Why the Truly Tolerent can't Tolerate the Tolerance of the World

Have you ever been in the same room with a clicker? They sit there, an isle in front of you and three seats to the left, and while you are trying to concentrate on the speaker, they have this strange fascination with clicking their pen. About every second second. Every once in a while they'll break their rhythm and rapid fire a few clicks. Click . . . click . . . click click click . . . click. You're about ready to lunge across the isle and strangle them. That would probably raise too much negative attention though. So you opt for a well aimed spit ball instead.

Your friend on your right places their hand on your arm, digging their fingers into the crook of your elbow, and whispers at you to remain calm. It's a free country, they remind you, and they urge you to live and let live a little. You marvel that someone could be so even-keeled in the face of such blatant annoyingness, and you sigh as you put your straw, with loaded spitball, down.

Meanwhile, the friend to your left catches the attention of the clicker and smiles warmly as the clicker glances over her shoulder. Your left-side friend raises his own pen and starts clicking too, in a touching moment of acceptance that leaves you struck mute with horror.

In this scenario, who is truly tolerant? Is it the friend on your left or right? Before we answer, it might be helpful to look at the definition of tolerant. According to Webster, it means being "willing to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own."

With this definition in mind, wouldn't you answer that it is the friend on your right who is tolerant? He's not a clicker himself, but he's willing to give someone else the freedom to click. The friend on your left isn't exercising tolerance, but rather is converted into clickerhoodism.

If tolerance is really accepting beliefs that are different from your own, doesn't that imply that you disagree with the person your are accepting, or is it wrong to disagree at all? Should we all have the same feelings, habits, or beliefs?

The logical approach is to realize that we can't possibly all have the same feelings, habits, or beliefs. Look around you. We all come from different backgrounds and cultures, and our experiences vastly differ and have shaped who we are in vastly different ways. Isn't that a main tenant of our recent thinking in America, that we are culturally diverse? Isn't it the gospel of Post-modernism that we all have different truths shaped by our experiences?

It would seem, then, that tolerance is allowing for differing beliefs, not trying to conform all beliefs into one. So then, why do those on the liberal left try and force us to not only allow their beliefs, but to accept them? If we don't agree with them that marriage should be radically redefined, for instance, we are attacked as intolerant bigots. But by the same token, isn't their claim that we are wrong and should accept their beliefs on marriage incredibly intolerant and bigoted?

It's not helpful to our society to try and force us all to believe the same thing. What's more, it won't work! Tolerance should focus on how we differ, and how we should differ politely. Throwing around terms like "bigot" or "close-minded" is not helpful, to either side. It is more like the bickering and squabbling of middleschoolers trying to get their way on the playground. We should instead seek for the civil exchange of our different opinions and beliefs, and the common curtesy of allowing people to have different conclusions. In my own life as a Christian, I will definitely share what I know to be true with you, but I also give you the liberty of free will, just like my God does. I won't slander you as a close-minded, Christian-phobic individual if you disagree with me. I only hope you will extend the same curtesy to me, and allow me to have my own beliefs. This is America, after all, where we should have the freedom to believe what we want to believe, as long as that belief is not criminal in behavior. That is true tolerance.

Why you can't use the statistics about the high rate of depression and suicidal behavior among the LGBT community

I set out this morning to find a lot of statistics on the frighteningly high levels of depression, suicidal thoughts, and mental disorders among the LGBT community in an attempt to form an argument for why even non-believers should be wary of accepting the homosexual or transgender lifestyles with open arms. I thought it would be a quick 30 minutes of rounding up the statistics and then organizing them into a reasonable argument that the LGBT lifestyle does present much higher risks to a person's health and mental stability than living a heterosexual lifestyle.

Well, the statistics are all there from non-Christian, "un-biased" (everyone has a bias) researchers that can do nothing else but point to these high risks among the LGBT community, but I quickly found that it would be almost counter-intuitive to use these statistics, based off the researchers conclusions. Basically, they universally pointed to homophobic bullying, discrimination, and intolerance of the gay lifestyle as the reason for the high rates of depression and suicide--not the lifestyle itself.

Is such an analysis fair though? For example, smoking is a great evil in our society today, because it has been proven to be unhealthy. It can lead to lung cancer, and you will die on average 1 to 7 years earlier than your non-smoking peers. However, research shows that those who engage in the homosexual lifestyle on average die 24 years earlier than their heterosexual peers! (more on that argument by following this link)

We wouldn't say that discrimination against smokers has caused them to die earlier. Their lifestyle is unhealthy and is the cause! So why can't we even dare suggest the same with the immensely more dangerous lifestyle of homosexuals or transgendered people? After all, LGBT teens are somewhere between 2 and 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than "straight" teens, homosexual men account for 2% of the population but 67% of all new HIV diagnoses according to the CDC, and 35-40% of transgender or sexually confused people struggle with suicidal thoughts, to name a few statistics.

Another interesting point: "White" people are almost three times as likely to commit suicide than "black" people, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which noted:

"In 2015, the highest U.S. suicide rate (15.1) was among Whites and the second highest rate (12.6) was among American Indians and Alaska Natives (Figure 5). Much lower and roughly similar rates were found among Hispanics (5.8), Asians and Pacific Islanders (6.4), and Blacks (5.6)."

African Americans are actually at the bottom of this list! This would seem to fly directly in the face of the argument that it is discrimination rather than lifestyle that leads to suicidal thoughts and depression.

It's time for researchers to be honest about their findings. We need to be able to use these statistics to help avert the growing crisis among the LGBT community. As this study of the accepting culture of Denmark vs the less tolerant USA pointed out, more support and acceptance of their lifestyle will not help the levels of depression and suicide among homosexuals or bisexuals. There has got to be a different alternative that will help the LGBT community.

As a Christian, I believe that we are hard-wired to live the way God created us to. When we try to live outside of God's design, it is detrimental to us. It can only lead to unfulfilled, wanting lives. Homosexuality is clearly a lifestyle apart from God's plan. It won't fulfill you; It will leave you empty and depressed. There is hope, though, in Jesus Christ. If He becomes the center of your life--if He becomes your Lord and Savior--you can find healing and joy! He offers life, and life abundantly! As He says in John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

We as Christians need to lovingly confront the world with the Gospel. It may be counter cultural, but how could we see the high rate of depression and suicide among any group and not seek to offer them hope?

So take heart, and stand for truth.

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous^[will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11