It seems that a fair number of Christian apologists claim that Christianity is a religion of tolerance and acceptance. But the Bible itself -- the manual for Christianity, I presume -- proves that it is not. Here are some salient passages.
Jesus said:
34 Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword. 35 I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 Your enemies will be right in your own household! (Matthew 10:34-36; NLT)
That doesn't sound like tolerance and acceptance to me.
Now of course, some Christians will claim that Jesus really meant that non-Christian opposers would be the ones who actually showed the intolerance. That was certainly the case with those of the early Christians who were persecuted merely for believing differently from their persecutors, but after Christianity gained the upper hand in various places, it most certainly displayed massive intolerance. The Catholic Church, which first compiled the New Testament, is the best example. Martin Luther, John Calvin, their direct followers, and countless other Christians went so far as to burn people at the stake who disagreed with them. The cult that most of us came out of is among the most intolerant of Christian religions. Yet they all claim that they're doing the will of God and Christ. And they all justify their actions with the scriptures. However, "a good tree cannot bear bad fruit" is another passage that comes to mind.
Some apologists will be inclined to claim that such people are false Christians. Perhaps they are, but as Norm said, the intolerance is built into the very fabric of the Christian faith, so no matter how 'good' or 'bad' a Christian is judged to be by other Christians or whoever who chooses to do the judging, you can't get around that basic fact. This is easy to prove with a few scriptures.
The apostle Paul said how to avoid being killed by God in a "fiery judgment":
Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31; NLT)
Conversely, if you don't "believe on the Lord Jesus, you will not be saved."
Jesus said that there is only one way to get "saved":
Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone in all the earth. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life -- to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. (John 17:1-3; NLT)
Obviously, those who don't "know" God and Christ will not gain the eternal life that is the goal of salvation. Jesus stated what the opposite of this "eternal life" is:
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. (John 10:28; NLT)
Is this "eternal life" and its opposite, eternal death, applicable to all mankind, or just to "the household of Christ", as certain apologists claim? Note these passages:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
And all who believe in God's Son have eternal life. Those who don't obey the Son will never experience eternal life, but the wrath of God remains upon them." (John 3:16, 36; NLT)
Note that the NT equates "the wrath of God" with the eternal death of those who fail to gain salvation.
The apostle Peter emphasized the exclusive nature of the belief of Christians:
There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them. (Acts 4:12; NLT)
What is the judgment that God brings upon all non-Christians?
7 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power 10 when he comes to receive glory and praise from his holy people. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; NLT)
Is that tolerance and acceptance? If you think so, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
How about the fate of those of us who have presented arguments that the notion of a "ransom sacrifice" is silly?
I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. (1 Corinthians 1:18; NLT)
Is that tolerance and acceptance?
The surrounding text of the above passage is interesting, because it's almost a parallel of some of the discussions in this thread:
18 I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas." 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:18-21; NLT)
The passage claims that "God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense", but where does it show that God actually does so? The fact is, it doesn't. Nor does the NT do so anywhere else. Instead we find a lot of unsupported claims. Examples of all of this empty rhetoric can be found in this thread. Critics pose pointed questions, and instead of solid answers, are given excuses and notions made up out of whole cloth. And of course, they are accused of being or implied to be wicked, sinful, inclined to pursue selfish desires, etc.
And again we find intolerance, because it is demanded that intelligent skeptics believe without actual evidence, and are threatened with death from God if they don't.
Of course, such accusations arise because the Bible itself equates unbelief with wickedness:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18 There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19 Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants. (John 3:16-21; NLT)
So the very fact that certain of us no longer believe "extraordinary things" because of a lack of extraordinary evidence is enough to condemn us as "haters of light", "lovers of darkness", "sinners", "evil", "fearful of punishment" and so forth. Yes indeed, Christianity is a religion of tolerance and acceptance.
How about those of us who were once Christians but who have rejected it, even for good reasons?
4 For it is impossible to restore to repentance those who were once enlightened -- those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come -- 6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people to repentance again because they are nailing the Son of God to the cross again by rejecting him, holding him up to public shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6; NLT)
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 Anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God's mercy to his people. 30 For we know the one who said, "I will take vengeance. I will repay those who deserve it." (Hebrews 10:26-30; NLT)
If the commonly accepted view holds, that one ought to be condemned for intolerance, then as far as the Bible and the Christian faith are concerned: "by your words you will be condemned."
AlanF
