Tolerance

The Gap Between

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respect-is-earned-97

Respect and tolerance is a two way road.

Recent events suggest that we are good at loving our neighbour in times of need but less so when we find out what they might think.

In typical British fashion the country reacted to the terrorist attacks London and Manchester by sticking two fingers up at terrorists, supported those affected and carried on as normal. When tragedy struck those living in Grenfell Tower the community came together just as they had after the terrorist attacks; churches, mosques and others opened up their doors, hearts and wallets to rally around to support those in need.

But when it comes to expressing views or engaging in debates we seemingly find it easier to hate our neighbour than love them. Those who agree with us and live within our neighbourhood of opinions are wise people of distinction, those who don’t are our enemy to be cast out or defeated. Continue reading →

Gladiatorial Acceptability

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Image reproduced from the Archbishop Cranmer blog (visit http://archbishopcranmer.com/gay-cake-case-comes-to-court/ for the post on the case by Peter Lynas).

Whatever your view on marriage, whether you hold to the traditional man and woman model or a gender-blind union, the case of Ashers Backing Company vs Gareth Lee mirrors troubling characteristics of our society: a misunderstanding of tolerance and a gladiatorial approach to deciding what’s acceptable. Continue reading →

We are family

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How we view our relationship with each other affects our chances of getting along with each other.

How we view our relationship with each other affects our chances of getting along with each other.

Turn on the TV, listen to the radio, open your social media apps and one thing is clear, we don’t seem to be able to get on which each other very well.  For a supposedly tolerant society, tolerance is in short supply. Continue reading →

Do you feel tolerant? Well, do ya, punk?

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BBC Broadcasting House

BBC Broadcasting House in London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was challenged recently to write a piece for a competition to become a new voice on BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought.

The challenge isn’t just writing a coherent thought, it is also writing one that can deliver a spiritually based message within the allotted 2 minutes. Then there is the challenge of potentially reading it live on a national radio station to hundreds of thousands of listeners.

It didn’t take long or much prayer to know what to write about: tolerance, and the lack of it, is something that has been placed strongly on my heart for some time now. Continue reading →