When Tolerance Doesn’t Mean Toleration

Al Mohler examines When Tolerance Doesn’t Mean Toleration (emphasis mine):

True toleration exists when all persons are free to express their own deepest beliefs and to argue for the truthfulness and superiority of their beliefs, while respecting the rights of all others to do the same. This is chartered pluralism — an honest exchange of ideas, beliefs, and arguments in the public square — not ideological pluralism that denies that truth can be found, or the false tolerance that tolerates only what it likes.

This brought to mind something similar in John MacArthur’s book, Why One Way? (again, emphasis mine):

The Bible is not just another idea to be thrown into the public discussion and accepted or rejected as the individual sees fit. It is the Word of God, and it demands to be received as such, to the exclusion of all other opinions.

Obviously that way of assessing truth is unpopular today. According to the new postmodern tolerance, everyone is entitled to have whatever opinion he or she prefers; every belief is to be accorded equal respect; and no one is ever supposed to claim superiority for any single viewpoint. In effect, then, postmodern tolerance entails an utter rejection of the whole concept of divine authority. It amounts to a denial that God has truly spoken, or at the very least, a denial that His words have any real authority. That is precisely why postmodern tolerance is fundamentally at odds with a biblical worldview.

As Christians, we face a clear choice: Either go along with the spirit of the age and downplay the authority of Scripture, or accept Scripture and set its authority and ourselves against the rest of the world. Our duty is clear (James 4:4).

(MacArthur, John. Why One Way? : Defending an Exclusive Claim in an Inclusive World. Nashville: W Pub. Group, 2002.)

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

SharperIron: In Defense of Big Words

Mike Osborne at ShaperIron is defending the use of big words:

There is in some quarters a resistance to big words. Perhaps there is a fear of sounding pretentious. Using big words for big words’ sake is pretentious, like installing an elevator in a tree house. But we’re aiming for taller buildings. Perhaps there is a fear that the audience will resist putting in the effort to learn the new terms. And maybe they will resist, and maybe it will require a substantial effort to coax them to learn. But years later, after they’ve learned it, you’ll have saved substantial effort in communicating. We are destined to be like Christ, the wisdom of God. The least we can do is get started.

How many bible readers out there know exactly what propitiation means, and understand the implication of it? And before you say, “oh, that’s just a technical term for theologians,” keep in mind that it is used four times in the scripture…