Bumper Sticker Religion – Coexist

Greetings Dear Reader,

Because of where I live I see this bumper sticker almost daily.  This is one of those sound bites that push my mind in many directions at once.  Part of the reason I am so intolerant of bumper stickers is that they shout something at me whilst giving me no chance to respond.  It is a great idea to accept and tolerate each other.  I am commanded to be kind and loving to everyone.  The problem is that some of the groups represented on the sticker do not want to allow other groups to exist.

So where is the line of tolerance?  How much must I accept in the moral arena to meet the standards of

others?  It is not my place to tell anyone else how to live.  Rather I am to live the life Christ commands me to and trust that others will see value in it.  Living that life does not mean that I must agree with everything that others believe.

The problem is that we go too far in defining intolerance.  I can believe that something is wrong without mistreating those who believe it is not.  The great lie that promotes intolerance is that I must agree with your to love you.  This is just not true.  I can disagree with you and still love you, care for you, and treat you with respect.

I am going to be very specific for a moment but please understand that I do not hate anyone.  I believe that Christ commands just the opposite.  I must acknowledge what I believe to be wrong without mistreating or allowing injustice to anyone.  The truth of my faith is that there are things that are wrong.  That does not mean that I am allowed to hate or mistreat anyone.

First I want to talk about the faiths represented by the Coexist statement.  Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all share a common root.  I have seen adherers to all three faiths be good and I have seen them be bad.  It is possible for the three to be good to each other if they choose to do so. 

Those of the Pagan and Taoist beliefs are on the list of those that have been targeted with hatred, persecution, and murder by other faiths.  This is always wrong.  If I do anything unkind in the name of Christ I am not following Christ. 

Pacifism has its place in following Christ.  We are told to love, be kind to, and not resist our enemies.  Christ made it clear that even when living under oppression we can live in a way that is honorable and good.  As long as there are those willing to destroy those who believe in non-violence I must be intolerant of those beliefs that would harm them. 

Gay rights are one of those divisive issues that promote the aforementioned lie that if I disagree with you I hate you.   This is not an axiom.  I firmly believe that everyone deserves to be treated equally in terms of access to insurance, health care, and social justice.  I cannot deny anyone care, love, kindness, and justice and claim that I am serving Christ.

I do not have to agree that anyone is right in his or her beliefs to treat him or her well.  I do not have to accept practices that I believe are wrong in order to love and care for those that practice those things.  What I do have to do is not buy in to the lie that I have to accept everything in order to love everyone. 

I am close friends with people who identify with each of these groups.  They know that I disagree with them on some issues and they know that I still love them without reservation.  If I have any hope of faithfully following Christ I must not allow a moment of intolerance of humans.  I must also not let my faith be diluted by false tolerance of things that my faith informs me are wrong.

It takes work to balance these two facets of faith.  Is that not what this faith is about?  I must believe that I can hold to my faith whilst loving those that are my neighbors, enemies, fellow believers, and unbelievers.  If my faith has any value then doing this intentionally and consistently will crush the barriers that exist without me having to dilute what I believe. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."