Tolerance - 1 Series

Dakota Community Church

July 11, 2010

Tolerance – Part 1

We live in an age of tolerance.

Political correctness has obliterated common sense to the point that most people think it is a basic human right not to be offended.

Examples from the internet:

Another street preacher in the U.K. has been arrested simply for proclaiming Christian teachings about the sinfulness of homosexual behaviour. Dale Mcalpine says he was handing out leaflets in the Cumbrian town of Workington on April 20, when he was approached by passers-by and a police community support officer (PCSO) who identified himself as a homosexual. In the course of the conversation Mcalpine, 42, told them that it is his belief that homosexuality is a sin because it is contrary to the word of God in the Bible. The Daily Mail reports that police said he had said this in a “loud voice” that could be overheard by others.

The town of Spring Lake, Michigan, near Grand Haven, has become the front line in the ongoing war from Progressivism. Christ Community Church has changed its named to the C3 Exchange and has removed its cross. Pastor Ian Lawton claims this was done to reflect its diverse membership. “Our community has been a really open-minded community for some years now. We’ve has a number of Muslim people, Jewish people, Buddhists, atheists, we’re catching up to ourselves.” Removing the cross, as well as the name of Christ from the church may not be the only changes. Lawton is considering painting images of a heart and a globe on the exterior walls. On March 21 of this year, Lawton gave a sermon where he compared using the cross as a symbol of Christ to that of using a bullet to remember Martin Luther King, Jr.

Todd Bentley of Lakeland revival fame is now talking with the “banker angel”, already back in ministry despite his fall and the false testimonies of dead rising - At the height of what many called a revival, WORLD asked Bentley to talk about the healings, like Fogle’s, and asked for a list of people who had been healed at the services. His associates told me Bentley was out of the country and a list could not be produced. But six weeks and more than a dozen requests later, the ministry eventually sent a list of 13 names. Fogle was No. 12 on the list, along with this note: "Healed through the Outpouring and is back to fishing." - That was on Aug. 8, 2008. There was just one problem. Two weeks earlier, on July 22, Christopher A. Fogle—according to his obituary in the Keokuk (Iowa) Daily Gate City, "left this life . . . after a courageous battle with cancer."

Consider these intolerant sounding warnings from the Word of God:

Colossians 2:18

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

2 Peter 2:1-3

1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.

Shane Hipps, who is now Rob Bell’s co-pastor at Mars Hill Bible church in Grand Rapids teaches that all religions are valid and that even Osama Bin Laden has the divine spark within him. In a recent sermon he said the Christianity is merely one of the “sails” that may be used to catch the wind of God’s Spirit.

According to any postmodern way of thinking, dogmatism is to be avoided at all costs; diversity is to be cultivated no matter what, and tolerance means never having to say anyone is wrong.

That’s not "tolerance"; that’s unbelief.

We avoid the truth claims of Christianity because we are afraid of being seen as narrow minded or intolerant.

An Issue of Definition

Tolerance has come to mean the acceptance of every viewpoint as equally true and valid.

THAT IS NOT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TOLERANT!

True tolerance means treating with integrity dignity and humility a person whose opinion I consider to be untrue and invalid.

Tolerance says, “Although I strongly disagree with your position that isn’t going to stop me from talking to you, living beside you, or traveling with you on the bus.”

Christianity is not the only religion with “truth claims”.

Hindu’s believe in an eternal human soul – Buddhists’ do not believe in the existence of a soul.

A tolerant Buddhist is not one who accepts as true the Hindu belief of an eternal soul. That would require the Buddhist to cease from being a Buddhist.