Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Context:Tolerance, in a biblical sense, refers to the capacity to endure or permit differences in opinions, behaviors, and beliefs, particularly those that diverge from one's own. It involves patience, forbearance, and a willingness to allow others the freedom to hold differing views. In the Christian context, tolerance is often balanced with the call to uphold truth and righteousness as revealed in Scripture.
Biblical Foundations:The Bible provides numerous examples and teachings that relate to the concept of tolerance. While the term "tolerance" itself may not be explicitly used, the principles underlying it are evident throughout Scripture.
1.
Love and Forbearance: The Apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of love and patience in relationships. In
Ephesians 4:2 , he writes, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." This verse highlights the need for humility and patience, which are essential components of tolerance.
2.
Unity in Diversity: The early church faced challenges of diversity, particularly between Jewish and Gentile believers. Paul addresses this in
Romans 14:1 , "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions." Here, Paul encourages believers to accept one another despite differences in personal convictions, especially in disputable matters.
3.
Jesus' Example: Jesus Christ exemplified tolerance in His interactions with various individuals, including those marginalized by society. In
John 4, Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman, breaking cultural and social barriers. His approach demonstrates a willingness to engage with and show compassion to those who were different.
4.
Truth and Tolerance: While the Bible advocates for tolerance, it also calls for discernment and adherence to truth. In
2 Timothy 4:2-3 , Paul instructs Timothy, "Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine." This passage underscores the need to balance tolerance with a commitment to biblical truth.
5.
Limits of Tolerance: The Bible also sets boundaries for tolerance, particularly when it comes to sin and false teachings. In
Revelation 2:20 , Jesus rebukes the church in Thyatira for tolerating false teachings: "But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols." This indicates that tolerance should not extend to practices or teachings that contradict core biblical truths.
Practical Application:Christians are called to practice tolerance by showing love, patience, and understanding towards others, while also standing firm in their faith. This involves engaging with others respectfully, listening to differing viewpoints, and seeking common ground without compromising biblical principles. Tolerance, when rooted in love and truth, can foster unity and peace within the body of Christ and the broader community.
Topical Bible Verses
2 Thessalonians 3:6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
Topicalbible.orgActs 10:34-35
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
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Hebrews 12:1
Why seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
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1 Corinthians 14:34
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted to them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also said the law.
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Leviticus 20:13
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be on them.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) The capacity of enduring; forbearance of the differences of others.
2. (n.) The endurance of the presence or actions of objectionable persons, or of the expression of offensive opinions; toleration.
3. (n.) The power possessed or acquired by some persons of bearing doses of medicine which in ordinary cases would prove injurious or fatal.
Greek
463. anoche -- a delaying, forbearance... judgment . Word Origin from anecho Definition a delaying, forbearance NASB
Word Usage forbearance (1),
tolerance (1). forbearance.
...430. anecho -- to hold up, bear with
... Word Origin from ana and echo Definition to hold up, bear with NASB Word Usage bear
(3), bearing (2), endure (3), put (4), showingtolerance (1), tolerate (2)....
Library
Tolerance. March 16.
...Tolerance. March 16. If we really love God and long to do good and work
for God, if we really love our neighbours and wish to help...
To Her Spiritual Children in Siena
... The second repeats her familiar warning against a critical temper, and her favourite
plea for that generoustolerance which puts the highest possible...
The Lonely Defender of the Bible
... But a paper on "Polemics andTolerance" which he read at another convention
two years later kept his listeners wide awake. "Our...
A Summary of Israel's Faithlessness and God's Patience
... the land; namely, that they were to enter into no entangling alliances with the
remnant of the inhabitants, and especially to have notolerance for their...
Christianity
... faith in the supernatural and miraculous; the churches which have swung the doors
wide open on the hinges of worldly wisdom and easytolerance; the churches...
A Good Man's Faults
... Liberality is exaggerated into prodigality; firmness, into obstinacy; mercy, into
weakness; gravity, into severity;tolerance, into feeble conviction; humility...
St. Catherine of Siena as Seen in Her Letters
... poor mortals. And perhaps the very frequency of her plea fortolerance
and forbearance suggests a conscious weakness. Like most...
The Symbols of the Republic.
... an unjust prejudice or a spiteful calumny, but it shames the source more than the
object, and soon dies away in the atmosphere oftolerance and investigation....
Christian Cemeteries.
... The responsibility for the persecutions which took place in the first century must
be attributed to them, not to the Romans, whosetolerance in religious...
Connecticut at the Close of the Revolution
... Histolerance, however, was more for the old Calvinistic principles in the New Divinity,
and not for its advanced features, for which he had little regard....
Thesaurus
Tolerance (2 Occurrences)... ordinary cases would prove injurious or fatal. Multi-Version Concordance
Tolerance (2 Occurrences). Romans 2:4 Or do you despise
...Charity (29 Occurrences)
... Ultimate Ideal 9. Almsgiving 10.Tolerance In the King James Version in 26
places from 1 Corinthians 8:1 onward. The same Greek word...
Purity (16 Occurrences)
... Pioneers the world over and through time, for very self-preservation's
sake, could show little favor ortolerance to lawlessness....
Tolerable (6 Occurrences)
Tolerate (8 Occurrences)
Narrow-minded (1 Occurrence)
... Narrowly, Narrow-minded. Narrowness . Noah Webster's Dictionary (a.) Lacking
tolerance; petty -- opposed to open minded; mean. Multi-Version Concordance...
Joppa (14 Occurrences)
... At Joppa, in the house of Simon the tanner, "by the sea-side," Peter resided "many
days," and here, "on the house-top," he had his "vision oftolerance" (Acts 9...
Luke (4 Occurrences)
... man;" "the Gospel of womanhood;" "the Gospel of the outcast, of the Samaritan, the
publican, the harlot, and the prodigal;" "the Gospel oftolerance." The main...
Allowance (11 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) Approval; approbation. 2. (n.) The act of allowing, granting, conceding,
or admitting; authorization; permission; sanction;tolerance....
Apocalyptic
... of the hands of the Ptolemies into that of the house of Seleucus, this feeling was
intensified, as the Syrian house regarded with lesstolerance the religion...
Resources
What is latitudinarianism? | GotQuestions.orgWhat was the Kingdom of Jerusalem? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is subjectivism? | GotQuestions.orgTolerance: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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