Is Tolerance a Christian Virtue?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

Yes — the Golden Rule: respect every person, approve nothing sinful

• The question posed (in the host's frame): the word tolerance gets thrown around a lot, in our culture — usually in reference to discussions about sex, gender, gender identity, race. In fact, many of our audience members are probably familiar with that. It seems like they're everywhere, these bumper stickers that say 'coexist' — and the letters are made up of symbols, from various world religions, including usually the Christian cross. So, people are talking about tolerance. But I want to know: the word tolerance does not appear, in the Bible translation named in the frame, at least (as the host puts it). But: is that a biblical virtue? And if so, what does it look like, in a world where people have so many different competing ideas and answers, to life's most important questions? The answer: so the question is: is tolerance a Christian virtue? And the answer is: yes and no. Yes, in the sense of loving and respecting all people. And you can see this in Matthew 7:12 — the words of Jesus. We usually call it the Golden Rule. And we can paraphrase it, in modern English: do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. And it actually goes back to the Old Testament. Jesus said: this is the summary, of the law and the prophets. Because you go back to Leviticus: love your neighbor, as yourself. So: just like you love yourself, you should treat your neighbor, the same way. So: the Old Testament, the New Testament, the whole Bible teach: we should respect other human beings. Because, number one: they are created, in the image of God. And number two: Jesus Christ died, for everyone. We should love them. And love is more than emotion. Sometimes we don't have an emotionally warm feeling, towards an evil person. But love is primarily an act of the will. We choose to treat them kindly, respectfully, lovingly. And so, we're even supposed to love our enemies. Jesus said, in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. So, when it comes to how we treat another human being, we should treat them as we wish to be treated. So: love, kindness, respect. Which would indicate: if we want freedom, to practice our religious beliefs — we want for people to at least respect us, not to ridicule us, not to persecute us, not to hate us, not to be bigoted, or prejudiced, against us — well, we should do the same. So: whether it's an atheist, a Muslim, someone living a homosexual life, someone who's addicted to drugs, someone who's transgender, Christians of other denominations — we should treat them kindly. So that means: accepting them, as humans, and with civil rights, human rights, given by God. In fact, we can't violate that. But not approval. So we can — tolerance, in the correct sense, of biblical sense, as I've described it — loving your neighbor, and so forth, and the Golden Rule — would mean: accepting them as humans; accepting their integrity; respecting their rights; accepting the fact that they have a right to participate, in society, and politics, in the community. But not approving of their behavior, their lifestyle, their choices, and so on. And sometimes that can be a fine line. But say, for example, with family members, or neighbors, or people — fellow students, at school, or co-workers: how do you — you can't hate them. You can't speak against them. Yet you don't want to approve, of their lifestyle.

Scriptures: Matthew 7:12; Leviticus (book-only); Matthew 5

No — tolerance redefined as approval rests on denying absolute truth

• And so here's the problem, with tolerance, now: it's been redefined. Not in the sense of respecting another person, and protecting their rights, as I've just explained — which I do believe is biblical. But now tolerance is being redefined, to say: you must approve, of other people's choices, and lifestyle. And the theory behind it, is this: there is no absolute truth. So everybody's truth is just as valid, as everybody else's. And so, if you're going to respect that person, you have to accept their truth, as valid, for them. Well, we've discussed, in a previous podcast, that there is absolute truth. It's found in God. It's found in the word of God. And even though we are imperfect beings, and we may not be capable of perfectly understanding truth, we can understand the truth, of God's word. And we can understand that we're supposed to have faith, in God. And that we're supposed to be born again. We're supposed to live a holy life. And there's some actions, and behaviors, and lifestyles, that are right. And there's some, that are wrong. And so, there too, for us: there is a standard, of objective truth. So, if you believe all truth is subjective, then your tolerance would mean: you say, well, your lifestyle is just as valid as mine; your religion is just as valid as mine. Well, as Christians, we can't say that. And of course, to live in this world, practically speaking, you can't say that. To a brain surgeon, you can't say: well, your technique is just as good as that person's technique. No. One technique is going to kill you. And one is going to save you. You can't say, to an airline pilot: well, however you want to fly the plane ('fly the prey', as heard), is just as good as how I want to fly the plane. No. There's a right way, and there's a wrong way. And the wrong way will cause you to crash, and burn. So, in the real world, there is right and wrong. So, to say, in the spiritual realm: certain lifestyles are sinful, and will lead to eternal separation from God — which we call the lake of fire, hell. So, to say your lifestyle, or your choice, is just as good as mine: it's not a matter of our personal choice. It's a matter of God's will. But just to say one choice is just as good as the other: it's not true. Because one choice leads to destruction. Sin has horrible consequences, in this life — and not to mention, the life to come. So, to say it's all the same, or all neutral, or equally valid: we can't conscientiously say that, because we can't believe that. And furthermore, it's just objectively not true. You know: if you live in certain ways, you destroy your physical health. So: if you smoke, you're much more likely to get lung cancer, all kind of other diseases. So to say the choice of smoking, or the choice of using drugs, is morally neutral — and it's just your choice, versus my choice, equally valid: that's not objectively true. It's actually detrimental, for your health. In the same way, various sins are detrimental, for your physical life, your spiritual life, your emotional life, your family life, your marriage, and your eternity. So tolerance cannot mean, that we accept other views, as correct. And so: it is not bigoted, to say: I believe that Jesus is the savior of the world. I believe that salvation is through Jesus Christ. I believe: if you live a sinful life, that you will eventually have an eternity, that's separated from God. Because God is holy. And if you choose sin, on a permanent basis, you will be separated from the God, who is holy. And that's what your eternity will look like. It's not bigoted, or prejudiced, or hateful, to say that. Now, we can say: God is the judge. I'm not going to say you're going to hell. And I don't have authority, to send you to hell. And what I think doesn't really matter. But God is going to be the ultimate judge.

Hate the sin, love the sinner — and first Peter's good reputation

• Now, I will further add — because some Christians may push back, to say: no, we should — you know, we shouldn't be tolerant, even in the sense you first described. Well, certainly, we're to hate evil. And it's sometimes an overused phrase. And I think there's a truth: we can hate sin, but love the sinner. So, we hate sin, because it's destructive. So we hate alcoholism, because it destroys lives. Doesn't mean we hate the alcoholic. We can have compassion, for them. We can respect them, as a human. We can love them. So I do believe, in a very real sense, we can hate evil, and sin, without hating people, or being bigoted, or harsh, or hateful, towards them. And we have to — in our speech, our conduct — we have to think: not only do we want to be morally right, but we want to be effective. So, yes: telling someone, what you're doing is wrong, it has bad consequences — that may be the most loving thing, to say. But just to ridicule them, or attack them, or be harsh and hateful towards them, saying we're right and they're wrong — well, I think you have to say: we're not trying to win an argument. We're trying to win a soul. And so, being harsh and hateful turns them away, from hearing truth. We haven't really done any good. We haven't really loved them. Now, so, for some who would push back, I would say: read first Peter, especially chapters two, three, and four. And it talks about having a good reputation, in the community. So: we are to live a good Christian life. We are to be good citizens, in society. We are to be good employees, even with unbelievers. So that we have a good testimony. And we should care, what other people think, about us. So you might say: well, we don't — we don't have to care, what sinners think. But first Peter says: yes, we should. And then it says: they may persecute us unfairly. But let's make sure it is indeed unfairly. That we're not being — that we don't suffer, or we're not being attacked, because of sins that we're committing. But if we are going to be persecuted — or if we are going to suffer, in a society — or if people are going to hate us: let it be, because of the godly life we've chosen. And Peter goes on to explain: do good works. So eventually, even though they may persecute you, and ridicule you — when they see your good works, they may change their mind. And Peter also says: have an answer, for the questions they ask, so that they might understand. So, when you read first Peter, it seems to say: even when you're treated unjustly — you're persecuted, or you suffer, as a Christian — you should pay attention. You should try to be — have a good reputation, and have a good relationship, as far as you can. You should care, about how other people look at us. You shouldn't be antagonistic. They might be attacking you. But you shouldn't attack them, in the same way. And so I think he is saying, that Christians should be tolerant, in the sense of respecting other people, even when they're not respected. And doing good works, even when they're being persecuted. So there is an element — following what Jesus said — that we should care, about what other people think of us. And we should strive to be good Christians, good citizens, good neighbors, good family members — even when that's not reciprocated. And so: tolerance, in this sense, of respecting and loving others, regardless: yes. Tolerance, in the sense of approving sinful behavior and lifestyles: no (his closing summary statement — the captured text ends here; no outro was captured for this item).

Scriptures: 1 Peter 2-4

Scripture index: Matthew 7:12; Leviticus (book-only); Matthew 5; 1 Peter 2-4.