SUMMARY:
By PETER BARNES
A Hymn To Tolerance
(Apologies to 1 Corinthians 13)
- 1. Though I speak with the tongue of actors and lawyers, but have not tolerance, I am become as nothing.
- 2. And though I am able to discern the trends of public opinion, and understand all political theory, and am able to move civil servants to do my bidding, but have not tolerance, I am nothing.
- 3. And though I pay all my taxes, and practise safe sex, but have not tolerance, it pro?ts me nothing.
- 4. Tolerance is detached and remote. It does not engage anything, but thinks itself humble.
- 5. It is not dogmatic, it believes in nothing, embraces all things, and rejects all absolutes.
- 6. Tolerance does not delight in truth, but rejoices that there is no truth.
- 7. Tolerance always bends, always manoeuvres, always manipulates, is always pliable.
- 8. Tolerance never fails. Where there is truth, it will be suppressed; where there is purity, it will be sullied; where there are convictions, these will be maligned.
- 9-10. For now we know in part, and are certain there can be no certain absolutes.
- 11. When I was a child, I believed in truth, purity and love, but now I have put away childish things.
- 12. Now we see as in a mirror dimly, but we are on the way to seeing all. All shall be as one, even now as we seek to be one with all.
- 13. And now these three remain: anti-discrimination, rights, and tolerance. But the greatest of these is tolerance.
I RECENTLY had to interview two professing Christians who both claimed to believe the whole Bible as the Word of God, but seemed to have little grasp of what it was saying on some issues.
One in particular was quite excited about entering into what she called “a prophetic ministry” — a ministry that, despite its title, seemed to have little warrant in scripture. It was a reminder that discernment is at a low point in the modern church.
A few decades ago, to call someone discriminating was to compliment them; now it is to accuse them of prejudice. We used to have advertisements directed, for example, at ‘the discriminating smoker’. Nowadays, such a beast is regarded, on both counts, as a dinosaur doomed to extinction.
One of the early church fathers, Lactantius, wrote: “He who loves the good, by this very fact hates the evil; and he who does not hate the evil, does not love the good; because the love of goodness issues directly out of the hatred of evil, and the hatred of evil issues directly out of the love of goodness”. This ?ies in the face of modern thinking. Essentially, the modern age says: “If you love, you tolerate, and the more you love, the more you tolerate”. The Bible, however, says: ‘If you love what is good, you must hate what is evil.’
This requires a measure of discernment, the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong and truth and error.
As Paul wrote to the Philippians, he mentioned his prayers for them, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ?lled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God” (Phil.1: 9-11).
In the Old Testament, a believer was required to be able to tell the difference between a false prophet such as Hananiah and a true prophet such as Jeremiah, who both spoke in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel (see Jer. 28).
In the New Testament, we are told: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom.12:2).
The Corinthian congregations failed in this regard, and so were inclined to put up with anybody who proclaimed a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel (2 Cor.11:3-4). The Corinthians failed to “test everything” and to “hold fast what is good” (1 Thess.5:21).
When Christ evaluates the seven churches Asia (western Turkey) in Revelation 2-3, He both criticises and commends.
To the church at Ephesus, He writes: “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false” (Rev.2:2). It is a good thing to stand up to someone who thinks that he is an apostle, and point out that he is not!
Someone is bound to quote Matthew 7:1 in response to all this: “Judge not, that you be not judged”. However, the context tells us that this is not against all judging but against hypocritical or hyper-critical judging.
We are to pull the log out of our own eye before we draw attention to the speck in our brother’s (Matt.7:3-5). Indeed, Jesus goes on to tell us not to give what is holy to dogs nor to cast our pearls before swine (Matt.7:6). To obey verse 6 requires some powers of judgment! The same can be said for Jesus’ injunction in verse 15 to “Beware of false prophets”.
How can we be more discerning?
During the gold rushes in California and Australia in the 1850s amateurs who had taken to the ?elds in the hope of making their fortune were often excited by what was known as fool’s gold.
This looked like real gold, but was not the genuine article.
One could tell what was genuine by applying one of two tests.
First, one could bite the nugget. Real gold is relatively soft; fool’s gold might cost you a tooth.
Secondly, and less drastically, one could scrape the gold on a white stone.
Real gold leaves a yellow mark; fool’s gold leaves a greenish-black streak.
Similarly, there are ways of exercising spiritual discernment.
The problem today is a repetition of the problem of Israel in the 8th century BC when Hosea declared that “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos.4:6).
Be suspicious of anyone who is keen on extracting money out of you, or who preaches a soft message of peace and prosperity and nothing else, or who has an excessive concern to be ‘relevant’ to the modern world, or who claims to have come up with something new that all other Bible readers have missed for two thousand years.
Above all else, realise that there is no simple remedy except solid and reverent Bible study.
The Jews of Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica because they received Paul’s word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts 17:11).
This is God’s way for growing in discernment.
About the Author...
[
TOP ] ... [ Part 1 ] ... [ Part 2 ] ... [
BACK ]
Found this information useful?
Web Site by
S & R Cope in association with
Appeared in Issue CETF 34 November 2005
"...contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" -- Jude v3
© Copyright 2006 Christian Witness Ministries, except where noted. All rights reserved
|
|
|
|
|
-Last revised-
Monday, October 09, 2006
