By
Anthony
Gonzales
Tolerance
can be a virtue when the reason behind the tolerance is not to condone an evil or
silently acquiesce to
it but is rather directed
as patience with the
sinner that he might come to repentance. There comes a time, however, when tolerance
becomes a vice and instead of doing good it does great harm to those whom we tolerate. This vice occurs when by
our supposed patience we tolerate not
only people but ideas that
are contrary to the truth and
that give people a sense of license in
which they exercise their freedom destructively both to themselves, their associates
and to society as a whole. For
example, it is the nature of Truth to
be intolerant of falsehood. Truth and falsehood are contradictions in
terms and totally opposed to
each other. Our minds were created to know the truth not to be deceived by
falsehood. All science, all education, all knowledge is based upon
obtaining correct information about
whatever we are studying or investigating. What would it
be like, for instance, if a math teacher "tolerated" every
answer given to an equation even if the majority of the answers were incorrect?
Would we consider a teacher "compassionate" and
"caring" who allowed his
students to believe they had the right answer when in actual fact their answers were totally wrong? If
someone said to a professor
of American history that
they believed Abraham Lincoln was the first President
of the United States would it
be just or proper for the historian to agree with that person in order
not to offend them or hurt their feelings?
Of course not! We are, by
nature, intolerant of falsehood because it is against the very nature of the
mind to knowingly accept what is false.
Sadly,
we have become a society that is afraid of offending anyone, a namby-pamby society of politically and
relgiously correct people who would not dare to
correct someone even
if what they are doing or saying is detrimental both
to themselves and others. A perfect example
of this can be found in the protection we give to people with AIDS. This
disease is worse than any other sexually transmitted disease and most other
diseases. We used to lock up carriers
of disease like Typhoid Mary. Yet under
the guise of
tolerance, compassion and the "right" to privacy we allow
people with AIDS complete
anonymity as if
this malady is
simply a private matter
that had no effect on anyone else. This is one of the primary reasons
for the spread of this disease.
Our society is so sick that it now tolerates activity that was once considered so perverse that people would be thrown into jail
for a life time. Homosexuality is rampant and not only do we tolerate
it but we are expected to
consider it normal behavior. It has
gotten so bad that our children
are being taught that not only must they be "tolerant" of
alternative life styles but they are encouraged to explore these life styles
for themselves to see what the other side is like. If you think that I am
exaggerating ask a teenager whom you do
not know to tell you about the sexual
activity that goes on among his peers. There is increasing discussion about the legalization of drugs in a society that
has been totally infected by the instant gratification mentality. Pornography used to be considered a plague
and prosecuted to the fullest
extent that the law allowed now we tolerate it to the degree that pornographic magazines
and videos can be found in more than half of the homes in America. Abortion was
unheard of 70 years ago now more than 1.6 million babies are killed every year
in the USA alone. This country was founded upon the principle of religious
freedom. We now tolerate the most bizzare and abberant behaviors, all under the name of
religion. Satanic Churches and Wiccan
Covens can be found openly throughout the country. Etc.etc.
As followers of Christ we are not expected to
extend our tolerance to these evil and perverse activities. Our ancestors realized this when they
created laws and established police departments to enforce those laws. A well
ordered society runs upon the
premise that its members are living within the moral law woven into our very nature by God
Himself. Following His law is what
ensures a well ordered society and government. As soon as man becomes the
standard of his own actions then chaos reigns throughout the land and violence
over the face of the earth. It is said
in Scripture:
"The Earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and it was
filled with violence. God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all men lived
corruptly on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all creatures of
flesh is in my mind; the earth is full of violence because of them. I will
destroy them with the earth.’”(Genesis 6:11-14)
Have we arrived at this same point again in our history? God destroyed Sodom for less than the corruption we have today. Can we then expect Him to hold back His hand of justice forever? The liberals want us to be more tolerant than God Himself. What do you think?