I once heard Bob Kilpatrick,  author of the classic worship song Lord Be Glorified, ("in my life Lord, be glorified, be glorified") say something in a music class in college that changed my view of Christian media forever. He said,  "Don't let the Christianity of your music [or any media] be that it says 'Jesus.' Let the Christianity of your [media] be that you do whatever you do from the perspective of a christian, which, if you are a Christian, should be natural." So if you write love songs, write about love from a Godly perspective. If you write sad songs, write great sad songs like those in Lamentations and Psalms. If you write fiction novels, write great fiction.  If you make movies, make great movies (and forget about the MPAA ratings. Some of the greatest movies with the most solid values and messages have been R rated). Whatever you do well, do it to the best of your ability as unto God and not man.

Now I'm not going to talk about what he said... because what he meant was valid.  What he was trying to communicate was that tolerance is wrong  when it asks us to accept things that go against our moral or religious convictions.  This is true.  I should not be expected to accept the religious beliefs of people that are contrary to mine because they live next door.  I should be expected not to persecute or slander them for their beliefs.  He also was trying to communicate that Jesus did not accept certain ideas or practices.  That is true... but it does not make Jesus narrow-minded.  A narrow-minded person is not open to suggestion nor are they willing to listen to a person's differing viewpoint.   Because of this, it is impossible to be compassionate without being open-minded (if you disagree, consider the difference between compassion and pity) and I don't think anyone would tell me Jesus is not compassionate.  Also, being narrow-minded would make it impossible for Jesus (God) to be omniscient, which he certainly is.

What I do want to address is the way in which we communicate our thoughts and ideas.  If you want someone else to hear and comprehend what you are trying to communicate then you must consider their understanding of the language you are using.  Often, it doesn't matter what a word or phrase is defined as if it has a more frequently used meaning.  Intolerance, in our society, does not mean clinging to convictions or morals.  It is radical opposition to those who are different than you.  What I believe happened this morning, is that this gentleman was personally offended by being called intolerant by those who did not agree with his religious views and of being expected to change his convictions in the name of tolerance.  So his own issue began with someone's misunderstanding of intolerance.  Anyway, instead of realizing this, he went on a ti-raid and converted that into a sermon he thought we would care about.  In the end, the listeners are angry and he looks like a fool.  

Let THAT be a lesson to you.