But in my mind, tolerance isn't always enough because it assumes we disagree with something. Tolerance comes at an issues, already has an enemy. Perhaps that enemy is offering you an olive branch, but you're not allies.
Tolerance assumes "I understand you, and I'll let you be wrong."
In my teaching career, I usually say that tolerance isn't good enough, that we should be celebrating diversity. So what if it's not my religion, race, ethnicity--can't I party wit y'all? :) For young people, and some adults, it's more about getting out of our own culture and just experiencing things. So when students ask me "Why do Christians hate Muslims?" I respond "We don't. I'm a Christian and I don't hate you."
Things get more iffy when spreading this issue to doctrinal issues and issues within American culture and the American church. Two questions mainly pop into my mind: How do we reconcile differences between Christian traditions? How do I reconcile my beliefs and wider (not necessarily Christian) pop culture?
Firstly, God calls the Church to unity. Denominations are built upon human interpretations of scripture, and to you, who split theological hairs, Paul says "So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God." And in Ephesians 4 "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."
Yes, we will disagree about things, but as Gordon Brubaker said "God can take it," so we should take those disagreements to him.
In this, I do believe that God has given believers authority to, with grace, love and truth, discipline believers who "go astray". In the same passage, though, Paul asserts that we basically have no business to judge "outsiders" aka "unbelievers". 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 "But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral, greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? God will judge the outside. 'Drive out the wicked person from among you.'" So maybe the Amish were not so far off with "the shun"...
Does this mean we create a small Christian community and hunker down and have nothing to do with the outside world? No... Paul lived out loud, in the community, but he didn't judge them for their sins. He had compassion on them, as Jesus did over and over again: Matthew 9:36 "When he saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were helpless and harassed like sheep without a shepherd."
Plato also famously said "Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." There are so many ways to connect with the people around us, and not just superficial ways... Christians, though covered by grace, though working out our faith with fear and trembling, though saved, and being saved, have lived lives, messed up, been hurt, etc.
Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians talks about how Christ "rescued" him. It sounds dramatic--we don't want to think we need rescuing, but on the level of spirituality, we do. 1:10-12a "He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. Indeed, this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with frankness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God."
I've taken to asking everyone I know to pray for me, even if they aren't religious. This past summer, when my visa had not arrived, friends who are Atheists, Muslims, Agnostics, and Christians all were asking me about my situation, and I asked them all to pray and send all their good thoughts towards hoping that I get it... and I did! People get to join in with God in saving us by praying with us. This is just amazing.
Further, Paul then says that this is his main testimony--that God keeps saving him because he's so honest and aware that he needs it enough to ask everyone to pray for him.
Frankness, the word Paul uses to describe how he deals with the world, is not universally appreciated. In fact, usually, when I hear it, it's negative. We've all heard the famous "Frankly my dear..." and we've heard people say "Oh don't mind him, he's... frank." It's almost an apologetic. But Merriam Webster defines "frank" as "marked by free, forthright, and sincere expression ."
This doesn't necessarily strike me as offensive. If anything, I hope I live frankly... not afraid of being myself, not anxious or worried or fake, not showy or proud or gloaty, but frank--free, forthright and sincere.
The other part of this scripture, for me, is the hard part. You see, I like knowing things and thinking that I know things. I do consider myself wise-ish for a 27-year-old. And Paul, while he doesn't bash human wisdom, clearly sees its limitations. The Grace of God is everything, and grace is based on God's love for us.
In his previous letter to the Corinthians, he talks about how great love is, how it is the greatest thing in the world "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." (13:2) For God's opinion on Human Wisdom, see Isaiah 55:9 ;)
As infuriating and exhausting as it is, we are called to love not only the body of believers (which for me IS hard enough), but the wider community. Throughout the gospels, Jesus makes it clear that if we don't look after the poor, widows and orphans, those in prison and aliens, that we're going to be judged for that.
Do I have to tolerate everything they do? I don't think so... I'll offer to buy the homeless man lunch, but if he tries to get me to buy him a beer... sorry dude, no way.
One thing I have been trying to do much more recently is hope in God and hope in people. Much of the time, I feel like Christians, among other people, feel like they need to be "in the know" so they get down on things, so that if something bad happens, "Oh, well I knew that would happen.... really it was only a matter of time... just LOOK at..."
But Jesus commands us to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves." I do think this means being innocent in the ways of evil. Don't expect people to let you down, screw up, make mistakes, even if it looks like it's probable, and hope intensely that they will succeed in righteousness. Bolster each other, encourage one another, and "in humility, regard others as better than yourself" (Phil 2:3). He talks about this more in his Body of Christ excerpt of 1 Corinthians 12.
I think the hardest part of "being in the world but not of it" is surrounding ourselves with godly and righteous things-- "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Phil 4:8). How much of cable TV does this encompass?
A friend, doing her Masters on gender selection in India, found herself reading day and night on people killing baby girls, etc. She started having nightmares about it eventually. And I would say that reading about killing babies is not commendable, but her heart is to help stop this process and to inspire and engender value for all humans and the love of God in all cultures. Sometimes being a Christian means knowing about darkness in order to spread the light.
This is a hard journey, but all the more necessary to surround yourself with people who have light in them, people who love you, people who will pray for you, even if they aren't sure who they are praying too.
I don't necessarily think tolerance is the answer, I think love is--the love of Jesus my Lord--the love that was and is and is to come, the love that has destroyed the sting of death, and whose desire is for all to turn and be saved.
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