Fighting Intolerance
Should we tolerate those who seek to destroy us?
If anyone secretly entices you-even if it is your brother, your father's son or your mother's son, or your own son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your most intimate friend-saying, "Let us go worship other gods," whom neither you nor your ancestors have known, any of the gods of the peoples that are around you, whether near you or far away from you, from one end of the earth to the other, you must not yield to or heed any such persons. Show them no pity or compassion and do not shield them. - Deuteronomy 13:6-8
It is hard to imagine, as I read Deuteronomy, that these words refer to me.
Are we really to believe that we, as Christians, are the evil ones who should be shown no pity or compassion for believing that Jesus was more than a prophet?
It is dangerous to be so selective in choosing words from Scripture, words that seem to justify the senseless violence and persecution we see taking place all around us.
When we think of intolerance, we tend to think of our feelings toward others, rather than seeing ourselves as the threat. But if we believe we should live and let live, shouldn't we who follow a faith that others find threatening be also allowed to live and let live?
Of course, I do not believe that all the persecution of Christians we are experiencing today has anything to do with the words of Deuteronomy. Those who use God to sway opinion and justify heinous acts do so to sway the ignorant, and to generate fear.
If all we absorb is flash news headlines and collective opinions, and we have no understanding of the context or depth of the messages, we will easily be swayed, like a reed in the wind, as Jesus warned.
There may be no way to change the views of those who choose to hate us, but we can do something. If we educate ourselves in Scripture and share what we learn with those we love, perhaps we can keep some from choosing to follow the wrong people.
More to come...