equal. (A good work on this is The New Tolerance, McDowell and Hostetler [Tyndale House, 1998])
So the truth of the matter is, that it’s only this “revision” of tolerance that has, by definition only, rendered Christians as intolerant. (In saying this, I am not advocating that all Christians are tolerant, just as I would not advocate that all non-Christians are tolerant). But most people don’t see how illogical and self-refuting this new definition is. That is, if someone condemns the Christian truth claim, they are not treating that belief as ‘equal.’ So by the new “revisionist” definition of tolerance, they have become intolerant. The result is intolerance towards Christianity from people who espouse tolerating all views.
When someone asks me, “Why are you so intolerant,” I will respond, “Are you, right now, by your words and attitude, showing the kind of tolerance of my view as you expect of me for your view?” The result is a stand-off. I prefer to really, by the dictionary definition, tolerate their beliefs and they disagree, but “really” tolerate mine!
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