The Virtue of the Month: Tolerance
Not exactly one of the beatitudes or the fruits of the Spirit, none-the-less it is next month's "virtue of the month" at my daughter's elementary school. It still gives me pause to hear about a government school that is supposed (so say the "seperation of Church and State" crowd) to be completely agnostic, teaching "virtues." I suppose it is a neccesary thing in our "post-christian" era. Sad, really.
But what exactly is going to be said about tolerance? I am truly curious. The dictionary definition says this: The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.
Okay, fair enough...but what does it mean to "respect the beliefs and practices of others."? Does that mean I cannot or ought not to criticize Mormon theology? Does that mean that I cannot critique the practices of the ECUSA when they bring Wiccan ceremony's into their liturgy? Am I being intolerant when I say that the Pope does not hold universal authority over the Church? (Actually the "toters of tolerance" would likely be okay with this sort of intolerance...funny how sometimes tolerance is only allowed to go so far.)
Was Saint Nicholas being intolerant when he gave Arius a smack in the face? Or perhaps Christ and the Theotokos were being intolerant or insensitive to Arians when they mystically reinstated Saint Nicholas after the council had deposed him?
So how exactly do we overcome this popular stigma of intolerance and yet retain our right (and duty?) to publically disagree? I am still deciding on how to compliment (read: overcome) the indoctrination Kelsey will be receiving next month, to some extent I guess I will have to wait and see what is actually being taught, but regardless in some way or another my daughter will learn that being tolerant does NOT mean agreeing.
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