Easter: A Call to Tolerate the Intolerant

We need more intolerance if we are to be a tolerant society.

Why do the self-appointed tolerant police feel justified being intolerant of those who speak, spend, or think differently than they do?

Religious people demonize Richard Dawkins. Agnostics call religious education child abuse. The IRS targets tea-party type groups. Mozilla's CEO is mob-lynched out of town for expressing an opinion six years ago. Chick-Fil-A is boycotted; Duck Dynasty is tarred and feathered.

When did Americans become so fragile and unable to hear a differing opinion because it "offends them deeply?"

Actors of the Wintershall Players perform 'The Passion of Jesus' on Good Friday to crowds in Trafalgar Square on March 29, 2013 in London, England. The Wintershall Players are based on the Wintershall Estate in Surrey and perform several biblical theatrical productions per year. Their production of 'The Passion of Jesus' includes a cast of 78 actors, horses, a donkey and authentic costumes of Roman soldiers in the 12th Legion of the Roman Army. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

When I grew up, the religious conservatives were calling for censorship and spewing out lists of rules and thou-shalt-nots. They seemed hell bent on silencing opposing voices on abortion, family, and religion. Irreligious and progressives decried their lack of open-mindedness and intolerance. Now, the tide has changed.

I get dirty looks from my Democrat relatives when I drive up in my SUV. Rather than discussing differing opinions on love and marriage, pro-heterosexual marriage proponents are now considered the spawn of satan. A new politically-correct rule book demands tolerance in the form of forced beliefs, blind obedience, and shut-your-mouth standards.

As a society, we are apparently no longer allowed to support a political cause without jeopardizing a future job.

As a culture, we are no longer allowed a religious conviction about when life begins. Politically correct police silence any opposition expressed about our money being used to pay for a procedure we think is actually killing a human life.

If a Christian business, like Hobby Lobby, has a conviction hard-wired into their DNA, they must now spend millions of dollars and appeal to the Supreme Court just to operate freely.

What has happened to us?

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As a community, we have lost the ability to love and accept those who disagree with us. We have become intolerant of the intolerant. Religious people are intolerant of the atheists. Atheists are hateful of church goers. Fox News people demonize MSNBC watchers while CNN viewers mock libertarians.

Tolerance used to mean that we love, accept, and defend the rights of all to have freedom of speech. We collectively knew that silencing others is the road to tyranny. We agreed that debate, discussion, and persuasion is the secret to a truly great nation.

Tolerance has mutated to mean: "You must agree with us or you will be destroyed."

We've sewn public policy into a Frankenstein monster combing the worst of Animal Farm, Hunger Games, and Divergent. Our opinions must be approved before we can express them. Everyone has an equal right to speech; but some people's rights are more equal than others. Liberty is becoming extinct.

Throughout history, liberty stands as a three-legged stool requiring political, religious, and economic freedom. Godonomics is the term I coined to describe the God-driven blueprint for a nation's pursuit of liberty and justice for all.

It is in the free market of ideas where education and truth are discovered. It is in the crucible of capitalism that liberty, prosperity, and generosity flourish. True tolerance requires disagreement.

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This reality is personified in the person of Jesus. Who was more tolerant of his enemies than Christ? While they pounded nails into his wrists and feet, he loved them crying out, "Father, forgive them."

This is the gold standard of freedom. God permits people to say and do stupid things. God doesn't silence incompetence or arrogance; instead, He pleads, reasons, and tolerates the intolerant. God loves his enemies. Easter is a call to radical religious freedom, a selfless sacrifice, and a bold proclamation that wins over our opposition.

Tolerance is clearly seen in how we treat those with whom we disagree. The light of love shines brightest in the darkness of opposition. The resurrection light of mercy glows amongst the closed tomb of a pluralistic community. We need more disagreement if we want to be a more agreeable society.

Let's love religious and irreligious. Let's fight for the right to speak out -regardless of our beliefs on marriage, education, politics, or abortion. Let's have a mutual spidey sense that goes off when anyone tries to erode religious, political, or financial liberty from others.

For more information, check out Godonomics DVD at www.godonomics.com, Godonomics: How to Save Our Country and Protect Your Wallet whoever books are sold, or Fast Track Bible DVD curriculum at www.fasttrackbible.com.

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