A speaker made this remark during a parenting seminar that my husband and I attended – "I cannot stand it when people teach their children to be tolerant of other races’ differences – religion, belief, values. We must learn to respect the differences and not tolerate them. "
In dealing with what is the true religion and responding to what are the "truths" in our lives, we know that between two religions, it is possible that both are not true but it’s impossible that both are true. So how does one respect or tolerate another person’s religion and yet stand firmly on his/her own different religion? And when judging another’s beliefs, is it morally wrong to tell someone that it’s morally wrong? How do you respect another person’s values when they are totally different from yours? What is the difference in action and attitude when a person respect instead of tolerate? Can one really respect another person for the difference in responding to truths? Does respect entail acknowledging that everyone has the right to believe in everything, and one should not try to alter the beliefs of others? Aren't truths absolute? Or to some people they are only relative - that there are such a thing as half truth, less or greater truth? Or what does it really mean? And does tolerance simply mean that one should put up with the things you are not very happy to experience with the other person and pretend that it’s alright?
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2 comments:
ugh thats confusing
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Excellent questions! Yes, truth must be absolute. Complete relativism is simply not viable--despite its popularity as a modern viewpoint. We live completely dependent upon certain truths, so although we may (probably should) tolerate and respect a diversity of beliefs, we should not feel obligated to accept all beliefs as equally valid. Maybe we wish to avoid offending others or of seeming overly presumptious or narrow-minded. But it seems to me that caring for people--loving them--is even more important than respecting them in word alone and this means speaking the truth in all things and spuring others on to a consideration of and search for truth. In matters of faith this seems vitally important, doesn't it?
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