In recent years the word tolerance, like many words, has been redefined. While at the same time, bullying, which should never be tolerated, has been redirected instead of being condemned.  The result is a society in which intolerance and bullying are encouraged towards anyone that doesn’t celebrate progressive doctrine. The keyword being “celebrate” since tolerating opposing views is no longer enough.

Josh McDowell had this to say about tolerance: “The traditional definition of tolerance means simply to recognize and respect others’ beliefs and practices without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing with them. This attitude, that everyone has a right to their own opinion, is what tolerance means to most people. But today’s definition is vastly different. This new tolerance considers every individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyle, and truth claims to be equally valid. Not only do people have an equal right to their beliefs, but all beliefs are equal. The new tolerance goes beyond respecting a person’s rights; It demands praise and endorsement of that person’s beliefs, values, and lifestyles. In the new cultural climate, any unpopular message can be labeled “intolerant” and therefore repressed.”

To put a face on what this new “tolerance” looks like and how bullying has been redirected instead of condemned, we need to look no further than Isabella Chow and the University of California at Berkeley. Facing an avalanche of hostility, Isabella Chow, a Christian student senator at the University of California, Berkeley, is refusing to back down from her beliefs about marriage and sexuality, even as she continues to weather intense backlash from her fellow students and others!

One of her fellow student senators went as far as to say that Chow’s Christian beliefs “were not beliefs at all, they were hateful prejudices that deserve nothing less than the strongest condemnation.” But when you read what Chow had to say in a phone interview with The College Fix, her love, support, and compassion for the LGBTQ students at Berkeley are obvious. Continue reading →