Introduction
Toleration has become a cardinal virtue in the West
and countries influenced by the West.
Like equality, it is understood as a virtue related to freedom or
liberty. In democratic societies,
toleration is a necessary virtue to restrain the tyranny of the majority. Peculiarly, toleration of preferred
minorities over against others has become the mark of twenty-first century,
Western democracies.
This is because
certain minority communities actually support majority perspectives at a higher
level of abstraction, such as when the 2% homosexual population is given
affirmation as a minority expression because it supports the more abstract or
general affirmation of sexual freedom.
Caricature and persecution of those holding to tradition views of
sexuality and marriage are, suddenly, legitimate objects of derision and
persecution.
Over against Western culture’s experiment with these
virtues lie many Islamic societies’ practices of intolerance. Beating, imprisonment, stoning, amputations,
and beheading are not only the practice of so-called fanatical or extremist
versions of Islam but also of governments under Sharia Law, such as Saudi Arabia or Iran. The Taliban of Pakistan and Afghanistan
forbade girls an education and required women to cover themselves with burkas.
Examples of every version of tolerance and intolerance
could be cited from Christian history.
Yet there is a Biblical basis for a Christian version of tolerance, and
Biblical teaching offers authoritative corrections to any malpractice
throughout the history of the Church. Several
things might be said about a Biblical understanding of toleration, and what
follows is presented as ten Biblical bases for a Christian version of tolerance
Ten
Bases for Christian Tolerance.
1. The Old
Testament notion of God’s own people among the other people of the world leads
to an expectation of different standards in the world.
God’s making a people for Himself entails giving this people His
Law. He says,
Now
therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured
possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall be for me a
priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to
the Israelites" (Ex. 19.5-6).
God’s people are not to do the
things that other nations do:
Leviticus
18:1-4 The LORD spoke to Moses,
saying: 2 Speak to the people
of Israel and say to them: I am the LORD your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in
the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land
of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their
statutes. 4 My ordinances you
shall observe and my statutes you shall keep, following them: I am the LORD
your God.
2. The New
Testament notion of Christians as God’s own people also involves a view on
toleration, although it brings a shift of thinking from the Old Testament. Now God’s people are those ‘in Christ,’
persons from among both Jews and non-Jews, the Gentiles, who have acknowledged
Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. This led Christians to move away from
an Old Testament, Jewish view that did not distinguish religious communities
from nation states. This Christian view
is the basis for a distinction between the Church and ‘secular’ society. Christians in the second century began to
speak of themselves as a ‘third race’—a new people made up of both Jews and
Gentiles. As Paul said in the first
century, ‘But our citizenship is in heaven,
and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ’
(Phl. 3.20). Paul, arguing
in line with the Old Testament prophets, restricts the notion of God’s people
from all descendants of Abraham to a remnant who truly follow God (see
especially Isaiah and Rom. 9-11). On the
other hand, not all Gentiles are considered to be outside of God’s people. This leads to a distinction between the
ethics of Christians and the ethics of those outside of Christ. As Paul says,
1
Corinthians 5:11-13 But now I am writing
to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who
is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber.
Do not even eat with such a one. 12
For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are
inside that you are to judge? 13
God will judge those outside. "Drive out the wicked person from among you."
Indeed,
Christians do judge those in their own communities who claim to be faithful
followers of Jesus Christ but who are not living according to Biblical
commandments. When Jesus said to his
disciples that they should not judge others lest they be judged, he was
speaking about not being hypocrites (Mt. 7.1-5). Judgement in the community, however, is done
with an eye toward attempting to restore others (Mt. 18.12-35; 1 Cor. 5).
3. The Biblical
notion of the ‘Fall’ entails a belief in toleration. People aware of their own sinfulness are
hardly likely to lack toleration for others.
This belief states, as Paul says, that ‘all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God’ (Rom. 3.23).
Christians see all as sinful, separated from God, and in need of a
Saviour—who is Jesus Christ.
Understanding their own journey to God and their own inability to save
themselves, they therefore have a certain tolerance of others, including non-Christians. They see themselves as recipients of grace
who should tell others the good news that they, too, can receive God’s grace
through Jesus Christ. Jesus taught his
disciples to pray, ‘forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone
indebted to us’ (Lk. 11.4).
4. Christian
teaching about ‘faith’ also calls for a Christian view of tolerance. The Bible understands salvation to be by
faith in God, that is, in God’s provision of salvation. This was true in the Old Testament as much as
in the New Testament. The difference between
the two testaments is not that righteousness is through works in the Old
Testament but through faith in the New Testament. Rather, God’s salvation remains a promise in
the Old Testament, but it is fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus’
sacrificial death on a cross for our sins.
For our purposes, this teaching on faith means that salvation is not our
own accomplishment but is by God’s grace.
As with the Biblical teaching on the Fall, so also with the Biblical
understanding of salvation by God’s grace: whether sinners or saved Christians,
we have no basis to approach God or others as superior to others. This is at the centre of Christian faith, and
it is also an essential basis for a Christian view of toleration. Also, Christian faith means there is no room
for coercion. People cannot be forced to
be Christians; they must ‘come to faith.’
5. Toleration is also based on the central teaching of
the Christian Gospel: the death of
Christ on a cross. As John says in
Revelation, Christians ‘have conquered
[their accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,
for they loved not their lives even unto death’ (Rev. 12.11). Christian life is ‘cruciform.’ Jesus’ victory came through His death on a
cross, not through military action or some other use of force. His victory becomes exemplary for Christian
practice as well (a point too often missed in the history of Christianity!).
6. The Christian
view of God’s reign (the kingdom of
God) also involves a perspective on tolerance.
The Old Testament already clearly teaches that God is King over the
entire world—a view consistent with Jewish monotheism. The psalmist says, ‘Say among the nations,
"The LORD is king!’ (Ps. 96.10). The
world is coming to know that God is their King.
Ultimately, the nations will acknowledge that the Lord is the only God,
and all will bow their knees before Him (Isaiah 45.23; cf. Phl. 2.10-11). Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, has
already been exalted as Lord (Eph. 1.20-23).
Paul sees the interim time as a time when Jesus subdues his enemies (picking
up the language of Ps. 8.6, ESV): ‘For he must reign until he has put
all his enemies under his feet. 26
The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15.25-26). Thus, Christians believe that God’s reign is ‘already’
as well as ‘not yet.’ God’s present rule
has the purpose of bringing salvation (2 Cor. 6.2); his future rule will bring
judgement.
7. Christians
believe in an ultimate reckoning before God.
There is coming a judgement day.
Toleration does not mean acceptance of whatever people believe, desire,
or do. God’s justice will be meted out
on the day of judgement, even as it has already been meted out in providing
forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial, substitutionary death of Jesus
Christ for us. The delay between the
justice of the cross and the justice of God’s final judgement is a matter of
divine forbearance—toleration. As Paul
says, God our Saviour ‘desires everyone to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2.4). God's 'toleration' in regard to human sin is not a permissiveness towards sinners but a forbearance until the problem of sin is resolved--which He has done in the atonement for sin by Jesus Christ (Romans 3.25).
8. Moreover, retaliation and vengeance is not Christians’ responsibility but God’s. Paul says,
‘Beloved, never avenge yourselves,
but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I
will repay, says the Lord." 20
To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty,
give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his
head." 21 Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good’ (Rom. 12.19-21).
This is consistent with Jesus telling
his disciples to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them (Mt.
5.44).
9. Christians also have a view
that there are some matters of
indifference, such as whether to eat food sacrificed to idols in the
marketplace (1 Cor. 8-10) or to follow Jewish cultural practices (circumcision,
eating kosher foods, observing particular days—cf. Rom. 14.1-15.3). Some issues are essential to uphold a holy
community, but these standards are not to be forced on those outside the church
(1 Cor. 5).
10. Finally, love of God and neighbour is the ground for laws (Mt.
22.37-40). Similarly, God desires mercy,
not sacrifice (Mt. 9.13; 12.7, quoting Hos. 6.6). Paul’s great chapter on love is a chapter that
makes room for tolerating others:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love
is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on
its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the
truth. 7 Love bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Western culture bases tolerance
on the value of freedom; Christian theology bases toleration on the virtue of love. Therein lies the difference between a coercive,
permissive culture and a compelling, transformative community.
Conclusion
The Christian understanding of
toleration is uniquely Christian. It is
not based in liberal democratic views but is based on a Biblical worldview,
particularly on Jesus’ own victory on a cross.
Biblical teaching on the people of God in the world, the Fall, sin,
grace, faith, the reign of God, the judgement of God all lead to a unique and
consistent view of tolerance. It is a
view that can appreciate both forgiveness and judgement. It can oppose wrong views while still
tolerating them. Toleration is not a
matter of affirming relativism but is rather patient and hopeful, cruciform, and
a matter of letting God be God in dealing with people while showing love toward
enemies. Toleration also entails
appreciating that there are certain matters of indifference while others are
important to uphold within Christian communities. Ultimately, love is key to Christian
relationships, and this provides a final and important basis for toleration.