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Religious Tolerance
Tolerance, noun: The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting
the beliefs or practices of others.
Tolerating the beliefs of others will make the world a much nicer place to live,
that is fact. True tolerance of other peoples' beliefs must come from a
kind and compassionate heart.
Unspoken grudges or prejudices while passively 'not opposing' other people's
beliefs leads to harm being done eventually. This is because of the Law of
Polarity, which states that if you try to resist against violence by 'swallowing'
the intolerance you may hold in your mind, it will eventually come to being
because of that opposition and tending to the 'mental' intolerance.
True tolerance consists of loving the soul of the individual who stands before
you with his/her beliefs. Then, tolerance of what he or she believes, IF
HARMLESS, comes automatically. Whatever one believes, so long as it is
not hurtful to another, is a good thing. Each and every individual should
seek his/her own path. It is important to remember that all paths eventually
wind up to the summit of the same mountain. Let your Inner Voice guide you,
without fear, in your everyday actions towards others who may have opposing
beliefs and ideas. Always remember that Love is more important than being right
or wrong.
"The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures
are not failed attempts at being you. They are unique manifestations of the
human spirit."- Wade Davis
This concept extends to the core of the Golden Rule/ethic of reciprocity - Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you want others to be at
least tolerant of your beliefs then do so unto others as well. But as has been
said earlier, it is best to live the version of the Golden Rule as told by Jesus
Christ "Love your neighbour as yourself". Because if you do this, your action
will always come from love, and religous tolerance then simply becomes an aspect
of your caring and compassion to others which is not contrived or 'thought of' by
the mind. Your religious tolerance will simply be the natural effect of your
caring and love, just as it is only natural for those without love to be
intolerant to other beliefs. Change yourself and your attitude and you will
change the world around you. Small positive causes may have big, and often
unexpected effects!
"I never told my own religion nor scrutinized that of another. I never attempted
to make a convert, nor wished to change another's creed. I am satisfied that
yours must be an excellent religion to have produced a life of such exemplary
virtue and correctness. For it is in our lives, and not from our words, that our
religion must be judged." -
Thomas Jefferson, 1819
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