The Intolerance of Tolerance
Books / Hardcover
Books › Religion › Christian Theology › Ethics
ISBN: 0802831702 / Publisher: Eerdmans, January 2012
The author uses anecdotes and quotes to help illustrate his argument that tolerance has gone beyond simply putting up with another's differences and still disagreeing with him or her and instead now has more to do with completely refraining from saying others are wrong, in a book that offers the author's personal Christian perspective on the issue.
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Tolerance currently occupies a very high place in Western societies: it is considered gauche, even boorish, to question it. In The Intolerance of Tolerance, however, questioning tolerance -- or, at least, contemporary understandings of tolerance -- is exactly what D. A . Carson does.Carson traces the subtle but enormous shift in the way we have come to understand tolerance over recent years -- from defending the rights of those who hold different beliefs to affirming all beliefs as equally valid and correct. He looks back at the history of this shift and discusses its implications for culture today, especially its bearing on democracy, discussions about good and evil, and Christian truth claims.Using real-life examples that will sometimes arouse laughter and sometimes make the blood boil, Carson argues not only that the "new tolerance" is socially dangerous and intellectually debilitating but also that it actually leads to genuine intolerance of all who struggle to hold fast to their beliefs.
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