Tolerance and Convictions

An English author by the name of G.K. Chesterton once said, "Tolerance is a virtue of a man without conviction."

This is a very strong statement and has forced me to reassess my views of what constitutes tolerance.  The dictionary definition of tolerance regarding the views of others is: The capacity for or the patience of recognizing and respecting the beliefs and practices of others without sharing them. Basically, this differentiates between the thoughts and actions of a person from the person himself.  In our politically correct society, tolerance has been given a new and warped definition: the beliefs and practices of others are equal in correctness and validity.  This presents to quandary of moral relativism. We can deduce that the two definitions are far from the same.  Thus, the above quote by Chesterton, comes into play.

In the current American culture, it is considered acceptable to be tolerant of the views of others with whom you may disagree but the "new tolerance" is applied her in not simply being tolerant of the rights of others to have different views.  It is politically correct to perceive the views of others as equal to your own, therefore, leading to a loss of conviction.  This would present a world where all is equal: actions, beliefs, cultures, lifestyles, truth claims.  If all views are equal, where does that leave conviction?

I, for one, am not willing to compromise my convictions in order to apply "new tolerance" to the perspectives of others.  Paul of Tarsus, in his letters to the church in Corinth, wrote that Christians are to practice tolerance and freedom of religious conscience within the church. The strong in faith should not judge the weak in faith; that is the job of our Lord.  This does not mean that Christians must readily accept things of which God does not approve.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:12, 13b, "All things are lawful for me but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me but I will not be mastered by anything...Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body."

If one incorporates morals and beliefs, which are contrary to their own thoughts, into decisions and lifestyles, the person has then adulterated their core convictions.  By integrating beliefs which are not of your own, loss of credibility of convictions will be the result. Because the "new tolerance" is what is accepted in our culture, incorporating beliefs of somebody else is deemed "open-minded".   If one is not open-minded, he is labeled as intolerant, bigoted and shunned from discussions of convictions. Because of the inherent fear of being an outcast and labeled as "intolerant", people will loosen their convictions in order to fit into society.  Again, this brings moral relativism into play.  Are we willing to back down on our convictions, our core values and beliefs, just so we will be seen as tolerant and accepting, or do we need to revisit the original definition of "tolerance" and live by the teachings of the Bible? This begs the question of "if we are tolerant (new tolerance) of the sins of others, is that a sin in and of itself?"

I am of the camp of "exclusivism", meaning I believe Christianity to be the only way, the only truth and utterly complete but I am allow myself to be altered by the teachings of Jesus the Christ.  The teachings do not change, I do.  I do not hold the idea that other religions have validity based on the culture in which they are prominent because, that would invalidate my belief that Jesus is the ONLY way. If I were to say, "well, yes, I think my religion is the truth but if you put into context the other religions in their societies, they could be valid as well, but just not complete," I would, basically, be invalidating my own beliefs. My tolerant view comes into play when I pronounce that people have the right to follow whatever faith they choose, but I in no way believe if someone chooses something other than Christianity, that they are right.  I will not change the validity of my values in order to equal those of others simply because they have the right to chose an alternate path. 

The lesson of this post is to be cognizant and respectful of the rights of others to make a decision but hold strong to the convictions which lead you on the right path, the way of Jesus.

"Accept one another, then just as Jesus Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." Romans 15:17