Christians and Tolerance

As Christians, we are often accused of being intolerant. E.g. if we say sex outside of marriage or homosexuality is "wrong", we are called intolerant. We are called intolerant because we do not agree with those who view these behaviors as OK.

But what is tolerance? Tolerance is the act of allowing something we don't agree with. Note that last part: "that we don't agree with". The very word tolerance implies disagreement.

If we agree with an idea or behavior, there is no need to "tolerate" it at all. The word "tolerance" only makes sense if there is first something we don't agree with.

So as Christians, we DO tolerate others. We DO "allow" others to behave in ways we don't agree with -- i.e. we do not forcibly oppress them, arrest them, etc. In fact, as Christians we are called to love our neighbors, even our "pagan" ones. So, by definition, the Christian position is one of tolerance.