Chapter I: The Issue Defined

1. In order to study intelligently the subject of intolerance we need to understand definitely the meaning of the term. The words “tolerance,” “intolerance,” “tolerate,” and so on, have several different meanings. If we aren’t careful, one person will be thinking of one meaning of a term and another of a different meaning. If you look these words up in your dictionary, you will see several definitions. In order that we may understand each other, then, I want to cite two or three of them.

2. One definition says that intolerance means unwillingness to bear or endure. In other words, it means unwillingness to suffer long. Of course, in that sense intolerance is wrong, because the Bible teaches that we should be longsuffering. One of the fruits of the Spirit is longsuffering (Gal. 5:22). “And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward all” (1 Thess. 5:14 ARV). There are many other Scriptures in the New Testament which teach the importance, the necessity, of our being longsuffering. So, of course, in this sense we ought to be tolerant, we ought to be willing to endure, to suffer, and to bear.

3. According to Funk and Wagnal’s dictionary, the word “intolerance” also means “not disposed to tolerate contrary beliefs or opinions.” There, you see, intolerance is defined in terms of the word “tolerate,” so we need to know what it means. The word “tolerate” means “to suffer to be, or to be done, without active opposition.” You put all that together and you simply get this: tolerance means to let the beliefs and opinions which are contrary to your own go without opposition; whereas, intolerance according to this definition, or meaning of the word, would mean to oppose the beliefs and opinions which are contrary to your own. Now, the question is, should we be tolerant in this sense? Should we be tolerant in the sense of allowing beliefs and opinions which are contrary to our own go without any active opposition on our part? I think this makes the issue clear.