Tolerance

Here's a thought that came to me...

Isn't "tolerance" an oxymoron?

The idea of tolerance is to be accepting of other people's views, right? So do the "tolerant" people of our society accept (and "tolerate") those who are not tolerant? It seems to me that those who advocate tolerance are, in actual fact, intolerant of intolerance!!

Just a thought.

A simplified message of Jesus

I often wonder how much complex theology we need to have faith. Could the Gospel message be summarised thus:

• Jesus lived to show us how to have a fulfilling life.
• Jesus died to show the sin of those not living that life.
• Jesus rose to show that he has conquered sin.
• Jesus ascended to give us hope for something better.

Once I was sat with a group of people and we were asked to summarise the Gospel in one sentence. I found the best one – from an older and more mature Christian – to be so simple:

• God loves you.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with theology, but perhaps we need to keep it in perspective.

"Those Liberals!"

I often hear comments against such ‘liberal’ views that some Christians have. Those people who ‘live by grace’ that they almost ignore ‘the law.’ Those who place freewill above predestination. Those who seem to let anything go. Those people who ‘true Christians’ use to compare themselves with so that they can be sure that they have it right.

And yet there are two issues that need to be addressed here. The first is an extrapolation of John 8 with the woman caught in adultery. Jesus tells the Pharisees that those who are without sin should cast the first stone. The second is Jesus’ view of judgment in Matthew 7: he doesn’t say, “Don’t judge,” he says that we will be judged in the same way that we judge others.

It’s not that we are not allowed to judge other people, but that we must remember who it is that will be judging us... and the standard he uses to judge us is the one that we set. Jesus warns the Pharisees that if they cast a stone against the woman, they are allowing God to cast a stone against them.

So as Christians, let’s remember that when we pull down other denominations and degrade other Christians for not having the same views as us, let’s remember that God will judge us in the way that we judge. If we judge harshly, it’s going to be tough. So maybe, just maybe, ‘those liberals’ are actually onto something. By being seemingly carefree at times, they are withholding judgment of others. Maybe it’s time to learn a lesson from them.

Being 'in the world' but not 'of the world'

It’s a common phrase, but it isn’t in the Bible, although the gist is there:

John 17:11
I [Jesus] will remain in the world no longer, but they [followers] are still in the world...

John 17:16
They [followers] are not of the world, even as I [Jesus] am not of it.

John 17:18
As you [Father] sent me [Jesus] into the world, I have sent them [followers] into the world.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The usual understanding I hear from this passage is how we are to be ‘set apart’ from the world in such a way that we keep ourselves pure, with all the ‘evil’ on the outside, away from us. It sounds reasonable.

The way it is put into practice is a little different, both from my own experience and also from what I’ve seen around me. Because we are to ‘let our light shine’ (Matt 5:14-16), we make sure the image we give to others is as perfect as we can make it. We know that on the inside we need a lot of work, but we try to allow God to deal with that whilst giving off a good image. It’s as if we don’t want our impurities and imperfections to get in the way of:

1. How others view us (our own self-image)
2. Other people coming to know Jesus (they will think us a hypocrite and choose not to believe)

Herein lays the problem.

1. We know we’re not perfect.
2. Other people know we’re not perfect.
3. God knows we’re not perfect.

So what are we trying to prove? God works with our imperfections, both within ourselves (to make us better people) and through our interactions with others. We must remember that what we do is not in our strength, but His. We don’t have anything to prove; nothing to boast about. The image we give to others isn’t about how good we can make it look; it’s all about how God wants other people to see it. We don’t actually have anything to do with it. Some people care so much about the way they look to others, I wonder if they realise the people they ‘impress’ are only a very small minority. If we honour God, we can let Him do the hard work!

I felt it important to say that, but what I really want to have a brief look at is what it actually means to be ‘in the world’ but not ‘of the world.’ It’s not about giving off an image, and it’s not about being so different from others that they just avoid us. God never intended Christians to be crackpots! We did that on our own. So I want to suggest something a little different.

Instead of distancing ourselves from everything around us, I believe we should be taking an interest in it. We should do our research. We should get involved with things – I don’t just mean having secular jobs, I mean getting involved with our communities. Maybe this means being part of a sports club, going to the gym with a few mates, going to that walking group we’ve kept putting off, taking up a new hobby – it could be anything! We must remember that we are in the world!

Maybe it means it’s okay to be interested in Harry Potter. Maybe it’s okay to laugh at a crude joke. Maybe it’s okay to do something which doesn’t seem particularly spiritual. I really don’t think God minds.

But the important thing to remember is the reason why we do the things we do. I believe this is the heart of the matter: our attitude. There’s no point in making ourselves look good and pure if our motives are selfish or unloving. There is no problem with doing ‘worldly’ things as long as we don’t neglect God or other people. We need to remember what must take priority in our lives. By being ‘in’ the world, we can show others that they, too, do not need to be ‘of’ the world. Maybe together we can change the world.