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It is intolerant to say that
Christianity is
the only true religion.
Yes it is intolerant. In fact, it is very
intolerant to say that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and that no
one can get to God except through Him as Jesus Himself said in John 14:6.
It is also intolerant to state that there is no other name under heaven
other than Jesus by which a person can be forgiven of his sins as Peter
said in Acts 4:12. It is
intolerant to say that there is only one true God as Jesus said in John 17:3. It is also
intolerant to say that trying to enter into heaven by any other way than
Jesus is to be a thief and a robber as Jesus said in John 10:1. Jesus was
intolerant when He said that He is the one who reveals God to people (Luke 10:22). Jesus was
even more intolerant of religious hypocrisy when He condemned the
religious know-it-alls and called them hypocrites and deceivers (Matt. 23:25-26). Jesus
was extremely intolerant of the buying and selling in the temple when He
drove the people out of it by force and overturned their money tables (John
2:13-16). Jesus was
intolerant of hatred when He said "love your
enemies" (Luke 6:27). Jesus was intolerant of ignorance when He
taught the people truth (Matt. 5). Jesus was intolerant of prejudice when He gave the
parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).
Yes, Christianity is intolerant because its
founder, Jesus, was intolerant. Christianity is intolerant of false
gods and false gospels. Why is it so intolerant? Because it is
shaped after Jesus. It is intolerant because there is a hell and
Jesus, who is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; Col. 2:9), who died for our sins (1 Pet. 2:24), has made the only way to forgiveness a reality:
through Him alone (John 14:6) and without Him comes damnation.
On the other hand, Christianity is very
tolerant. It teaches to be very forgiving (Matt.
18:21-22), to be patient and kind
(Gal.
5:22-23), and to be honest and
wholesome (Phil. 4:6-8). Jesus taught us to love and to heal
and to be examples of kindness and truth in the world. Jesus was
intolerant of religious hypocrisy and bigotry. He was very
intolerant of false teachers. He was intolerant of pride, rebellion,
sin, covetousness, adultery, lying, cheating, stealing, fornicating, and
murder. He was intolerant of husbands treating their wives poorly.
He was intolerant of pain and was saddened by suffering. Yet, at the
same time He demonstrated the greatest love and patience with those who
were guilty of all these things. Why? Because He is God in
flesh, incarnate love, incarnate righteousness, incarnate humility.
The whole issue of whether or not Christianity is
intolerant lies in who Jesus is, what He claimed, and what He did.
If what Jesus said and did is true, then Christianity isn't intolerant.
It is simply true and it is the world that is intolerant of that truth.
Likewise, it is true that Jesus lived. It
is true that Jesus walked on water (Matt. 8:26-27). It is true that Jesus healed the sick (Matt.
8:5-13). It is true that
Jesus calmed a storm with a command (Mark 4:39). It is true that Jesus raised the dead (Matt. 9:25; John 11:43-44). It is true that Jesus claimed to be God (John 5:18; 8:24; 8:58 -- see Exodus 3:14). It is true that Jesus was killed on a cross (Luke
24:20). It is true that
Jesus rose from the dead (Luke 24:39; John 20:27). These are not feeble claims made by crazy
people who wanted to gain power and fame. These are the claims of
Christ Himself and of those who followed Him and suffered for Him and died
for Him.
Either it is all true or it is not. Either
Jesus performed miracles or He did not. Either Jesus rose from the
dead or He did not. Based solely and completely on who Jesus is and
what He did, Christianity is the truth and by necessity all other
religions that disagree with Jesus are wrong.
Truth is, by nature, intolerant of falsehood.
If Christianity is not true, then Jesus was not God, then Jesus did not do
miracles, then Jesus did not heal the sick, then Jesus did not walk on
water, then Jesus did not die and rise from the dead after three days.
But, if He did do these things, then Christianity alone is true since in
all the religions in the world, only Christianity has the person of Jesus
and Jesus said that He alone was the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
Christianity is only as intolerant as Jesus is
true.
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