Probably speaks to my heart on this subject better than any words. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, at the grave of father Thomas Merton OCSO at the Gethsemane retreat outside Bardstown, Kentucky.
In some sense two men who couldn't be different. Not just in terms of their views. The Dalai Lama a monastic since his youth, highly rigorously educated, thrown into the public light and politics of his nation in exile. Merton a hermit, a poet, mystic. But also wholly a man, familiar with profane love.
And of course in their views. One a committed Christian, the other an atheist but not an anti-theist. But they were friends. Examples for each other. They challenged each other with their paths. Merton has written about Buddhist teachings as the Dalai Lama has written about Christian teachings. They loved each other.
That is sort of my example. It's not even about "tolerance". It's really about finding and recognizing the good in others. Letting that good reflect into one. Accepting the ambiguity that one's spiritual playground might not have all the toys. That whatever "it" is might be bigger than that. Bigger than one knows, even imagines.
I don't know if the world has become spiritually intolerant. Or if it has all just become materialistic.
@Miram At the heart of every spiritual discipline is the opposite of that. Getting beyond the ego, beyond selfishness. It's at the core of the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. It's at the core of the Buddhist teachings. In Sufism transcending the nafs. Any contemplative would tell you that if your spiritual discipline is creating more selfishness it's just poison.
It's a culture VS religion thing. While religion is a big part of a culture and it influences it a lot, many of its ideals also contradict the secular ideals. And the people who say Christianity is the most tolerant religion they do so because in their minds christianity is part of the western culture (which is supposed to be progressive, liberal, tolerant and all that). But did the actual people who helped and still help bring change and progress and open mindedness do so because they were christians? Because their religion told them so? Maybe in some cases yes, but definitely not in most of them. People will be open minded only when it's about something that affects them, but not their neighbour. Christians think they are because they accept people in church in just jeans and because they don't stone people who have sex before marriage anymore. But that is because those changes are to their own advantage, not because they finally became tolerant.
@HannibalAteMeOut I fully agree on your thoughts and loved reading them. These days a lot of what "Christianity" had become tolerant towards is being backtracked by a very loud and at times also very violent minority, even it's not in the advantage of the majority of people.
@SUPERVlXEN it's always amazed me how only a few of them listen to Jesus' words when he said "Whoever is without sin shall cast the first stone" or "If you have two cloths, give one to the poor" or "I was a stranger and you let me in". Instead they stick to really trivial things like if gay sex or abortion is a sin. How on earth do they base their whole ideology on such matters rather than the real and actually progressive ones that their saviour focused on is beyond me.
sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own.
While they wouldn't set you on fire, their reaction would still be resentment, ridicule, aggressiveness and the desire to impose their opinions instead.
I'm not necessarily offended, but rather being someone from a culture and a faith that suffers greatly from westerners making unfair generalizations, you bewilder me when you do the same.
What you say is true of SOME Christians, but not of all. Peace be upon you.
I also assume you thought I am an Arab. Because I can't see how you would link my mother culture to Islam. Lot of us are Christians. Witches. Atheists. Pagans.
As to the arab culture, it is also common mistake for people to link it to Islam..
Modern Christianity is not exclusive to the west. Christianity can also be linked to the Arab culture. In fact it is closer to some of the arab cultures than to your cultures.
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If I were an arab Muslim and made the statement I have (which I am not), it also doesn't change its truth by the way.
And generalization made by an arab is not in any way equivalent to systematic targeting of them by the west. It is words, yours are actions.
don't get offended, but I'll offer a different explanation as necessary. let me show you something different? when we try to remember often there are different ways to over take a struggle. fear leads to anxiety
Christians means follower of Christ. not follower of people in a building a so called church.
@Jabulani Any choice we make has consequences on other people's lives. It is not opinions I am so concerned about as much as carelessness and lack of actions..
"Good" to describe anyone has lost meaning, every day the standards are lower and lower in world where complexity is increasing. What we do or don't do affect many in other parts of the globe and the amount of indifference we put into our actions to block out the inevitable resulting suffering is so enormous that "good" becomes self glorification when we attach it to us .
Christians are majority group. If significant number of them were good (same for other religions and group) we would all be doing right by the issues drowing this world.
Been long time, been so little action. Because those who care are a few in between .
I don't even know where to start or end with those being loud around this place, the lack in empathy, morals, ethics as love for human mankind is alarming and upsetting. They're horrible people. I won't say there won't be exceptions but that goes for everything in life. The bunch being loud here can go and have a circle jerk in their own supremacy.