Christianity Isn’t Tolerant (Defending Christianity)

As followers of Jesus Christ, it’s essential to be bold in our faith. We should be willing to share our testimony, explain the gospel, and answer questions people have about Christianity. And, man, do people have questions and thoughts about us! So, let’s ensure that we’re prepared to explain our faith to others (1 Peter 3:15). We’ve already discussed two common criticisms hurled at believers in previous posts. 1.) We’re hypocrites. 2. Our faith is just a crutch we rely because we’re weak. Today, let’s address the accusation that Christianity isn’t tolerant.

Defining Tolerance

When someone claims Christianity isn’t tolerant, we begin with an enormous problem. Tolerance means different things to different people. Typically, when someone accuses Christians (and God) of being intolerant, they mean that believers are not accepting all views, lifestyles, etc. as valid. Not only do our critics expect us to acknowledge everything as valid, but we’re also expected to celebrate those things. Pride month, anyone?

Real Tolerance

According to Oxford Languages, to tolerate something or someone is not to agree or validate. Rather, to tolerate is to “allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one does not necessarily like or agree with) without interference.” In other words, tolerance is allowing others to practice their free will, but we don’t have to support their choices.

Unfortunately, most people don’t think critically when they say Christianity isn’t tolerant. They only see a religion that doesn’t cheer on sin…sin that they love and desperately want to justify. Therefore, working with the reality in which we live, we should admit it. Christianity isn’t “tolerant,” and that’s a good thing.

God Won’t Tolerate It

Despite the chorus of voices declaring that God is love, and thus, would never judge anyone or want people to be “inauthentic,” the Bible tells us a different story. Yes, God is love (1 John 4:8), but with love, He won’t tolerate sin. God will never accept or agree with our disobedient and wicked acts. His ways are perfect, and He won’t lower Himself to our sinful nature.

Christianity Isn’t Tolerant Of Sin

Below, we see strong language against those who delight in their sin. God doesn’t “tolerate” that. Instead, those people may not dwell with God.

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”

Psalm 5:4-6 (ESV)

God not only won’t tolerate wickedness, He hates the wicked.

“The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”

Psalm 11:5 (ESV)

Additionally, we can’t hack the system and work around our sin. For instance, there isn’t tolerance for it if we add it to a better lifestyle. We can’t continue in unrepentant sin but expect Him to tolerate that because we volunteer at church and read the Bible.

According to the Scriptures, someone who lives a life known for its sinfulness can’t truly know the Lord. Christianity isn’t tolerant enough by the world’s standards for an individual who is unrepentantly sinning to be born again.  

“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”

1 John 3:6 (ESV)

Throughout God’s Word, intolerance abounds. God is not willing to tolerate sin in His Kingdom, so in love, He sent His son to take our punishment on the cross. His death and resurrection make our salvation possible, and Jesus’ work on the cross is the only reason we can be reconciled to the Father. So, is Christianity intolerant? Yes, if you mean God won’t accept, validate, and/or celebrate our sin.

On the other hand, God allows us, in all of our wickedness, to live in continual rebellion. He has offered an escape from the bondage of sin, but not everyone will be saved. Therefore, we might say God tolerates us quite a bit. He is supernaturally patient with us, and that patience goes hand in hand with the Oxford Languages definition of tolerant we looked at earlier.

But Christianity Is Tolerant

If we ended the conversation here, we’d miss out on an integral part of God’s tolerance. So far, I’ve mostly supported the argument that, by the world’s definition, Christianity isn’t tolerant. But, you see, Christianity is tolerant.

Take a moment to consider what many critics of Christianity say about the Church and God. In the last several years, with the rise of “wokeness,” the angry voices have gotten louder and found a platform through TikTok. They scream at Christians to “shut up” and keep their religious beliefs out of every aspect of society. There is also a fair number of threats and violent commentary. Christians and their families receive threats of violence, are told to kill themselves, and are accused of bearing the blame for…well…all of it. Whatever it is.

Now I ask you, how “tolerant” does that sound? Yeah, not very. Those who most loudly declare that Christianity isn’t tolerant are often among the least tolerant themselves. Ironic, eh? Sure, they’ll wax eloquent about the importance of tolerance, and they’ll go on and on about all the people groups and abhorrent behaviors they tolerate or even celebrate. Meanwhile, they are absolutely unwilling to even have a respectable conversation with a conservative Christian.

Christianity Tolerates Christians

Well, those who will argue that Christianity is intolerant have it all wrong. Sure, God doesn’t tolerate sin, nor should believers. However, God’s longsuffering and amazing grace toward sinful mankind is evidence that there is a great deal of tolerance happening. Not to mention, Christians are also commanded to tolerate others. Our faith is unquestionably tolerant. Allow me to show you.

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,”

Romans 15:5 (ESV)

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV)

Live in harmony with other Christians? Easy! That is, it’s easy until you put it into practice. I mean, have you met people? They’re not always so great. People are challenging and can create difficult dynamics to navigate. Then, before you know it, people are avoiding entire areas of the church because they’ve identified someone as an EGR person (i.e. Extra Grace Required). And don’t forget you and I are people, too. We’re someone’s EGR. (Yikes!)

Difficult people, though, are no excuse to be contentious. God calls us to live in harmony. We extend grace, offer love, and let things that bother us roll off our backs. That’s the goal, at least.

Christianity Tolerates The Unsaved

Jesus gives us many examples of loving people who, if He were truly intolerant of people unlike Himself, we would expect Him to push aside. There are two examples that always immediately jump to my mind because these events clearly display Christ’s love and care for those who society deemed unquestionably intolerable. His behavior is a perfect example of how Christians should treat unsaved people.

The Woman At The Well

In John 4:1-42, Jesus stops at a well for a rest and a drink in Samaria. As a Jew, this land and these people were typically avoided, but Jesus had a spiritual appointment. As you probably remember, a woman comes to the well and is surprised to find Jesus, a Jew, there. He asks for a drink, and this question leads them into the most important conversation she’ll ever have.

In their conversation, Jesus reveals that He knows she had multiple husbands in her life and is currently with a man to whom she is not married. Remember, God doesn’t tolerate sin, yet He also provides freedom from it. As they speak, rather than shun her, the Lord offers her living water and reveals Himself as the Messiah. Happily, the woman believes Him and tells others in her community about Jesus.

If Christianity isn’t tolerant, then Jesus wouldn’t reach out to the woman at the well. She’s steeped in sexual sin and a Samaritan to top it all off. He wouldn’t put up with a woman like that if He was the world’s definition of intolerant. However, He does more than just “tolerate” the woman. He shows her truth and offers eternal life through Himself. He loves her and leads her away from the sin we ought not tolerate.

The Woman Caught In Adultery

In John 8:1-11, we meet another woman wrapped up in sexual sin. This time, the woman in question has been caught in the act of adultery. There is no making excuses or hiding from her sin in this circumstance. Moreover, this woman is intolerable to her community. In fact, the punishment, according to the Law, is stoning. But Jesus was ushering in the New Covenant.

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

Hebrews 9:11-15 (ESV)

Jesus offered something this woman never expected. Grace. After He dispersed the crowd, He refused to condemn her and sent her away. This wasn’t an acceptance of her adultery, though. He wasn’t tolerating her sin or validating her choices and pursuit of her authentic self or some other nonsense. Before she left, Jesus gave her one instruction. “…go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11).

Final Thought

How do we make sense of all this? What do we say when someone twists up their face and asks, “How can you go to church when Christianity isn’t tolerant of anyone who’s not perfect?”

Although we can say Christianity is intolerant in that it doesn’t condone and validate sin, it is also very tolerant because individuals are permitted to choose how they live and what they worship. We evangelize, but we can’t force anyone into salvation. That would be a farce. On the other hand, Christianity teaches believers to love others enough to share the gospel. We don’t write off some people because of the way they sin. It’s quite the opposite. We are patient, prayerful, and encouraging to those who don’t yet know the Lord as Savior. And we hope they will soon!

So, let me address the critics directly. You’re correct. Christianity isn’t tolerant enough to love sin, and believers won’t make excuses for your ungodly lifestyle, claiming “it’s fine.” But we will continue to show you the way to real freedom, and we will be waiting for the day you’re ready to know more about God. Christians will tolerate your insults, snide remarks, side-eye, and wisecracks. We’ll tolerate being counter-cultural. And we will tolerate much more if it might show you Jesus in us.

Do you think Christianity is tolerant?

 

Image courtesy of Tomás Robertson via Unsplash.