Hey everyone! Cliff here. I know it's been a while like usual but I thought I'd take a second to post a little something that I heard this morning and was thinking about a little today. This morning for our staff devotions at work a pastor came to speak to us. It was a little different than normal but still very interesting. Most of what he spoke about was a word that we commonly hear thrown around a lot, "Tolerance." He went on to speak and quote some things about the current affairs of Christianity and Islam throughout the world today. Mainly though he focused on Europe and North America. I don't believe that this guy was pushing any particular agenda but was instead expressing a very real issue and problem that our culture and others are facing throughout the world as it relates to the spread of Islam.
That being said, that is not what I was thinking so much about because I pretty much agreed with the things that he said based on my past experiences and travels. In the beginning of his talk he quoted Aristotle and what he once said about Tolerance. Here is the quote:
Aristotle: "Tolerance & apathy are the last virtues of a dying society"
So my question that I asked myself today was, "am I tolerant?" And if so, "what am I tolerant of?" Also, "Am I too tolerant?"
One thing that I have always thought that was funny for example is how many people push and fight for Christians and individuals from a Christian background and culture to be "tolerant" of them and their cultures & religions, however, it does not seem as though they do not reciprocate that back. Maybe I am missing a little something, but that is what I see from my end. Why is it that we have to always be the ones who are quiet and do not stand up for ourselves? Are we ashamed of who we are? Do we really not believe in what we say we do? Would we actually be willing to die (as many Muslims do for example) for the sake of our beliefs?
Whether you're a Christian or not, I think that it's an interesting thing to ask yourself. I think that it may be something that most of us are not that comfortable talking about as well.
Also, here is another point. If you are a person who says that there are no absolutes in the world, just by making that statement are you not stating that there is in fact an absolute?
So, that being said...what do YOU think??? What your thoughts on this? What's your gut reaction? What do you think will happen to our society in the next 25-50 years? I would honestly be interested in knowing what you think if you would like to share. If not...then you can just ignore this post as a crazy "Cliff Rant" and my lovely wife will make up for me with a great post here soon. (Also, if you've actually taken the time to read this far...thanks for putting up with my rant.)
That being said, that is not what I was thinking so much about because I pretty much agreed with the things that he said based on my past experiences and travels. In the beginning of his talk he quoted Aristotle and what he once said about Tolerance. Here is the quote:
Aristotle: "Tolerance & apathy are the last virtues of a dying society"
So my question that I asked myself today was, "am I tolerant?" And if so, "what am I tolerant of?" Also, "Am I too tolerant?"
One thing that I have always thought that was funny for example is how many people push and fight for Christians and individuals from a Christian background and culture to be "tolerant" of them and their cultures & religions, however, it does not seem as though they do not reciprocate that back. Maybe I am missing a little something, but that is what I see from my end. Why is it that we have to always be the ones who are quiet and do not stand up for ourselves? Are we ashamed of who we are? Do we really not believe in what we say we do? Would we actually be willing to die (as many Muslims do for example) for the sake of our beliefs?
Whether you're a Christian or not, I think that it's an interesting thing to ask yourself. I think that it may be something that most of us are not that comfortable talking about as well.
Also, here is another point. If you are a person who says that there are no absolutes in the world, just by making that statement are you not stating that there is in fact an absolute?
So, that being said...what do YOU think??? What your thoughts on this? What's your gut reaction? What do you think will happen to our society in the next 25-50 years? I would honestly be interested in knowing what you think if you would like to share. If not...then you can just ignore this post as a crazy "Cliff Rant" and my lovely wife will make up for me with a great post here soon. (Also, if you've actually taken the time to read this far...thanks for putting up with my rant.)
