Because THAT'S what heroes do. // Abbie Hedden

What should man tolerate about other men? What should Christians tolerate of non-Christians... and of other Christians that differ slightly? First and foremost, as a Christian, we are called to "love the Lord our God," and then "love our neighbors as ourselves." Boom, the two most important commandments in the Bible are to love. As I read John Locke's Toleration, I kept asking myself what I am called to tolerate as a modern day Christian. Constitutionally as Americans, we are given the freedom of religion. This means we live in harmony with other religions, not being forced institutionally to adhere to a certain set of beliefs. This should be given to all people, not just Christians, or otherwise it negates the purpose of freedom of religion. So, in that sense, we are supposed to tolerate other religions. I believe that that falls under the second commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus didn't say love your Christian neighbor. He said love your neighbor. Your Muslim neighbor, your Humanist neighbor, your gay neighbor, your neighbor. What they believe defines them. How you act defines what you believe. We must tolerate other religions in our country and love them... because that's what Jesus would do.

PS Commented on Rachael Gregson and Brenna Stringfellow's posts.

Comments

Yes ma'am! Yes. Hats off to you for this blog. Everyone deserves respect when it comes to different religious preferences. I completely agree with what you had to say because people tend to forget what Jesus would do and only consider what they would do. Great blog!
Caroline Tucker said…
Abbie, this is beautiful! I loved reading it. I agree with you. We need to remember the two most important commandments and live them out. Also, if Christians do not tolerate other religions, how can the Christians witness to them? Are Christians going to force their beliefs on the non-Christian? We need to remember to love God and others and not to shy away from someone just because we do not agree with them.