Mark:
A thought or two on tolerance. You wrote:
"That is why Intolerance,IMO, works directly against God and spirituality, as it blocks others paths to the same destination."
I doubt you really believe this if taken to its logical, if perhaps extreme, conclusion. There have been religions (some of which are mentioned in the Bible) that have practiced human sacrifice. I doubt you would say we should tolerate such "religious" behavior. I also doubt you would say that is a true path to God. There are also more modern examples of behavior that I doubt you would advocate being tolerant of. The belief system of Adolf Hitler, for example, is one that I am confident you would not be tolerant of. Yet he believed what he was doing with religious fervor as did many of his followers. Clearly, then, all religions do not lead to God. The task of the "religious" person is to find the way to true salvation, or a relationship with God. If not all religions lead to this, as I have posited, then discrimination among religions is required and a failure to do so ensures that the correct path is not taken.
I am not saying that people do not have a "right" to practice other religions nor am I saying that there should be a governmental prohibition of other religions (except for the extremes where someone is physically injured, for example). You should understand, though, that it is an inherent part of the Christian faith to believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation and that all other ways are false. That does not mean, though, that Christians should not try to be understanding and respectful of other's belief systems, but it is the nature of Christianity that to outsiders we appear intolerant when what we are really doing is following the teachings of our Lord. And we follow those teachings because His words are true and correct.
Respectfully, Tom |
