The Christian and Religious Tolerance

Last Friday (March 15, 2019)  there was a terrorist attack during prayers at two mosques located at Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty people were reported dead and many others were seriously injured during the shootings.

This news is very disheartening and has led to mixed reactions across social media platforms because the shooter took his insensitivity a step further by making a live Facebook video of the attack. The predominant speculation states that the leading motivation for the attack is supremacist –
advocating the supremacy of a particular group.

But whatever the motivation for the shooting was, events like this should get us thinking as believers. We must evaluate our level of tolerance for societal classifications that differ from ours and how we relate to people who don’t fit into our physiological and societal moulds.

Below are some points to note when it comes to the issue of tolerance:

– Hatred is Never the Answer

As believers no matter how many attacks we face for our beliefs, we must never be pushed to a point where we lose one of our most essential virtues, which is love (Galatians 5:22). It is no news that Christians all over the world are violently attacked for their beliefs, but this must never change our resolve to walk in peace and respond in love.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. – Hebrews 12:14.

This does not mean we can’t cry out against injustice and we must actually cry out against injustice, but we must never resort to violence. People shouldn’t die at our hands, because they believe differently or even worse are from another race or tribe from ours. All men were made in God’s image regardless of who they are, all men deserve to be loved and Jesus died for all men. This brings me to my next point.

– Our Message is a message of Peace and Love

The Christian message is a message of peace and love. Our message is that, out of Love, Christ died for his enemies, that he might by his death and resurrection reconcile them to himself. An understanding of the message we preach as Christians gives us an understanding of our own responsibilities as recipients of God’s undeserved love. We are actually left without a choice, we must be tolerant of others, both Christians and non Christians alike.

Rather than hate those who do not agree with our beliefs, we are called to tell them about and express the love of God to them. For if God has shown us so much love, we ought to show others love as well.

I pray for comfort for the families of those who lost their lives in the Christchurch shooting and many others who lose their lives daily as a result of acts of violence borne from a place of hatred. But I challenge my Christian brothers and sisters to go forth wherever they are and boldly express God’s love. For we are the light of the world, this world remains dark if we don’t shine. We are the salt of the earth,  this world remains tasteless without us.

I hope you were instructed by this article let me know in the comments section.