Jesus is a bigot.
People throw around the words tolerance and compassion with little regard to what they actually mean these days. Especially when it comes to Jesus. "Jesus was compassionate" they say, as if that compassion allows anybody to do anything, anytime. Proponents of 'progressive' stances on some social issues hold Jesus up as the quintessential example of tolerance in order to justify their position. It drives me crazy when people hijack Jesus' persona to give an excuse for an agenda. Not because I happen not to agree with them, but because it's simply NOT TRUE. Jesus was indeed compassionate and he was very loving but he was not tolerant. If we're going to discuss these intimate and important issues with our fellow human beings then we have to be able to do it with logic AND compassion.
Tolerance is not compassion and its not love. Just think about it. I tolerate loud noise, I tolerate brussels sprouts, I tolerate Louisiana summer heat. I don't love any of those things. The dictionary defines tolerance as this: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc.,differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
Bigotry!
Should we be kind to others? yes. Should others be free to have opinions, practices etc. that differ from mine? Absolutely! It's not the fair and objective elements of this definition that are problematic...it's the permissive attitude and the immediate label of bigotry if you happen to disagree with my disagreeing.
First of all, It doesn't make anyone a bigot to believe that an action or lifestyle is wrong. I don't have to give my permission or support to actions and beliefs that I feel are offensive to my own. *gasp* yes, i said it. But, if you insist that it does indeed make me a bigot then you have to also admit one other thing; Jesus was a bigot too. How could I say such a thing?! Because he didn't tolerate people- he loved them- and in loving them he called them out of those actions that were not in God's plan.
Love is willing the good of the other, or in some cases, ourselves. In other words it means choosing the action that is GOOD and TRUE for the sake of the other (or yourself). That choice very often doesn't come in a package that is comfortable or easy and it almost never looks like tolerance. It usually involves suffering, admitting that we're wrong and then changing the way we are acting- even if it doesn't feel good. It means dying to ourselves.
Yes, that sweet, kind, saccharine Jesus that some use to justify tolerance instead is a truly compassionate savior that asks you to die that humiliating death of humility and self denial. He says, I love you and therefore you need to change what you're doing and maybe even what you believe because its not in your best interest. What makes it compassionate is that he doesn't simply ask us to die, he shows us how to do it. "Yes, its going to hurt. Yes, it's not what you want and it seems to go against your urges. Yes it seems impossible. But, I did it first and I'll be there with you." THAT is love and that is the real definition of compassion.
Any parent can testify to this concept of love and the stark difference between compassion and tolerance. Our children want to do many things that seem like a good idea and because we love them we are obliged as parents to tell them no. BECAUSE we love them, we tell them no. Compassion takes the form of patient and loving discipline. Tolerance on the other hand would say 'sure, go ahead and do what you're doing even though it's going to hurt you or isn't within the rules of my house'. "You want to do drugs? Well, I think thats not in your best interest but I sure don't want you to think I'm a bigot so, go ahead!" No parent would define that as love and neither does Jesus.
By your own definitions, would you be considered a bigot to your children? Come on people.
Now, I'll be the first to admit there are some real jerks out there. Some who speak out against moral issues are cruel and hateful and all of us with rational minds and compassionate hearts should collectively ignore them.
That being said, it has become common practice that at the first sign of someone's disapproval of a number of issues, abortion, contraception, homosexuality - even when voiced in a rational and compassionate way, is immediately silenced by slapping the 'bigot' label on them. To me, this is a sign that those passing out that label have no thoughtful contribution to the discussion. It makes no sense that you accuse someone of being a bigot because they disagree with your opinion. There is truth, and we all have an obligation to search for it.
Tolerance is not compassion and its not love. Just think about it. I tolerate loud noise, I tolerate brussels sprouts, I tolerate Louisiana summer heat. I don't love any of those things. The dictionary defines tolerance as this: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc.,differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
Bigotry!
Should we be kind to others? yes. Should others be free to have opinions, practices etc. that differ from mine? Absolutely! It's not the fair and objective elements of this definition that are problematic...it's the permissive attitude and the immediate label of bigotry if you happen to disagree with my disagreeing.
First of all, It doesn't make anyone a bigot to believe that an action or lifestyle is wrong. I don't have to give my permission or support to actions and beliefs that I feel are offensive to my own. *gasp* yes, i said it. But, if you insist that it does indeed make me a bigot then you have to also admit one other thing; Jesus was a bigot too. How could I say such a thing?! Because he didn't tolerate people- he loved them- and in loving them he called them out of those actions that were not in God's plan. Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more."That doesn't sound like permission to me. In fact, I'm pretty sure the words "do not" make it the opposite. He could have said, "Go and keep doing what you're doing if it makes you happy and you're not hurting anyone." But instead he called her out, loved her and told her to stop it and this sort of thing happens over and over in the scriptures.
Love is willing the good of the other, or in some cases, ourselves. In other words it means choosing the action that is GOOD and TRUE for the sake of the other (or yourself). That choice very often doesn't come in a package that is comfortable or easy and it almost never looks like tolerance. It usually involves suffering, admitting that we're wrong and then changing the way we are acting- even if it doesn't feel good. It means dying to ourselves.
Yes, that sweet, kind, saccharine Jesus that some use to justify tolerance instead is a truly compassionate savior that asks you to die that humiliating death of humility and self denial. He says, I love you and therefore you need to change what you're doing and maybe even what you believe because its not in your best interest. What makes it compassionate is that he doesn't simply ask us to die, he shows us how to do it. "Yes, its going to hurt. Yes, it's not what you want and it seems to go against your urges. Yes it seems impossible. But, I did it first and I'll be there with you." THAT is love and that is the real definition of compassion.
Any parent can testify to this concept of love and the stark difference between compassion and tolerance. Our children want to do many things that seem like a good idea and because we love them we are obliged as parents to tell them no. BECAUSE we love them, we tell them no. Compassion takes the form of patient and loving discipline. Tolerance on the other hand would say 'sure, go ahead and do what you're doing even though it's going to hurt you or isn't within the rules of my house'. "You want to do drugs? Well, I think thats not in your best interest but I sure don't want you to think I'm a bigot so, go ahead!" No parent would define that as love and neither does Jesus.
By your own definitions, would you be considered a bigot to your children? Come on people.
Now, I'll be the first to admit there are some real jerks out there. Some who speak out against moral issues are cruel and hateful and all of us with rational minds and compassionate hearts should collectively ignore them.
That being said, it has become common practice that at the first sign of someone's disapproval of a number of issues, abortion, contraception, homosexuality - even when voiced in a rational and compassionate way, is immediately silenced by slapping the 'bigot' label on them. To me, this is a sign that those passing out that label have no thoughtful contribution to the discussion. It makes no sense that you accuse someone of being a bigot because they disagree with your opinion. There is truth, and we all have an obligation to search for it.
Comments
Post a Comment