Remember the old John Lennon song Imagine? While I didn’t agree with his conclusion that it is religion that makes things bad, it is a productive exercise. Use your imagination and try to come up with the best possible world.
My imagination world is a world of tolerance. This may seem strange as I am an evangelical Christian, a particular species of humanity known for its intolerance. What I mean by tolerance is its original definition. Not a blurring of values so that you accept everyone as equally correct. Tolerance is about understanding that we are all different and willing to leave that difference unpunished.
This is the world I would love. A world where religious people could hold to their distinctives, openly disagree with each other but willing to stand with each other for their common freedom. A world where evangelicals could disagree with the homosexual lifestyle and homosexuals could disagree with evangelical values. A world where people had freedom of speech without fear of punishment for being politically correct. A world where Christians could be criticized for their beliefs but who did not have to fear economic or employment repercussions for their faith. A world where Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Buddhists could be open about their faith without fear of offending someone.
I understand that Christians have done their part of creating an atmosphere of intolerance. But the answer to one group’s intolerance is not to become intolerant to them.
I imagine a world where we are all mature and play like big boys and girls. Unfortunately, it is only in my imagination.
- Intolerance
- Tolerance
