Bill Kahler

“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

-Mark 12:28-31

I’m sick of hearing about tolerance. I’m sick of being told that I need to tolerate a certain religion, a certain lifestyle, a certain movement. Tolerance is one of the most overused words in our society right now.

You know what my problem with tolerance is? It leaves no room for intolerance. It can’t handle disagreement. Know how I can tell? Check any website/blog/Facebook page about a topic like homosexuality. Guess what? The vocal supporters of gay rights often belittle genuine believers and practicers of a religion that claims homosexuality falls short of God’s ideal. And to them, that’s not okay. Their lifestyle must be tolerated, and anyone who thinks otherwise is intolerant, and they will not be tolerated.

On the other side, you have Christians who claim they are entrusted to promote their religion’s moral code by any means necessary, including denying individuals the same rights as others based on no reason other than their sexual orientation. People who claim their religion has no room for tolerating such a lifestyle.

Just shut up about tolerance.

Guess what? My God and my religion don’t ask me to tolerate anyone. They ask me to love everyone. A real love. An irrational love of my enemies. A love of my neighbor. A love of myself. A love that includes all. The intolerant, the homosexual, the heterosexual, the Muslim, the atheist, the rich, the poor, the Republican, the Democrat.

How does one go about living this love? (I’ve always had a problem with the phrase “showing love,” since I believe God is love, and if God dwells in me, and moves in me, then I simply live a life of love and a life of God, hopefully indistinguishable from His will…but that’s another story.)  Just look no further than the way Jesus interacted with those who were not tolerated by certain sections of society - with selfless love.

Jesus didn’t leave room to tolerate everyone. In fact, he wouldn’t tolerate those who sought to turn his Father’s house into a den of thieves. He didn’t tolerate those who used their religious and social standing to manipulate and mislead others.

Instead, he loved them enough to give up his life for them.

Sort of makes tolerance seem silly, doesn’t it?

Why can’t I recognize Jesus in mainstream Christianity? Is it because Jesus was so radical in his life and teachings that any group of people that attempt to fit Him into mainstream culture have obviously missed the point?

Jesus was neither conservative nor liberal. He was apolitical. He challenged the political and religious authorities until they decided they had to kill him to shut him up, and even that didn’t work.

The early followers of Christ were communist. Again, I mean this independent of politics, but the early church lived communally, breaking bread and providing for each person’s needs within the community, and as a community, providing for those around it.

There would be no need for healthcare reform if the Church were doing its job. We could stop having this constant debate about the role of government if those who claim to follow Christ actually lived like it. Maybe we don’t want the government “spreading the wealth around,” but how about the church spreading the wealth? How about putting white buckets in the front of a church and letting people give and take according to their need? Wait, that’s right, Rob Bell is a heretic.

It’s a sad state of affairs when a political party has hijacked a religion in the way Republicans have exploited Christianity, exploiting sincere religious belief to fatten their own wallets and further their political careers.

It’s a sad state of affairs when a political party has rejected a religion in the way Democrats have taken Christianity to mean anti-gay, anti-environment, and anti-progress, leaving no room for belief in anything beyond rationality.

The religious right is wrong and the secular left is jaded.

And let’s revisit social justice in general. I’m sorry, Glenn Beck, but I won’t be leaving my church because it preaches social justice. The government provides what is not being provided by the private sector. We have welfare, we have unemployment benefits, we have, to an extent, government healthcare. Do people exploit the system? Sure. There are people who, for whatever reasons, take far more than they give. They are unrighteous recipients of these benefits. We give, they take.

So what?

Remember the story of Sodom and Gommorrah? We remember the deviants. We remember those who were destroyed there for their vices. But do we remember Abraham pleading for Sodom before God? Abraham asks God if Sodom can be spared if there are fifty righteous found there. God says yes. Forty-five? Yes. Forty? Yes. Thirty? Yes. Twenty? Even if only ten righteous people are found there, God will spare the entire city for their sake? Yes.

So God would allow a countless number of unrighteous, dare I say evil, people to continue to live as they choose, if it meant sparing the few righteous among them. Don’t you think there are a few people who need these government benefits? Don’t you think there are honest, hard-working people who simply cannot afford healthcare and who need the government to provide for them? Is it not worth it for those individuals to be able to receive benefits, even if it means people abuse the system? Am I willing to pay more taxes so that my neighbor might be able to receive some healthcare when he needs it?

I guess I’m just confused why so many people who identify themselves with Christ are so adamantly against helping the needy. Why have Christians, followers of a faith which is so closely aligned with hope and resurrection, become so cynical in their worldview? I’m seeing more and more why there needs to be an irresistible revolution in which we see ourselves and this world as unique creatures representing the divine and the infinite love that is He.