Intolerance What is it? 

The church is one of the most intolerant places I have ever been to. Perhaps some of you have heard this at one point or another. Indeed it seems to be the calling card of the church these days doesn't it? Why is that? Some of you would perhaps say that it is because the church leaves out those who don't do what the church deems as right. It picks on people who want to live a certain way. It shuns people, and it shames people. In some aspects these people are correct. God does not tolerate sin. When Christians speak out against such issues, we are to d it from a biblical understanding. We call these things out not just because it's our opinion, but because it's God's opinion. We should always stand up and challenge culture and ask them to show and to prove why they are right and the Bible is wrong. If we are to hold true that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then it is with that authority that we speak out against culture. Some of you at this point might be wanting to call me a hypocrite because of my last blog post. Admittedly I did not do a good job of articulating my thoughts. Christians need to speak out against culture, but it should be done from a position of love. We do not call out culture to simply say "Hey you are wrong!" We call out culture to say "Hey you are wrong just like me. We need Jesus!" Christians should speak out to simply increase Christ's influence, but demonstrate the need for Christ, and how and when we call out culture should be done with discernment, and in love. It should also be done with the full authority of scripture. From this mind set Christians are very intolerant, if intolerance is simply having a disagreement with someone. I do not think that this is intolerance. I think intolerance as we apply it in our lives is when one side tries to silence or extinguish an opposing side or view point. For example if I thought that 2=2=5 and tried to either silence or kill anyone that disagreed with me then I would be intolerant. This is exactly the situation we have going on in the middle east right now. Many Christian brothers and sisters are being kicked out, tortured, or killed because of their faith. A church that has been around for over 1000 years has now been torched. Where is the outcry against this level of intolerance? People in America do not seem to understand the privilege we have to stand up and speak what we believe without fear of the government persecuting us. That goes for anyone no matter what they believe. It is something that we should be thankful every single day. More over we should dishonor those who do not have this freedom by abusing the freedom we have. I long for the days when two people could agree to disagree. Now it seems that is if I say, "you're wrong!" That makes me a bad person, it makes me intolerant. Christians will have to be careful how we address people. I admit there have been intolerant Christians in the past and even in the present. Christians that do not wish to have a conversation but just wish to silence any who disagree. This does not mean that we should be silent however. We are called, all of us to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. That means calling sin, sin. It means trying to persuade people that they are in need of savior and Christ is that savior and he is also Lord of their life. Let us not ever seek to silence a conversation, but also let us not be afraid to say 2=2 does not =5, that is wrong. 2+2=4. In the same way living for yourself is the wrong world view, let me tell you what the right one is. If they disagree with you, that's okay. You can disagree agreeably. Thank you for your comments, and I hope they keep coming. If there is something that you would like to get my thoughts let me know in the comments below.