Tolerance v. Relativism

Main Entry: tol·er·ance
Pronunciation: 'tä-l&-r&n(t)s, 'täl-r&n(t)s
Function: noun
1 : capacity to endure pain or hardship : ENDURANCE, FORTITUDE, STAMINA
2 a : sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own b : the act of allowing something : TOLERATION
3 : the allowable deviation from a standard; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece
4 a (1) : the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult with repeated use or exposure (2) : relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor b : the maximum amount of a pesticide residue that may lawfully remain on or in food

Main Entry: rel·a·tiv·ism
Pronunciation: 're-l&-ti-"vi-z&m
Function: noun
1 a : a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing b : a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them
2 : RELATIVITY- rel·a·tiv·ist /-vist/ noun

Are they the same thing?

I think not.

Jesus was not relative in his teachings, but He did understand that he might need to explain something repeatedly for different people to understand it different ways. I believe that is one reason he used parables.

My understanding of relativism says that every action can be considered good by someone; tolerance says that everyone views the same story or action differently. Tolerance is good, relativism is bad. Although our country has been preaching tolerance, we have been putting relativism into practice.

I believe that we must put tolerance to practice. Certain actions we KNOW are wrong: Murder, adultery, theft, abuse of the weak. Upon those actions, tolerance must not be practiced, a firm stance must be taken. There can be no relativism when we identify these situations.

We are all responsible for our own actions. We can change our own actions, we cannot change someone else's. For that reason, when someone does something wrong, identify the problem, determine the best course of action to the greater good in overcoming that problem by looking at history and considering the results of different actions on possible future events (although not 'every' possibility can be identified).

Example: Blaming Clinton or Bush for 9/11 is unjustified. We are all to blame for becoming lazy about protecting our country. The highjackers, Al Qaida, are at fault for harming our country. Identifying our true enemy is important. Petty squabbling over how it could have been prevented should be saved for a time after the perpetrators of the evil act (Al Qaida, OSB) are brought to justice. In the same way that parents can be blamed for a child's misbehavior, but the actual action is of the child and the child should be punished whether or not their parents are bad parents.We all need to take a stand, that does not mean, "My way or the highway." It means, "Think outside the box," maybe another way is better. Stop putting ourselves and our pride first and start putting the general good first.

Evil exists in the world. We can only identify it when it is performed. When it occurs, it is our responsibility to not only identify it, but act against it in order to prevent it from occurring again.

However, if you see someone praying, and you don't understand who they are praying to, what prayer means to them (communication or worship), find out what that person is doing...ask them why they are doing it, but don't make an assumption that you know what they are doing, simply because you would do it differently.

God bless