Morality and the Intolerance of Tolerance

“Tolerate persons in all circumstances, by according them respect and courtesy even when their ideas are false or silly.” Gregory Koukl

Liberal Tolerance is one of the primary challenges to the Christian worldview. Its proponents will argue that it is intolerant, narrow-minded and inconsistent with the principles of a free and open society for Christians (and other faiths) to claim that their moral and religious perspective is somewhat superior and should be embraced by society.

Liberal tolerance it not what it is cracked up to be. It is a partisan philosophical perspective with its own set of dogmas. It assumes, whether its proponents realize it or not, a relativistic view of morals. This false assumption has shaped the way many people think about critical moral issues such as homosexuality and abortion. It has resulted in a situation where a liberally tolerant position concerning such issues is seen as correct and should therefore reflected in wider society. But with this dogmatic position: their ‘tolerance’ has become intolerant. It asserts that there is only one correct view on these issues (that of liberal tolerance), and if one does not comply with it, one will face public ridicule. Unfortunately, most of what passes for tolerance today is really intellectual cowardice. Those who hide behind ‘tolerance’ are often afraid of intelligent engagement. It is much easier to hurl an insult, than to confront the idea and either refute it or be changed by it.

Moral rules are directions from God for operating the human machine. They are Christ’s signature on His greatest masterpiece: written upon all of our the hearts. We are rebels who need to lay down our arms. This rebellion will not last forever, mind you. If we build on the right foundation, Jesus Christ the Creator, we could turn our nation around. Any other foundation leaves us with our feet firmly planted in mid-air.