Tolerance for Thee, But Not for Me

          Tolerance - A fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and
     practices that differ from one's own.


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          We conservative Christians are told all the time that we need to be tolerant, but
     apparently tolerance is a one way street.  Unless we completely accept every form
     of behavior known to man, no matter how sinful it may be, then we are labeled
     "bigots" and "haters," simply for standing on the principles that the Bible is the
     Word of God, and there is a right and wrong.

          Tolerance has become the most important virtue.  Actually, tolerance is not enough
     for the liberal folks who call us "haters" for holding to different opinions and beliefs than
     they hold.  Total acceptance and confirmation is now necessary, and if you dare to offer
     a contrary thought then you will be subject to some of the vilest, crudest, and profane
     comments ever uttered or written.  But WE are the ones who are intolerant?

          Funny how the other side can't see that they are the ones who are intolerant of our
     sincerely held beliefs.  Boston's and Chicago's mayors have both said that they would not
     allow Chick-fil-A to do business in their cities.  Chicago's mayor said that Chick-fil-A's
     values and Chicago's values are not the same.  Can't disagree with that since Chicago is
     known as one of the most corrupt cities in America.  They are oblivious to the notion
     that are hypocritical when they claim to believe in tolerance for ALL people, but have
     no problem with discriminating against a business, simply because it is run by a Christian
     who expressed his beliefs.
    

          By now, everyone has heard about Chick-fil-A's CEO, Dan Cathy, and his comments
    and support of  "traditional (or biblical) marriage."  One of my Facebook friends commented
    on his page about Cathy's "ignorant" beliefs -- the same beliefs held by my friend's hero
    Barack Obama until a few months ago when he announced his position had "evolved" on
    so called "gay marriage" (now they call it "marriage equality").

          Obama mocked the Old Testament before he became president, and recently mocked the
    "obscure passage" in the New Testament that Christians point to as proof that the concept of
    "gay marriage" is unbiblical.

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          Mr. Cathy's beliefs mirror those of someone else -- Jesus Christ.
    The other side like to say, "Jesus never said ANYTHING about homosexuality," but is that
    true?  They also say that the Bible doesn't condemn it.

          That's not true, and let me explain why.  According to orthodox Christian theology, Jesus
    is the second person of the trinity, and He is God, just as the Father and Holy Spirit are God.
         
          The Bible, which Christians believe is God's holy Word, clearly teaches that homosexuality
    is wrong (ex. Rom 1:26-28; 1 Tim 1:9; 1 Cor 6:9), and while God didn't literally write the words
    on the page Himself, he was actively involved in the process.
   

                                        
                                          "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
                                           teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in
                                           righteousness ..."
                                                                                    2 Timothy 3:16


          "Sometimes God told the Bible writers the exact words to say ('Then the LORD reached
    out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, 'Now, I have put my words in your mouth'
    Jeremiah 1:9), but more often He used their minds, vocabularies, and experiences to produce
    His own perfect, infallible, inerrant word" (John MacArthur).


                                         "... no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's
                                          own interpretation.  For no prophecy was ever pro-
                                          duced by the will of man, but MEN SPOKE FROM
                                          GOD as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
                                                                                     2 Peter 1:20-21


          God, Himself was actually the Author of the Bible!


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          Jesus also let it be known with His own words in Matthew 19:4-6, what God meant
    marriage to be -- ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN!


                                        "He (Jesus) answered, 'Have you not read that He who
                                         created them from the beginning made them MALE and
                                         FEMALE, and said, 'Therefore A MAN shall leave his
                                         FATHER and MOTHER, and hold fast to his WIFE, and
                                         the two shall become one flesh?'  So they are no longer
                                         two but one flesh."
                                                                                          Matthew 19:4-6a


          ONE MAN shall leave his father (ONE MAN) and mother (ONE WOMAN),
     and hold fast to his wife (ONE WOMAN), and the two shall become one.

                                 
          Since Jesus is God, the Author of  the Bible, which clearly condemns homosexuality,
     then He HAS let His views about marriage be known.


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          I am not naive enough to think that because the Bible is clear about this subject then
     that settles the issue. 

          The intolerance by many of our Christian beliefs  will continue, but we Christians must
     stand on the Word of God, and not be bullied into being quiet about them.