Don't Let Them Hide Behind Tolerance

There is real virtue in setting righteous boundaries.

When Washington Elementary School District (WESD) decided to dissolve its contract with Arizona Christian University (ACU), it did so in the name of tolerance. Arizona Christian University proclaims and teaches that marriage is a union of man and woman before God, and they state that homosexual activity is sinful. The university has been a source of teachers for that Washington school district for 11 years, but amid a nationwide teacher shortage, that contract has come to an end.

It’s not difficult to see the irony in claiming to be tolerant in the same breath as ejecting people of opposing or differing beliefs. Yet, this has become the norm. It’s not even shocking. Those who consider tolerance to be a premier virtue tend not to understand it as it is officially defined (though dictionaries now update for political correctness regularly).

The official definition (Cambridge) is:

“Willingness to accept behavior and beliefs that are different from your own, although you might not agree with or approve of them.”

What is actually meant by those on the political left is something more like:

“The acceptance and celebration of specific groups and classes that are in alignment with one’s own belief system.”

You may notice that this definition is almost the opposite of the real definition. But, by identifying themselves as “The Tolerant”, they can cast their enemies as The Intolerant, thus asserting moral superiority where they have none.

Don’t misunderstand, we shouldn’t want to be tolerant of all. This method of rephrasing the debate by those on the left tries to force traditionalists to defend how tolerant they are. Let us instead heed Chesterton’s timeless warning:

“Societies are far gone in depravity when toleration is considered good in itself, without regard to the thing tolerated.”

We suffer from a society that is tolerant of all of the wrong things, and intolerant of the faithful. In truth, both political sides are intolerant of some things. Anyone who is decent should be intolerant of that which is evil, immoral, and harmful. A person tolerant of everything would be a monster, and a society tolerant of all could not even bond itself together. Not a single law could be enforced. Our legal system is based upon the assertion that there are certain behaviors that will not be tolerated.

To look back at this school board, we see another modern tactic in which those who are discriminating against Christians then claim that they are not discriminating against Christians at all — only against people who are willing to practice the beliefs that are inherent to their faith. A primary example of that was when one of the members proudly asserted:

"For me, my pause is not that they're Christian so much as this particular institution's strong anti-LGBTQ stance and their strong belief that you believe this to your core and you take it out into the world."

So, we can be Christian, for now, as long as we act like atheists and join them in celebrating lifestyles that are both sinful and harmful to those who practice them. Another way of stating this would be, “You can say you’re Christian, but you can’t BE Christian.” This isn’t tolerance, it’s favor. They favor those living sinful lifestyles over those who wish to defend and protect the traditional family unit. Stating it so plainly removes the false moral high ground that they reach for.

Let us not shirk from stating that there are some things we will not tolerate. We all want to live in a society that has boundaries — the alternative is unthinkable. We merely disagree profoundly about where those boundaries should be. Those on the left are at war with Christians and almost every tenet of the Faith. They want us to be pushed to the fringes of society, and later, they will seek our eradication.

We must respond by becoming more forceful and by speaking the truth with confidence in a world that runs from it. We should not be tolerant of degenerate displays and the attempts to tear down the moral rubric of our society. To defend worthwhile values, one must speak against perversions and we must do the very opposite of what we are being asked to do. We must live our faith.