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The Beauty of Intolerance
Today's message of cultural acceptance is dangerously distorted and deceptive. In a world that "If you truly care about other people, you must agree that their beliefs, values, lifestyle, and truth claims are equal and as valid as yours!" it’s no wonder our youth are confused. The Beauty of Intolerance --brand-new from Josh McDowell with son Sean McDowell--cuts through the confusion and points you back to the place where the only truth resides. . .Jesus Christ. Tied directly to the Heroic Truth initiative launched by the Josh McDowell Ministry, McDowell will share how a biblical view of truth can counter cultural tolerance and encourage a love and acceptance of others apart from their actions with a heart of Christlike compassion.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2016
82 people are currently reading
611 people want to read
About the author
Josh McDowell
515 books645 followersJosh McDowell is a bestselling Christian apologist, evangelist, and author of over 150 books, including Evidence That Demands a Verdict and More Than a Carpenter. Once an agnostic, he converted to Christianity while investigating its historical claims. He went on to earn degrees from Wheaton College and Talbot Theological Seminary. For decades, McDowell has been a prominent speaker with Campus Crusade for Christ, addressing issues of faith, character, and youth culture worldwide. His work emphasizes historical and legal evidence for Christianity and tackles challenges posed by skepticism and non-Christian beliefs. He lives in California with his wife, Dottie, and is the father of four children, including fellow apologist Sean McDowell.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
April 19, 2016
I think I made a grievous error in requesting this book for review. Like reading the The Feminist Gospel: The Movement to Unite Feminism with the Church (which I thought was going to be a positive message about feminism - equality of women - and the gospel of Jesus, I somehow mistakenly thought this wouldn't actually be about how intolerance is beautiful. Is there no more irony in this world?)
Though there's some really great stuff in here:
See, if this is what you are talking about, I can get behind it. But the narrators use the truth behind this ideal to extend it to areas that don't fall into the same category. It's a false analogy.
I don't take a stand against books simply because I disagree with them. I take a stand against them because they spread untruths and are downright harmful. (This is my basis for morality.)
This book is chock full of false generalizations and straw men. The authors mischaracterize both the beliefs of those that follow the Bible (talking as if they are consistent from church to church) as well as those that don't (suggesting that they make their morality up and accept every single belief system without critical thought). One only has to take a quick look at the Secular Humanist web page to gather that many people who reject a belief in God have a similar belief system to what Jesus taught. But the authors apparently couldn't be bothered to do a bit of research.
This seems to be mainly a defense of those Christians who believe that homosexuality is immoral. Once again the authors leave out the fact that many, many Christians, churches, and even denominations disagree with their interpretation of the Bible here. They also throw consensual sex between adults and pornography in there, but it's mostly about being gay.
The McDowells Tell Us the Truth™
It's obvious where the authors are coming from.
Right out of the gate, they show that they get to define their view of biblical standards; and by default they can assume that everyone else's "biblical standards" are incorrect. Basically, these fundamentalists know that their value system is the right one, and *all* other value systems are faulty. Even though no one group of Christians agrees fully on their value systems, fundamentalists believe that they somehow have the correct value system locked down.
They do say:
To which my 13-year-old daughter might reply, "But do you?"
The authors talk about "the biblical narrative about truth and the cultural narrative about truth." In other words, the "correct" narrative about truth, and the "incorrect" narrative about truth. Once again, however, the authors ignore that fact that no two Christians agree with what that "correct" narrative is. I grew up in a church that taught that it was immoral to spread the idea that people could still do miracles today - since anyone doing so was obviously a liar, because they cannot. A very close friend of mine grew up in a church that would reject anyone out if hand that *denied* the existence of miracles because it was obvious those were gifts from God.
They go on to say,
Again, the authors suggest that they have insight to God's will that other believers do not, allowing them to make absolute moral statements.
In the second to last chapter they consider the possibility that other Christians disagree with them. Of course it's not that other Christians may be interpreting the Bible correctly, but that they have let doctrine of cultural tolerance creep in.
I like when they say,
Of course, these authors would never do that!
And basically they want people to see the bible as a rulebook to live by. They don't want to talk about it, but just have everyone agree with them and go on. To paraphrase someone they have already disparaged in their book, Rob Bell would place the importance on wrestling with the text, struggling and discussing it. But the McDowells don't need to do that because they have it all figured out and are telling you how to believe.
Wow. And they talk about the difference between truth and belief. By this argument, everything they've shared in this book is *not* merely what they believe. It's is absolute moral truth. Even though other Christians don't see eye to eye. I'm not exactly sure how they know this. Either they are smarter than everyone else, or they had a direct revelation from God telling them they were right and everyone else wasn't.
The McDowells Tell Us What Non-Christians Believe
The authors are dishonest about the cultural narrative here. It is much more complicated than "you are the creator of your own truth". Most people rely on a morality that does not hurt other people. That's much more constricting than "they just make it up as they go".
They note that the cultural narrative is to "Recognize and respect that every individual’s values, truth claims, beliefs, and practices are equally valid."
This is disingenuous, too. Most would ask - does this harm? If it harms other people, it's not equally valid. This throws out a lot of the McDowells's arguments. It's less "anything goes" and more "anything goes if it doesn't hurt anyone else". Which may not be different to the McDowells, but seems different to me.
Some other ways they rephrase this falsehood:
According to the authors, this cultural tolerances teaches that:
These sentences are so loaded I don't know where to begin. First of all, I think everyone would agree that the former would be enough. But what church is this? Love and respect? That's really all people want. And second, as far as the next sentence goes, who wants that? If you disagree with me, I want you to respect me - but I don't want you to praise me for it, because that's what I'll have to do with you. These two sentences make no sense. And they are full of falsehoods.
And of course, without the Christian God, there is no morality. Is anyone else tired of this argument? And how can they claim slavery as an example of this when slave owners used the Bible to defend it??
The McDowells Tell Us About the Gays (and the Oppression of Christians)
They talk about the loss of morals in our world - unfortunately, they aren't talking about that list above which we would all agree is immoral. It's about what the authors particularly find immoral. Basically, this book is all about consensual sex between adults and homosexuality.
Is it ironic that on the same page that the authors state that gays are immoral, that they say that Christians are *not* anti-gay??
And then they cite the Idaho case against two ministers who were fined for refusing to perform a gay marriage ceremony. They leave out the important fact that if these two ministers were working for a church, they would not have been fined - any church can deny marriage to anyone they see fit. In fact, these ministers were running a for-profit business which doesn't give them the leeway to decide who to serve and who not to serve. It's this kind of inaccuracy that hurts those Christians actually doing good in the world.
They go on to suggest that their (the traditional) understanding of tolerance is:
So - homosexuality is hurting these authors? I'm at a loss here.
And here's another place that seems to indicate that Christians led the fight against slavery and for civil rights. Of course, no Christians fought for slavery and against civil rights. Right?
Another case they cite is some California Legislators that wrote a letter to the Archbishop requesting him to "remove the morality clauses from the Catholic high school teachers’ handbook." They then state that "The morality clause included a stand against sex outside of marriage, pornography, and gay sex."
Unfortunately, they left out some facts. Again. It might hurt their point if they put it in, but the handbook stated that the list above, along with masturbation, contraception, and artificial insemination were all "gravely evil". Funny how they leave out so many key facts in these news stories.
The authors go on to state,
The problem is with "those who express their belief in a biblical morality". To many Christians, that means active discrimination against a minority. Whether it's giving a Christian prayer in a public venue while being insensitive to the fact that not everyone there is Christian, or believing that a business shouldn't serve someone based on their race - oh, wait, I mean on their sexual orientation. I couldn't remember if this was 1955 or 2015.
And the chapter on true love seems to indicate that we don't know that being gay is an unchanging characteristic. That's wrong. Read about all the failed ex-gay ministries. About people who for years tried to change that basic part of them. And how (1) it doesn't work and (2) almost always backfires.
Of course, then there's the comparison of gays to alcoholic. That doesn't seem intolerant at all. The gay people I know *love* that comparison. (Especially the gay Christians.)
And there's so much in here that doesn't make sense. Defending people who are discriminating against gays by saying they are losing their right to free speech and freedom of religion? Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech is not a defense against oppression and not letting other people have their civil rights!
And then after defending this kind of activity, stating,
You keep contradicting yourself!
The McDowells Tell Us Stuff That Doesn't Make Sense
Of course they invoke ISIS. If this won't get your anti-liberal fire going, what will?
And then they call Rob Bell a former mega-church pastor.
Really? I've never heard of Rob Bell described this way. They go all out in trying to discredit their detractors. 'Uh, yeah - that Rob Bell, he's just like Joel Osteen." Whatever.
They paraphrase Bell as saying, "the Bible is an antiquated book that the church must ignore or face irrelevance." Wow. Another case of leaving out the facts. Do you know how much Rob Bell has written about the Bible? In a positive way? Apparently not. I would suggest he has more respect for it than you do.
They state,
Which part? All of it? Some of it? You just said, "…the Bible contains poetry, psalms, apocalyptic literature, and parables…" Which is it?
Then they drop the bomb:
Just like Tim Keller and N.T. Wright, shitty theology. If it didn't happen exactly like I think it did, then this whole Jesus thing is pointless.
Of course, there's nothing new here as he quotes the popular scriptures against homosexuals that many other scholarly Christians disagree with. And he states they are "unambiguous". But I guess he gets his input from God and Christians who disagree are just led by culture. There are other books that treat this subject more fairly. Try Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee, as well as God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines.
And the last half of this book is about taking a stand in this war against Satan. Because the gays and liberals are pushing their agenda of equal rights for all - not just rights for straight, white Christians?
It's a pretty cool coincidence that anyone reading the Bible as condemning gay marriage is just reading what it says, but anyone that is reading the bible as not condemning it is reading their own belief system into it. Of course they just leave it there and never discuss why this is true based in the passages themselves. It's enough to say God agrees with me and disagrees with everyone else.
In the end it ends up doing the same thing that it says it's not doing - giving an outpouring of anti-gay rhetoric couched in the same old "love the sinner hate the sin (but not really)" talk. At least they know their audience.
They wrote this book because they say their concern is for people, to prevent them from "causing damage to themselves and others."
I wrote this review for the same reason.
Thanks to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. for a copy in return for an honest review.
Though there's some really great stuff in here:
"What is more beautiful than God’s intolerance expressed in his moral outrage toward the tragedies of poverty, racism, sexual abuse, slavery, AIDS, bigotry, and other such evils?"
See, if this is what you are talking about, I can get behind it. But the narrators use the truth behind this ideal to extend it to areas that don't fall into the same category. It's a false analogy.
I don't take a stand against books simply because I disagree with them. I take a stand against them because they spread untruths and are downright harmful. (This is my basis for morality.)
This book is chock full of false generalizations and straw men. The authors mischaracterize both the beliefs of those that follow the Bible (talking as if they are consistent from church to church) as well as those that don't (suggesting that they make their morality up and accept every single belief system without critical thought). One only has to take a quick look at the Secular Humanist web page to gather that many people who reject a belief in God have a similar belief system to what Jesus taught. But the authors apparently couldn't be bothered to do a bit of research.
This seems to be mainly a defense of those Christians who believe that homosexuality is immoral. Once again the authors leave out the fact that many, many Christians, churches, and even denominations disagree with their interpretation of the Bible here. They also throw consensual sex between adults and pornography in there, but it's mostly about being gay.
The McDowells Tell Us the Truth™
It's obvious where the authors are coming from.
"...you are no doubt perplexed by a new younger generation of teens and twentysomethings that seems comfortable with a value system and set of beliefs that are often contrary to biblical standards."
Right out of the gate, they show that they get to define their view of biblical standards; and by default they can assume that everyone else's "biblical standards" are incorrect. Basically, these fundamentalists know that their value system is the right one, and *all* other value systems are faulty. Even though no one group of Christians agrees fully on their value systems, fundamentalists believe that they somehow have the correct value system locked down.
They do say:
"...we believe it is possible to truly love and accept people with whom we significantly disagree."
To which my 13-year-old daughter might reply, "But do you?"
The authors talk about "the biblical narrative about truth and the cultural narrative about truth." In other words, the "correct" narrative about truth, and the "incorrect" narrative about truth. Once again, however, the authors ignore that fact that no two Christians agree with what that "correct" narrative is. I grew up in a church that taught that it was immoral to spread the idea that people could still do miracles today - since anyone doing so was obviously a liar, because they cannot. A very close friend of mine grew up in a church that would reject anyone out if hand that *denied* the existence of miracles because it was obvious those were gifts from God.
They go on to say,
"[Today's young people], like Renee, tend to confuse the difference between defining right and wrong for oneself and determining what is actually right and wrong. It is God’s character that determines what is morally right and wrong, and it is his Word that reveals that truth to us."
Again, the authors suggest that they have insight to God's will that other believers do not, allowing them to make absolute moral statements.
In the second to last chapter they consider the possibility that other Christians disagree with them. Of course it's not that other Christians may be interpreting the Bible correctly, but that they have let doctrine of cultural tolerance creep in.
I like when they say,
"...injecting our own views into a passage, is something all of us are guilty of to greater or lesser degrees. Sometimes people misuse Bible verses just to make their own point or to justify their particular moral stance. It’s a pretty handy device for self-justification or rationalization. Ignore context and inject our own meaning into a text and we can make just about any point we want."
Of course, these authors would never do that!
And basically they want people to see the bible as a rulebook to live by. They don't want to talk about it, but just have everyone agree with them and go on. To paraphrase someone they have already disparaged in their book, Rob Bell would place the importance on wrestling with the text, struggling and discussing it. But the McDowells don't need to do that because they have it all figured out and are telling you how to believe.
Wow. And they talk about the difference between truth and belief. By this argument, everything they've shared in this book is *not* merely what they believe. It's is absolute moral truth. Even though other Christians don't see eye to eye. I'm not exactly sure how they know this. Either they are smarter than everyone else, or they had a direct revelation from God telling them they were right and everyone else wasn't.
The McDowells Tell Us What Non-Christians Believe
The authors are dishonest about the cultural narrative here. It is much more complicated than "you are the creator of your own truth". Most people rely on a morality that does not hurt other people. That's much more constricting than "they just make it up as they go".
They note that the cultural narrative is to "Recognize and respect that every individual’s values, truth claims, beliefs, and practices are equally valid."
This is disingenuous, too. Most would ask - does this harm? If it harms other people, it's not equally valid. This throws out a lot of the McDowells's arguments. It's less "anything goes" and more "anything goes if it doesn't hurt anyone else". Which may not be different to the McDowells, but seems different to me.
Some other ways they rephrase this falsehood:
"cultural tolerance means all truth is subjective"
"morality has no bounds"
"Real love isn’t an unlimited endorsement of just any behavior a person chooses to engage in."
According to the authors, this cultural tolerances teaches that:
It’s not enough for the church to express love and respect toward those who believe and live contrary to biblical morality. To be truly tolerant (culturally tolerant), they and all Christians must agree that another person’s opposing position or behavior is right for him—and, in fact, praise him for it.
These sentences are so loaded I don't know where to begin. First of all, I think everyone would agree that the former would be enough. But what church is this? Love and respect? That's really all people want. And second, as far as the next sentence goes, who wants that? If you disagree with me, I want you to respect me - but I don't want you to praise me for it, because that's what I'll have to do with you. These two sentences make no sense. And they are full of falsehoods.
And of course, without the Christian God, there is no morality. Is anyone else tired of this argument? And how can they claim slavery as an example of this when slave owners used the Bible to defend it??
The McDowells Tell Us About the Gays (and the Oppression of Christians)
They talk about the loss of morals in our world - unfortunately, they aren't talking about that list above which we would all agree is immoral. It's about what the authors particularly find immoral. Basically, this book is all about consensual sex between adults and homosexuality.
Is it ironic that on the same page that the authors state that gays are immoral, that they say that Christians are *not* anti-gay??
And then they cite the Idaho case against two ministers who were fined for refusing to perform a gay marriage ceremony. They leave out the important fact that if these two ministers were working for a church, they would not have been fined - any church can deny marriage to anyone they see fit. In fact, these ministers were running a for-profit business which doesn't give them the leeway to decide who to serve and who not to serve. It's this kind of inaccuracy that hurts those Christians actually doing good in the world.
They go on to suggest that their (the traditional) understanding of tolerance is:
Respecting and protecting the legitimate rights of others, even those with whom you disagree and those who are different from you. Essentially, traditional tolerance means “everyone has a right to his own opinion.” Yet when those opinions violate God’s moral law to the extent of hurting others, tolerance turns to intolerance.
So - homosexuality is hurting these authors? I'm at a loss here.
And here's another place that seems to indicate that Christians led the fight against slavery and for civil rights. Of course, no Christians fought for slavery and against civil rights. Right?
Another case they cite is some California Legislators that wrote a letter to the Archbishop requesting him to "remove the morality clauses from the Catholic high school teachers’ handbook." They then state that "The morality clause included a stand against sex outside of marriage, pornography, and gay sex."
Unfortunately, they left out some facts. Again. It might hurt their point if they put it in, but the handbook stated that the list above, along with masturbation, contraception, and artificial insemination were all "gravely evil". Funny how they leave out so many key facts in these news stories.
The authors go on to state,
"...some of the most vocal advocates for tolerance are completely intolerant of those who express their belief in a biblical morality, especially if they do so in the public arena."
The problem is with "those who express their belief in a biblical morality". To many Christians, that means active discrimination against a minority. Whether it's giving a Christian prayer in a public venue while being insensitive to the fact that not everyone there is Christian, or believing that a business shouldn't serve someone based on their race - oh, wait, I mean on their sexual orientation. I couldn't remember if this was 1955 or 2015.
And the chapter on true love seems to indicate that we don't know that being gay is an unchanging characteristic. That's wrong. Read about all the failed ex-gay ministries. About people who for years tried to change that basic part of them. And how (1) it doesn't work and (2) almost always backfires.
Of course, then there's the comparison of gays to alcoholic. That doesn't seem intolerant at all. The gay people I know *love* that comparison. (Especially the gay Christians.)
And there's so much in here that doesn't make sense. Defending people who are discriminating against gays by saying they are losing their right to free speech and freedom of religion? Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech is not a defense against oppression and not letting other people have their civil rights!
And then after defending this kind of activity, stating,
"Christians should never refuse services to someone because they identify as gay or lesbian. Our actions are to be based on convictions, not hate."
You keep contradicting yourself!
The McDowells Tell Us Stuff That Doesn't Make Sense
Of course they invoke ISIS. If this won't get your anti-liberal fire going, what will?
And then they call Rob Bell a former mega-church pastor.
Really? I've never heard of Rob Bell described this way. They go all out in trying to discredit their detractors. 'Uh, yeah - that Rob Bell, he's just like Joel Osteen." Whatever.
They paraphrase Bell as saying, "the Bible is an antiquated book that the church must ignore or face irrelevance." Wow. Another case of leaving out the facts. Do you know how much Rob Bell has written about the Bible? In a positive way? Apparently not. I would suggest he has more respect for it than you do.
They state,
"...the Bible can be trusted as a reliable historical document, and we have credible evidence to substantiate that reality."
Which part? All of it? Some of it? You just said, "…the Bible contains poetry, psalms, apocalyptic literature, and parables…" Which is it?
Then they drop the bomb:
"Without Christ literally rising from the dead, his promise to give those who trust in him eternal life would be meaningless."
Just like Tim Keller and N.T. Wright, shitty theology. If it didn't happen exactly like I think it did, then this whole Jesus thing is pointless.
Of course, there's nothing new here as he quotes the popular scriptures against homosexuals that many other scholarly Christians disagree with. And he states they are "unambiguous". But I guess he gets his input from God and Christians who disagree are just led by culture. There are other books that treat this subject more fairly. Try Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee, as well as God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines.
And the last half of this book is about taking a stand in this war against Satan. Because the gays and liberals are pushing their agenda of equal rights for all - not just rights for straight, white Christians?
It's a pretty cool coincidence that anyone reading the Bible as condemning gay marriage is just reading what it says, but anyone that is reading the bible as not condemning it is reading their own belief system into it. Of course they just leave it there and never discuss why this is true based in the passages themselves. It's enough to say God agrees with me and disagrees with everyone else.
In the end it ends up doing the same thing that it says it's not doing - giving an outpouring of anti-gay rhetoric couched in the same old "love the sinner hate the sin (but not really)" talk. At least they know their audience.
They wrote this book because they say their concern is for people, to prevent them from "causing damage to themselves and others."
I wrote this review for the same reason.
Thanks to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. for a copy in return for an honest review.
April 6, 2016
I had the perception (after reading his New evidence that demands a verdict) that Josh McDowell is not really a world class bible scholar; he appeals more to a popular audience who does not crave for the more meaty theology. The title of the book attracted me and managed to keep my initial skepticism at bay while I ploughed through the material. I sincerely did not expect to find out that not only did I throughly enjoy the book, I wrestled with the hardness of my heart to apply the Scriptural truths in my life.
The fictional case studies between modern parents and postmodern teens/young adults were relatable and very believable. I could imagine myself being part of such conversations. While I am not a parent, I relate to my postmodern roots as an intervarsity debater and my present worldview that I seek to be shaped by the Gospel. As I read through the chapters, I recognise my tendency toward legalism and harsh standpoints toward the postmoderns close to my heart. Indeed seeking to truly love a person whose worldview is opposite from yours is something that in our own flesh, we would find impossible. It is far easier to swing to either one extreme of being "tolerant" (a concept addressed at length and wonderfully explored) and accepting, or the other extreme of being completely "intolerant" and disconnect emotionally with a disagreeing party.
I heartily recommend this book!
I received this ebook from Barbour Publishing through Netgalley.com in exchange for this review.
The fictional case studies between modern parents and postmodern teens/young adults were relatable and very believable. I could imagine myself being part of such conversations. While I am not a parent, I relate to my postmodern roots as an intervarsity debater and my present worldview that I seek to be shaped by the Gospel. As I read through the chapters, I recognise my tendency toward legalism and harsh standpoints toward the postmoderns close to my heart. Indeed seeking to truly love a person whose worldview is opposite from yours is something that in our own flesh, we would find impossible. It is far easier to swing to either one extreme of being "tolerant" (a concept addressed at length and wonderfully explored) and accepting, or the other extreme of being completely "intolerant" and disconnect emotionally with a disagreeing party.
I heartily recommend this book!
I received this ebook from Barbour Publishing through Netgalley.com in exchange for this review.
March 3, 2019
I am in the second to last chapter of this book, and I will be recommending it for *every* parent. It has been fantastic!
did-not-finish
December 12, 2021FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book. These are my honest thoughts.
The first third of this book was interesting (I stopped reading at 33%). When I selected it to read, I didn’t realize it would focus so heavily on sexual sins. That sort of self-help book isn’t helpful for me, but it likely will be for other readers.
The presentation was pretty good and relatable, and I really liked that this book went to the Source of Truth, the Holy Bible, to support its messages.
Its title and cover were what drew me to choose this book. Those aspects were right up my alley.
The first third of this book was interesting (I stopped reading at 33%). When I selected it to read, I didn’t realize it would focus so heavily on sexual sins. That sort of self-help book isn’t helpful for me, but it likely will be for other readers.
The presentation was pretty good and relatable, and I really liked that this book went to the Source of Truth, the Holy Bible, to support its messages.
Its title and cover were what drew me to choose this book. Those aspects were right up my alley.
August 13, 2017
The Beauty of Intolerance was a very thought provoking read. It showed the different ways you could react to certain situations and I found that interesting. I liked the way it was written and didn't find it difficult to read at all.
All in all, I really liked this read and recommend it...although I kind of feel like it is more for parents.
*I received a complimentary eBook copy of this book for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*
All in all, I really liked this read and recommend it...although I kind of feel like it is more for parents.
*I received a complimentary eBook copy of this book for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*
June 17, 2018
I first heard about this book from an adult lay leader of a youth small group, who thought that every youth leader should read it, including me, to prepare for hard topics to come. Then, a different adult lay leader of a different youth small group also recommended it. He also is one of our church’s former elders and is leading our adult Sunday school class through it. (Yes, that’s confusing. He’s leading two separate groups – a boy teens’ small group and an adult Sunday school class.) Our adult Sunday school class originally was for parents of teens, but now about half of them have entered the empty nest phase of life. The fact that I’d had two separate youth leaders think this book was important made an impression on me.
I was wary of this book at first. So many Christian authors have changed their stances on various issues over the years, and I hadn’t read anything by Josh McDowell in so long that I wasn’t sure what he believed anymore.
Also, I’d really rather build the kids up in love and truth, than read about topics like this (which might make one wonder what I’m doing helping out with youth – a valid concern.) We’ve done different hard topics before, but only touched on some of the topics in this book.
In the end, I decided to read it, both to prepare for difficult discussions to come, and because the Sunday school discussions were interesting to me.
I love the story towards the end of the book where Sean McDowell sat in the “hot seat” of a freethought atheist group to discuss Christianity. The leader had left some time for Sean, and then the atheists, to share their gripes about each other. But instead, Sean “shared about my atheist friends and family members whom I dearly love.” I don’t know that I would have thought of such doing a thing, especially in front of a crowd, but I love the idea. I could have easily spoken about atheists I care about, particularly my paternal grandpa, and the good that I saw in him.
Apparently, there’s a t-shirt that reads: Intolerance is a Beautiful Idea.”
On the back, it says:
“Mother Teresa was intolerant of poverty.
Bono was intolerant of AIDS.
Nelson Mandela was intolerant of apartheid.
Martin Luther King was intolerant of racism.
Jesus was intolerant of bigotry.”
So, this book is about when it’s appropriate to be intolerant of something, and what God tolerates and does not tolerate.
My favorite part of this book is all the Bible quotes, and there are plenty. Well done. The short, fictionalized dialogs are also well done to give clear examples.
“Because Tony and I don’t believe just like you guys, that doesn’t make us bad.” This quote reminded me of a conversation I had with our youth pastor recently, wherein he said that the definition of the word “bad” has changed in society. It doesn’t mean “wrong” or “sinful” to a lot of people. It means “worthless.” And we can agree that people, no matter what they say and do, are not worthless.
I also appreciate the glossary of terms on page 21 that have changed definitions between the generations. Our Sunday school teacher must have, as well, because he passed out a listing of those words to our class.
“Many of those behaviors are inherently and inevitably harmful, and to endorse, approve, and encourage them is not loving; it is cold and uncaring. If we care about another person, we won’t approve behavior that is damaging and destructive to that person’s life… cultural tolerance fails to point people to a universal standard of morality designed to save them from serious harm.” I’ve thought that before, too. My small group of youth have talked before about trying to talk to someone at their school about concerns. I told them that such conversations usually go better when we say, “I’m worried about you” rather than “You’re doing it wrong.”
God “gave us rules because He cares about us and wants us to be content and live fulfilled lives that bring glory and honor to Him.” (John 10:10) I’ve tried to teach that to the kids in my own family from a young age. I think that Max Lucado’s “Because I Love You” explains it beautifully. In it, the God-character build a wall to protect the children, and one child sneaks through. I think I started reading that short story to them when they were about 4.
“And if young people have made mistakes already, they need to understand that God forgives them.” My small group of youth talked about times when we feel we can’t talk to God. A couple of them said when they feel guilty about something. To which, I said that God loves mercy and forgiveness, that mercy is “His thing.”
“Having a loving heart toward young people, and being willing to speak truth in love often requires patience and a long-suffering heart.” My oldest child mentioned this, calling it “a game of patience.” I’m not sure it’s a game because it’s more serious than that, but I am glad the patience part is recognized.
I thought it was interesting how the Biblical precepts relate to the principles, which relate to the person of God and His attributes. I’ve thought for a long time that the Old Testament law shows God’s heart in that it shows what is important to Him.
It was also interesting tracing moral relativism through its roots in the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution.
I also liked the contrast between “exegesis (finding the objective meaning of a biblical text) and eisegesis (reading subjective meaning into the Biblical text.)”
“We need to be aware of how an ‘anything goes’ culture is influencing our children’s perception of the authority of the Bible, their concept of what is virtuous, their ideas of honor and courage, and even their understanding of justice.” I have seen this with the idea of courage. Much of the media and books show courage in relation to violence, such as “The Hunger Games.” I realize that “The Hunger Games” is actually opposed to violence for the purpose of entertainment, but it still shows Katniss’s courage through her taking of others’ lives. Other teen books and movies have the same concept. In “Divergent,” the faction that esteems courage above all other virtues comes to value not just necessary courage in the face of hardship, but recklessness. The characters, however, become aware of that and considered how some virtues had been pushed too far to extremes.
In relation to justice, I sometimes think of the verse “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.” –Proverbs 28:5, NIV. That’s a very bold statement that I would not make, myself – because it’s a bold thing to call someone “evil.” They may not be entirely evil, but sometimes I think of it whenever judicial decisions go far awry. It’s a bold thing to say that some of them don’t understand justice when they’ve been studying law for so long.
The McDowells mentioned a book, “God-Breathed” about the power and historical reliability of God’s Word that might make for interesting reading.
The discussion about Matthew 7:1, reconnecting it with its context was interesting. “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
“No matter how lovingly and humbly we speak the truth, some will still reject God’s message and possibly hate us for it.” Interesting. We attended a church once where the pastors seemed to think that if people reacted negatively to it that it was automatically the fault of the Christian that they weren’t loving enough.
The discussion about Vines’ good fruit/bad fruit analogy, taking those verses in context, was interesting.
The only real criticism that I have with this book is that I wish there were more: more concrete ways to flesh out what the authors meant.
A criticism that another reviewer brought up had to do with statements like: “Your narrative about truth is probably based on your understanding of the Bible. Whether they realize it or not, our young people today largely derive their narrative about truth from a culture that says moral truth is found within the individual.” That reviewer said that’s misleading because so many churches don’t agree on these issues and that it’s not accurate to lump the adults in all the different churches together.
That’s a big topic, and one that’s beyond the scope of this book, but I have to agree. That statement and the assumptions that the adults would agree with each other seem naïve. I have known lots of adult Christians who have a wide variety of views on the matter. That doesn’t mean that these views are equally derived from the Bible, or that it can’t be known what the Bible teaches.
A different, but related question is: How much do people have to believe before they are called Christians? Some people prefer the phrase “Christ-follower” to indicate that they try to follow Jesus morally rather than just have head-knowledge. While that clarity is a good beginning, that doesn’t touch on what they actually believe. It is possible to try to live morally without belief. Some people do that and call it Christianity. Or belief in what and which aspects of Christianity? I suspect that the McDowells are writing to those within their own denomination, or perhaps similar denominations. (I’m not familiar with what that denomination is.) My point is that many different groups use the word “Christian” and mean vastly different things.
Favorite Quotes (or quotes that ring true, even if I don’t enjoy them):
“For youth to feel personally rejected when parents and friends are not accepting of what they do is natural.” It is natural, and natural of us adults, too.
“It is not easy to disapprove of our children’s behavior while at the same time making them feel loved as people of great worth.”
“We believe it is possible to truly love and accept people with whom we significantly disagree.”
“Until a child reaches twenty-five years of age, the greatest influence on that child’s behavior will be the loving, close relationship with his or her parents.”
“Christ’s grace is the basis of our loving others we disagree with.”
“Most people have adopted moral relativism and are offended by even the suggestion that morality exists outside ourselves.”
“The truth is, we are not called to be tolerant of others as the culture defines it; we are called to be loving as the Bible defines it.”
“Believing in God, even the God of the Bible, is not a problem for most young people today. It’s just that they feel free to define Him and His truth on their own terms – which means they will shape truth to fit their own personal desires.”
“An entire generation tend to go to the Bible not to discover the truth and bend their lives to it accordingly but to use it as sort of a self-help book to help them form their own version of what’s true and false, good and evil, right and wrong.” I’ve heard people describe the Bible as written by people exploring their ideas of faith, but not inspired by the Holy Spirit. So, they then think of the Bible not as authoritative, but as true for some people.
“When you discuss the Bible, do not refer to it simply as a spiritual book that teaches us how to live, but as a road-map leading toward the discovery of true reality… the Bible is unique among all other religious writings in that it is based on historical events backed up by credible historical evidence.”
“Every truth, every rule, and every guideline coming from God’s Word is issued from the loving heart and character of God for our own good… God seeks the good of His people, and His laws are part of that protection and provision.”
“Biblical love is not merely focused on another person but on the good of another, even if the other does not recognize or accept the reality of that good.”
“God’s instructions for instilling the truth of scriptures into young people are as fitting for us today as they were when he first gave them to Israelite parents: ‘Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:7)
“Endorsing immoral behavior is not equivalent to loving a person, nor is correcting that behavior equivalent to rejecting a person. Proponents of cultural tolerance, however, will point out that when you fail to endorse a person’s beliefs and behavior, you are, in effect, rejecting the person.”
“It is clear that what we do is not the same as who we are. If that were the case, God couldn’t remove ‘our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.’ (Psalm 103:12, TLB)”
“Until we build genuine relationships with people who are gay – and see them as equal image bearers – we will continue to hold unhealthy and false stereotypes.”
“Yet no matter how accepting we are, verbalizing disagreement with homosexuality often comes across as being judgmental.”
“I did a lot of wrong things when I was younger, and God disapproved of every one of them. Bu He still loved and accepted me for who I was. God is our model for how we can disagree with what a person does and still accept them for the person God created them to be.”
“There are Christians who have serious reservations about your theology but still love you as people.”
“You have an advantage over public school educators. You have a loving relationship with your children that opens them up to receive from you much more than they will ever receive from someone else. Cherish that relationship; build it deep and strong. As you do, you will have a fighting chance to instill your values and a love for God to your children so that they can live as ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like the stars in the sky.’ (Philippians 2:15, NIV)
“Yet church leadership and those who teach our young people must remain vigilant so error does not creep into how we understand universal truth and scripture.”
“We have lost the art of friendship.”
Favorite Bible Quotes:
“Know the truth … The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32).
“Live in harmony with each other … Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:16, 18)
“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” (Ephesians 4:2)
“Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.” (Colossians 3:13)
“Work at living in peace with everyone.” (Hebrews 12:14)
“Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth.” – Jesus in John 18:37
I was wary of this book at first. So many Christian authors have changed their stances on various issues over the years, and I hadn’t read anything by Josh McDowell in so long that I wasn’t sure what he believed anymore.
Also, I’d really rather build the kids up in love and truth, than read about topics like this (which might make one wonder what I’m doing helping out with youth – a valid concern.) We’ve done different hard topics before, but only touched on some of the topics in this book.
In the end, I decided to read it, both to prepare for difficult discussions to come, and because the Sunday school discussions were interesting to me.
I love the story towards the end of the book where Sean McDowell sat in the “hot seat” of a freethought atheist group to discuss Christianity. The leader had left some time for Sean, and then the atheists, to share their gripes about each other. But instead, Sean “shared about my atheist friends and family members whom I dearly love.” I don’t know that I would have thought of such doing a thing, especially in front of a crowd, but I love the idea. I could have easily spoken about atheists I care about, particularly my paternal grandpa, and the good that I saw in him.
Apparently, there’s a t-shirt that reads: Intolerance is a Beautiful Idea.”
On the back, it says:
“Mother Teresa was intolerant of poverty.
Bono was intolerant of AIDS.
Nelson Mandela was intolerant of apartheid.
Martin Luther King was intolerant of racism.
Jesus was intolerant of bigotry.”
So, this book is about when it’s appropriate to be intolerant of something, and what God tolerates and does not tolerate.
My favorite part of this book is all the Bible quotes, and there are plenty. Well done. The short, fictionalized dialogs are also well done to give clear examples.
“Because Tony and I don’t believe just like you guys, that doesn’t make us bad.” This quote reminded me of a conversation I had with our youth pastor recently, wherein he said that the definition of the word “bad” has changed in society. It doesn’t mean “wrong” or “sinful” to a lot of people. It means “worthless.” And we can agree that people, no matter what they say and do, are not worthless.
I also appreciate the glossary of terms on page 21 that have changed definitions between the generations. Our Sunday school teacher must have, as well, because he passed out a listing of those words to our class.
“Many of those behaviors are inherently and inevitably harmful, and to endorse, approve, and encourage them is not loving; it is cold and uncaring. If we care about another person, we won’t approve behavior that is damaging and destructive to that person’s life… cultural tolerance fails to point people to a universal standard of morality designed to save them from serious harm.” I’ve thought that before, too. My small group of youth have talked before about trying to talk to someone at their school about concerns. I told them that such conversations usually go better when we say, “I’m worried about you” rather than “You’re doing it wrong.”
God “gave us rules because He cares about us and wants us to be content and live fulfilled lives that bring glory and honor to Him.” (John 10:10) I’ve tried to teach that to the kids in my own family from a young age. I think that Max Lucado’s “Because I Love You” explains it beautifully. In it, the God-character build a wall to protect the children, and one child sneaks through. I think I started reading that short story to them when they were about 4.
“And if young people have made mistakes already, they need to understand that God forgives them.” My small group of youth talked about times when we feel we can’t talk to God. A couple of them said when they feel guilty about something. To which, I said that God loves mercy and forgiveness, that mercy is “His thing.”
“Having a loving heart toward young people, and being willing to speak truth in love often requires patience and a long-suffering heart.” My oldest child mentioned this, calling it “a game of patience.” I’m not sure it’s a game because it’s more serious than that, but I am glad the patience part is recognized.
I thought it was interesting how the Biblical precepts relate to the principles, which relate to the person of God and His attributes. I’ve thought for a long time that the Old Testament law shows God’s heart in that it shows what is important to Him.
It was also interesting tracing moral relativism through its roots in the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution.
I also liked the contrast between “exegesis (finding the objective meaning of a biblical text) and eisegesis (reading subjective meaning into the Biblical text.)”
“We need to be aware of how an ‘anything goes’ culture is influencing our children’s perception of the authority of the Bible, their concept of what is virtuous, their ideas of honor and courage, and even their understanding of justice.” I have seen this with the idea of courage. Much of the media and books show courage in relation to violence, such as “The Hunger Games.” I realize that “The Hunger Games” is actually opposed to violence for the purpose of entertainment, but it still shows Katniss’s courage through her taking of others’ lives. Other teen books and movies have the same concept. In “Divergent,” the faction that esteems courage above all other virtues comes to value not just necessary courage in the face of hardship, but recklessness. The characters, however, become aware of that and considered how some virtues had been pushed too far to extremes.
In relation to justice, I sometimes think of the verse “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.” –Proverbs 28:5, NIV. That’s a very bold statement that I would not make, myself – because it’s a bold thing to call someone “evil.” They may not be entirely evil, but sometimes I think of it whenever judicial decisions go far awry. It’s a bold thing to say that some of them don’t understand justice when they’ve been studying law for so long.
The McDowells mentioned a book, “God-Breathed” about the power and historical reliability of God’s Word that might make for interesting reading.
The discussion about Matthew 7:1, reconnecting it with its context was interesting. “Judge not, that you be not judged.”
“No matter how lovingly and humbly we speak the truth, some will still reject God’s message and possibly hate us for it.” Interesting. We attended a church once where the pastors seemed to think that if people reacted negatively to it that it was automatically the fault of the Christian that they weren’t loving enough.
The discussion about Vines’ good fruit/bad fruit analogy, taking those verses in context, was interesting.
The only real criticism that I have with this book is that I wish there were more: more concrete ways to flesh out what the authors meant.
A criticism that another reviewer brought up had to do with statements like: “Your narrative about truth is probably based on your understanding of the Bible. Whether they realize it or not, our young people today largely derive their narrative about truth from a culture that says moral truth is found within the individual.” That reviewer said that’s misleading because so many churches don’t agree on these issues and that it’s not accurate to lump the adults in all the different churches together.
That’s a big topic, and one that’s beyond the scope of this book, but I have to agree. That statement and the assumptions that the adults would agree with each other seem naïve. I have known lots of adult Christians who have a wide variety of views on the matter. That doesn’t mean that these views are equally derived from the Bible, or that it can’t be known what the Bible teaches.
A different, but related question is: How much do people have to believe before they are called Christians? Some people prefer the phrase “Christ-follower” to indicate that they try to follow Jesus morally rather than just have head-knowledge. While that clarity is a good beginning, that doesn’t touch on what they actually believe. It is possible to try to live morally without belief. Some people do that and call it Christianity. Or belief in what and which aspects of Christianity? I suspect that the McDowells are writing to those within their own denomination, or perhaps similar denominations. (I’m not familiar with what that denomination is.) My point is that many different groups use the word “Christian” and mean vastly different things.
Favorite Quotes (or quotes that ring true, even if I don’t enjoy them):
“For youth to feel personally rejected when parents and friends are not accepting of what they do is natural.” It is natural, and natural of us adults, too.
“It is not easy to disapprove of our children’s behavior while at the same time making them feel loved as people of great worth.”
“We believe it is possible to truly love and accept people with whom we significantly disagree.”
“Until a child reaches twenty-five years of age, the greatest influence on that child’s behavior will be the loving, close relationship with his or her parents.”
“Christ’s grace is the basis of our loving others we disagree with.”
“Most people have adopted moral relativism and are offended by even the suggestion that morality exists outside ourselves.”
“The truth is, we are not called to be tolerant of others as the culture defines it; we are called to be loving as the Bible defines it.”
“Believing in God, even the God of the Bible, is not a problem for most young people today. It’s just that they feel free to define Him and His truth on their own terms – which means they will shape truth to fit their own personal desires.”
“An entire generation tend to go to the Bible not to discover the truth and bend their lives to it accordingly but to use it as sort of a self-help book to help them form their own version of what’s true and false, good and evil, right and wrong.” I’ve heard people describe the Bible as written by people exploring their ideas of faith, but not inspired by the Holy Spirit. So, they then think of the Bible not as authoritative, but as true for some people.
“When you discuss the Bible, do not refer to it simply as a spiritual book that teaches us how to live, but as a road-map leading toward the discovery of true reality… the Bible is unique among all other religious writings in that it is based on historical events backed up by credible historical evidence.”
“Every truth, every rule, and every guideline coming from God’s Word is issued from the loving heart and character of God for our own good… God seeks the good of His people, and His laws are part of that protection and provision.”
“Biblical love is not merely focused on another person but on the good of another, even if the other does not recognize or accept the reality of that good.”
“God’s instructions for instilling the truth of scriptures into young people are as fitting for us today as they were when he first gave them to Israelite parents: ‘Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:7)
“Endorsing immoral behavior is not equivalent to loving a person, nor is correcting that behavior equivalent to rejecting a person. Proponents of cultural tolerance, however, will point out that when you fail to endorse a person’s beliefs and behavior, you are, in effect, rejecting the person.”
“It is clear that what we do is not the same as who we are. If that were the case, God couldn’t remove ‘our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.’ (Psalm 103:12, TLB)”
“Until we build genuine relationships with people who are gay – and see them as equal image bearers – we will continue to hold unhealthy and false stereotypes.”
“Yet no matter how accepting we are, verbalizing disagreement with homosexuality often comes across as being judgmental.”
“I did a lot of wrong things when I was younger, and God disapproved of every one of them. Bu He still loved and accepted me for who I was. God is our model for how we can disagree with what a person does and still accept them for the person God created them to be.”
“There are Christians who have serious reservations about your theology but still love you as people.”
“You have an advantage over public school educators. You have a loving relationship with your children that opens them up to receive from you much more than they will ever receive from someone else. Cherish that relationship; build it deep and strong. As you do, you will have a fighting chance to instill your values and a love for God to your children so that they can live as ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like the stars in the sky.’ (Philippians 2:15, NIV)
“Yet church leadership and those who teach our young people must remain vigilant so error does not creep into how we understand universal truth and scripture.”
“We have lost the art of friendship.”
Favorite Bible Quotes:
“Know the truth … The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32).
“Live in harmony with each other … Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:16, 18)
“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” (Ephesians 4:2)
“Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.” (Colossians 3:13)
“Work at living in peace with everyone.” (Hebrews 12:14)
“Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth.” – Jesus in John 18:37
December 1, 2015
So let me say that in general I have been a fan of Josh Mcdowell's body of work. I believe he is a godly man that has provided some of the best entry level apologetic material of the last several decades. However, this book falls short for me. There is little in the way of any new and insightful material. It feels a lot like a sermon without application. They act as if we should believe what you have to say because of the weight their name carries.
Now, for the positive. The material here is solid. There is nothing that veers off into unbiblical territory. The situational narratives provided in the beginning make for a tenable framework to discuss some of the issues presented. It is an easy read, but not a compelling one.
This is just not the book that it could be. There are far better titles dealing with these culture war issues, and this book does not add very much to that greater body of work. Now, if you have never delved into any of these issues this could be an okay place to start, but if you are heavily read on issues of a biblical understanding of homosexuality, pre-marital sex,and similar hot button cultural issues look elsewhere.
Now, for the positive. The material here is solid. There is nothing that veers off into unbiblical territory. The situational narratives provided in the beginning make for a tenable framework to discuss some of the issues presented. It is an easy read, but not a compelling one.
This is just not the book that it could be. There are far better titles dealing with these culture war issues, and this book does not add very much to that greater body of work. Now, if you have never delved into any of these issues this could be an okay place to start, but if you are heavily read on issues of a biblical understanding of homosexuality, pre-marital sex,and similar hot button cultural issues look elsewhere.
April 29, 2022
Generational Harmony Over Generational Disharmony
Father and son team, Josh and Sean McDowell, are notable Christian apologists, authors, and educators, and have joined together again in examining and refuting the modern distortions about the idea of “tolerance” that are embraced increasingly by younger generations.
In a nutshell, “tolerance” has morphed from the long-accepted traditional (as the authors differentiate) meaning of respecting and protecting the legitimate right of others to hold their views even when we disagree with the views themselves, into a post-modern cultural (again, the authors’ designation) meaning of accepting the views of others as equally valid to all other views, such that disagreement is deemed the ultimate intolerance. In cultural tolerance the source of morality is the individual and no longer God, and since it is individualistic and equally valid in all forms it has no objective meaning. It is an utter disregard for objective truth, incoherent and illogical, and self-defeating (it finds the traditional view intolerable, a forbidden attitude). Yet it is accepted largely uncritically by a growing number in our culture, especially among the younger generations. The two generations of authors dissect it well.
Thus, the provocative play on words in the title, where beautiful intolerance refers to the cultural version of tolerance. As the McDowells demonstrate adeptly, cultural intolerance (traditional tolerance) is beautiful because it respects the person while holding fast to objective truth and Christian mores. It offers the culturally tolerant a vitally important perspective, if they will take it.
The book uses a recurring and effective technique of hypothetical interactions of parents with their adolescent children over certain hot-button issues where generational differences often are great: pre-marital sex and LGBT acceptance. Both are “tolerance” issues that divide many, even within generations. Early in the telling, the parents display attitudes that are prevalent from traditionalists and magnified when the dissenters are their own flesh and blood. Unfailingly that leads to confrontation and anger and accusations of “intolerance.” Later, throughout the book, lessons on how traditional tolerance can react to issues are replayed in the same scenarios to better outcomes. While this doesn’t always come across as fully realistic, the point is well made, especially holding to traditional and Christian attitudes of objective truth while tolerating, in the traditional sense, the views of others.
This is a thoughtful and stimulating examination of a divide that continues to grow in our increasingly post-modern, post-Christian culture. Highly recommended.
Father and son team, Josh and Sean McDowell, are notable Christian apologists, authors, and educators, and have joined together again in examining and refuting the modern distortions about the idea of “tolerance” that are embraced increasingly by younger generations.
In a nutshell, “tolerance” has morphed from the long-accepted traditional (as the authors differentiate) meaning of respecting and protecting the legitimate right of others to hold their views even when we disagree with the views themselves, into a post-modern cultural (again, the authors’ designation) meaning of accepting the views of others as equally valid to all other views, such that disagreement is deemed the ultimate intolerance. In cultural tolerance the source of morality is the individual and no longer God, and since it is individualistic and equally valid in all forms it has no objective meaning. It is an utter disregard for objective truth, incoherent and illogical, and self-defeating (it finds the traditional view intolerable, a forbidden attitude). Yet it is accepted largely uncritically by a growing number in our culture, especially among the younger generations. The two generations of authors dissect it well.
Thus, the provocative play on words in the title, where beautiful intolerance refers to the cultural version of tolerance. As the McDowells demonstrate adeptly, cultural intolerance (traditional tolerance) is beautiful because it respects the person while holding fast to objective truth and Christian mores. It offers the culturally tolerant a vitally important perspective, if they will take it.
The book uses a recurring and effective technique of hypothetical interactions of parents with their adolescent children over certain hot-button issues where generational differences often are great: pre-marital sex and LGBT acceptance. Both are “tolerance” issues that divide many, even within generations. Early in the telling, the parents display attitudes that are prevalent from traditionalists and magnified when the dissenters are their own flesh and blood. Unfailingly that leads to confrontation and anger and accusations of “intolerance.” Later, throughout the book, lessons on how traditional tolerance can react to issues are replayed in the same scenarios to better outcomes. While this doesn’t always come across as fully realistic, the point is well made, especially holding to traditional and Christian attitudes of objective truth while tolerating, in the traditional sense, the views of others.
This is a thoughtful and stimulating examination of a divide that continues to grow in our increasingly post-modern, post-Christian culture. Highly recommended.
October 23, 2020
fantastic. very helpful for understanding both our societies "new tolerance" as well as the biblical view of love and acceptance (despite disagreeing). thought provoking and practical as well.
Some quotes:
“The beauty of intolerance is its opposition to wrong and evil in the world—in alignment with God’s righteous and perfect standard of justice, equality, human rights, and caring for others. Intolerance of evil is not mean-spirited and condemnatory; it is actually the only way to be loving and caring. Far from being judgmental, it advances God’s righteous kingdom.”
“Most people in America subscribe to a view of morality called ‘cultural ethics.’ In other words, they believe that whatever is acceptable in that culture is moral; if the majority of people say a thing is right, then it is right. … But there’s a problem with that. If that is true, then how can we say the ‘aborting’ of six million Jews in the Holocaust was wrong? In fact, the Nazis offered that very argument as a defense at the Nuremberg Trials. They argued, ‘How can you come from another culture and condemn what we did when we acted according to what our culture said was acceptable?’ In condemning them, the tribunal said that there is something beyond culture, above culture, that determines right and wrong.”
“We are all entitled to our own beliefs, but this doesn’t mean each of us has our own truths. Our beliefs describe the way we think the world is. Truth describes the objective state of the world regardless of how we take it to be. Beliefs can be relative, but truth cannot. … Moral truth was never meant to be spoken or understood outside of a loving relationship. Being like Christ and speaking the truth in love are synonymous.”
Some quotes:
“The beauty of intolerance is its opposition to wrong and evil in the world—in alignment with God’s righteous and perfect standard of justice, equality, human rights, and caring for others. Intolerance of evil is not mean-spirited and condemnatory; it is actually the only way to be loving and caring. Far from being judgmental, it advances God’s righteous kingdom.”
“Most people in America subscribe to a view of morality called ‘cultural ethics.’ In other words, they believe that whatever is acceptable in that culture is moral; if the majority of people say a thing is right, then it is right. … But there’s a problem with that. If that is true, then how can we say the ‘aborting’ of six million Jews in the Holocaust was wrong? In fact, the Nazis offered that very argument as a defense at the Nuremberg Trials. They argued, ‘How can you come from another culture and condemn what we did when we acted according to what our culture said was acceptable?’ In condemning them, the tribunal said that there is something beyond culture, above culture, that determines right and wrong.”
“We are all entitled to our own beliefs, but this doesn’t mean each of us has our own truths. Our beliefs describe the way we think the world is. Truth describes the objective state of the world regardless of how we take it to be. Beliefs can be relative, but truth cannot. … Moral truth was never meant to be spoken or understood outside of a loving relationship. Being like Christ and speaking the truth in love are synonymous.”
February 22, 2022
This book was a challenge for me at first. I felt it a bit too strong, like a café solo. I wish the last few chapters had been placed at the beginning of the book. I felt those chapters really helped the others to even out a bit. Instead I felt somewhat defensive and even slightly nauseous for pretty much the entire book until the end when I finally felt—-OKAAAAY. There we go. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 THAT’S what I’ve been waiting for. I still in essence AGREED with much of the book; it just seemed so FUERTE.
Regardless of how forward it seems, I’d still recommend this book, but only to a select audience, namely Christians struggling with the notion that tolerance means acceptance and that tolerance is somehow synonymous to love….and I’d also recommend it to agnostics/atheists with a genuinely unbiased/open mind to the Christian faith of the Bible.
Furthermore, I think this book would be especially helpful for older Christians who are struggling with the views their older teen/young adult children are taking as this generation and current culture seems to have “swallowed them whole”. Perhaps if you struggle talking to your son/daughter who was ‘raised in church’ but hardly acts like it now, you might find this a good resource.
I’m especially walking away from this book with one key thought in mind:
Biblical Christian views are often thought of as intolerant. If modern culture’s definition of intolerance means not casting full approval for morals which counter Biblical Christian faith, then so be it. I suppose I’m intolerant. But God forbid Christians (me especially) are ever categorized as unloving, judgmental, hypocritical, racist or homophobic. Perhaps I’m intolerant. And sadly I have often been and still am some of the latter titles as well, but through the power of Christ in me, I’m working and striving to be none of them.
Regardless of how forward it seems, I’d still recommend this book, but only to a select audience, namely Christians struggling with the notion that tolerance means acceptance and that tolerance is somehow synonymous to love….and I’d also recommend it to agnostics/atheists with a genuinely unbiased/open mind to the Christian faith of the Bible.
Furthermore, I think this book would be especially helpful for older Christians who are struggling with the views their older teen/young adult children are taking as this generation and current culture seems to have “swallowed them whole”. Perhaps if you struggle talking to your son/daughter who was ‘raised in church’ but hardly acts like it now, you might find this a good resource.
I’m especially walking away from this book with one key thought in mind:
Biblical Christian views are often thought of as intolerant. If modern culture’s definition of intolerance means not casting full approval for morals which counter Biblical Christian faith, then so be it. I suppose I’m intolerant. But God forbid Christians (me especially) are ever categorized as unloving, judgmental, hypocritical, racist or homophobic. Perhaps I’m intolerant. And sadly I have often been and still am some of the latter titles as well, but through the power of Christ in me, I’m working and striving to be none of them.
June 28, 2024
What a great father-son offering in this book! I loved this slant on Christian apologetics where it was directed at how to engage with younger generations. The tone of the book felt more conversational while offering practical advice. I appreciated that the McDowells continually pointed back toward God and His standards, making the issue of intolerance less about us as individuals and more about morality being grounded in God's very being and character. The scenarios that are included are quite interesting as they resemble conversations that parents are likely to have with their children, and it is evident that the authors have an immense heart for young adults.
The breakdown of how cultural tolerance intersects with government, education, society, and the church indicates just how much Christians can be affected by holding strongly to their convictions. The information about how we are living in hypermodernity is thought-provoking and the references to Scripture remind readers of why it is so important that we can define truth when all around us, the concept of truth is variable and ever-changing. Published eight years ago, this book still contains timely messages; however, it does feel like society has moved past tolerance to demanding complete allegiance on social issues, making it more urgent that Christians know how to respond to these claims. This is a book that is both gentle yet strong in its convictions, providing a model for believers as they examine what being tolerant means in their day-to-day lives.
Review link: https://christianshelves.blogspot.com...
The breakdown of how cultural tolerance intersects with government, education, society, and the church indicates just how much Christians can be affected by holding strongly to their convictions. The information about how we are living in hypermodernity is thought-provoking and the references to Scripture remind readers of why it is so important that we can define truth when all around us, the concept of truth is variable and ever-changing. Published eight years ago, this book still contains timely messages; however, it does feel like society has moved past tolerance to demanding complete allegiance on social issues, making it more urgent that Christians know how to respond to these claims. This is a book that is both gentle yet strong in its convictions, providing a model for believers as they examine what being tolerant means in their day-to-day lives.
Review link: https://christianshelves.blogspot.com...
August 31, 2022
"The Beauty of Intolerance: Setting a Generation Free to Know Truth and Love" provides many helpful insights into engaging popular culture without coming across pompous and judgemental. Something Steven Covey wrote long ago comes to mind, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."
The days are long gone when the Church stood, in most people's mind, as the arbiters of ultimate morality. It is necessary in contemporary culture to engage differently and return to Christ's servant example in ministering to the not-yet-redeemed.
There are many helpful elements in the book, such as scenarios demonstrating the types of conversations often replayed between Christians and those who reject Christian truth. The authors provide examples of how these scenarios might be handled differently to affirm unconditional love and keep the doors of communication open while remaining uncompromising of truth.
The book is a little dry, often reminding me of the 1950's / 60's instructional films. Nevertheless, we need many more discussions on this very important topic, and this book does a good job of getting that started.
The days are long gone when the Church stood, in most people's mind, as the arbiters of ultimate morality. It is necessary in contemporary culture to engage differently and return to Christ's servant example in ministering to the not-yet-redeemed.
There are many helpful elements in the book, such as scenarios demonstrating the types of conversations often replayed between Christians and those who reject Christian truth. The authors provide examples of how these scenarios might be handled differently to affirm unconditional love and keep the doors of communication open while remaining uncompromising of truth.
The book is a little dry, often reminding me of the 1950's / 60's instructional films. Nevertheless, we need many more discussions on this very important topic, and this book does a good job of getting that started.
May 14, 2021
This is one of the best apologetically bent books on our culture that I’ve ever read, some would even say polemic in its nature but the love that is displayed in this book speaks of a true lover of Gods heart!!! Judgmental views of sinners or those who disagree with you, lifestyles that are opposite of values & principles that I hold dear does not give me the right to hurt with words in anger, judgement or disrespect . This book although bold and confrontational speaks love, humility as looking in the mirror at our own sin and yet in humbleness reaching out to the other drowning fellow human beings bond in the virus of sin looking for a hand and also in respect & dignity letting people drown if they choose to reject your hand of help, honoring the free will of choice we all have. Such a great read expounding on analytical thought in popular dictations & persuasions of the heart of our culture here in America!!! May we stand for truth but in boldness love those who vehemently disagree!!!!
June 1, 2024
Un excelente recurso para entender sobre la tolerancia cultural que vivimos en estos días.
Los autores logran definir y explicar la diferencia entra la tolerancia actual y la intolerancia.
Me gustó mucho como en cada capítulo los autores ponen un ejemplo inicial a manera de una situación hipotética sobre lo que se desarrollará en el capítulo. Me resultó muy didáctico esa manera de exponer los argumentos.
El final del libro me pareció bastante bueno ya que nos dan herramientas para poder manejar una situación donde se intente tildar de intolerante.
Puedo recomendar este libro a todos los que estén interesados en aprender sobre el tema.
Por último, este libro sin duda nos da una perspectiva más amplia sobre ser tolerante en algunos temas pero sobre la importancia de ser intolerantes en ciertos temas y en cómo expresarlo siempre con el amor de Cristo.
Los autores logran definir y explicar la diferencia entra la tolerancia actual y la intolerancia.
Me gustó mucho como en cada capítulo los autores ponen un ejemplo inicial a manera de una situación hipotética sobre lo que se desarrollará en el capítulo. Me resultó muy didáctico esa manera de exponer los argumentos.
El final del libro me pareció bastante bueno ya que nos dan herramientas para poder manejar una situación donde se intente tildar de intolerante.
Puedo recomendar este libro a todos los que estén interesados en aprender sobre el tema.
Por último, este libro sin duda nos da una perspectiva más amplia sobre ser tolerante en algunos temas pero sobre la importancia de ser intolerantes en ciertos temas y en cómo expresarlo siempre con el amor de Cristo.
November 30, 2020
Good premise, and important discussion for parents. But comes across as dry and preachy, projecting superiority and finality. No Josh and Sean, you don't get to redefine love and "provide and protect"... And no, you should not mislead young people with unbiblical suggestions that chastity protects you from heartbreak. And other missteps like that...
Also it leaves me with the feeling that too little is said about how a transformed heart touched everyday by the love of Jesus is the basis for a healthy Christian attitude towards sexuality and divisive culture issues, not the correct method of parental involvement.
However, it includes some good practical advice that can be very useful for Christian parents - once you look beyond the off-putting style and the theological weakness.
Also it leaves me with the feeling that too little is said about how a transformed heart touched everyday by the love of Jesus is the basis for a healthy Christian attitude towards sexuality and divisive culture issues, not the correct method of parental involvement.
However, it includes some good practical advice that can be very useful for Christian parents - once you look beyond the off-putting style and the theological weakness.
February 11, 2021
Father and Son join efforts to speak about tolerance and the Christian faith. Their main thesis is that the culture has equivocated the term tolerance to mean something along the lines of "Live and let live." However, tolerance truly means nothing if you are constantly setting aside precious convictions in order to make someone more comfortable. Tolerance essentially means that one should hold boldly to their convictions while allowo others to question and respond to those convictions. In other words, tolerance means that we should be convinced enough of our beliefs to allow other beliefs to critique us. And vice versa. Shutting down conversations, censorship, and rolling over is the opposite of what tolerance means.
October 30, 2024
This book dives into several issues of pop culture and what it truly means to be tolerant as a Christian. The author addresses how to navigate sensitive topics like LGBTQ+ and sexuality and other moral issues. He does an excellent job in providing both examples of how to address these topics and how to not.
This book is written almost addressing parents of teenagers in order to help them be able to teach their kids how to uphold their morals in this world or confusion, but I think that any Christian should read this book. If you are dealing with people in the world, you will have to deal with people who believe different then you so this book will be helpful in helping one to understand how to stand firm on your beliefs and not hurt your witness to unbelievers.
This book is written almost addressing parents of teenagers in order to help them be able to teach their kids how to uphold their morals in this world or confusion, but I think that any Christian should read this book. If you are dealing with people in the world, you will have to deal with people who believe different then you so this book will be helpful in helping one to understand how to stand firm on your beliefs and not hurt your witness to unbelievers.
February 2, 2021
I I could give this book 10 stars I would. Objective truth is the only way forward in a world driven by subjective feelings. I was introduced to Josh McDowell when I was in college and I have been profoundly affected by his writings! This book couldn't be more timely. I'm reminded of an observation made by the late, great, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on the topic of Tolerance...
"Tolerance - always for the person, never for the position. Intolerance -never for the person, always for the position."
"Tolerance - always for the person, never for the position. Intolerance -never for the person, always for the position."
November 15, 2023
Sean McDowell had been a hero of mine for quite a while due to his ability to share the plain truth with someone in an honest yet loving way. This book explains that as Christians we can’t simply comply with the culture at large and let people destroy themselves with sin, but rather we need to approach them with love and tell them the truth about where their path in life will lead them. This book also discusses some of what our young people are facing and how we can help them find truth in a confusing culture.
June 13, 2021
This book is incredibly valuable for helping Christians understand how to speak the truth with love. It also briefly discusses how non-Christians see us and why.
While this book is meant for Christians, I think a non-Christian could still benefit from it because it would help them understand not only what we really believe (which much of secular culture gets wrong) but also why we believe it.
I listened to this as an audiobook.
While this book is meant for Christians, I think a non-Christian could still benefit from it because it would help them understand not only what we really believe (which much of secular culture gets wrong) but also why we believe it.
I listened to this as an audiobook.
February 19, 2022
I agree with the premise of the book but there are so many other books out there that have done this subject much more justice. I couldn't get through it because it was so tedious. The problem can be summed up with lazy parenting. Parents need to teach their children apologetics and then books like this wouldn't be necessary. I suggest for a much more interesting read along these topics, check out Mama Bear Apologetics.
February 21, 2022
Today's culture finds many biblical views as intolerant and merely as the opinions of Christians. In that regard, this book is a good resource for pastors and ministry leaders for helping families who are struggling with the current culture and the post-modern views that today's culture feeds our young people. The McDowells, tackle many common issues of today and provide some avenues to help parents or spiritual leaders in leading the younger generation toward godliness.
July 7, 2024
Highlighting the difference between cultural tolerance (everyone's truth is their own, which our society promotes) and godly, biblical tolerance that imitates God's loving acceptance of us without accepting our sin is the purpose of this book. Josh McDowell has a way of speaking to the heart of the matter, even hard ones, with love and truth and always...always...holds God and his Word up as a beacon of hope.
Christian friends, please read this one.
Christian friends, please read this one.
June 28, 2018
This book would be of benefit to parents as they help their children navigate their way in this world. The book stresses the importance of a Christian worldview and a solid foundation in the Bible (know Scripture). However, with examples a little too "easy", it falls short in providing adequate guidance in being a friend without endorsing immoral behavior.
March 13, 2021
This was a FANTASTIC book that I would recommend to all parents and individuals who work with young people. The biggest take away is the redefining of terms like tolerant and bigoted. I’ve been in conversations confused because I believe I am tolerant and I am by different standards than the current culture accepts. This book helps define the terms and further difficult conversations.
February 25, 2022
Good material. Two critiques, one: Author specifically stated that this is not a book to attack the LGBTQA+ position, author then turns around and centers about 80% of the last 11 chapters on said topic. Not a big deal. Second critique is bigger: author talks of confronting the hot topics of today with love but does not give clear instruction in how to do so. Needs examples.
December 5, 2022
A biblical perspective & a refreshing voice in a world inundated by voices calling for “tolerance” & “acceptance”. But what do they mean by “tolerance” & “acceptance”? Do they always practice what they preach? Why or how can intolerance be beautiful? The McDowells explained the above well in this book.
June 28, 2024
This book has helped me shape my thinking with a little bit more mercy. I do pray for people who are resistant because when they bash the church it's usually because people have let them down, not God. So with that, it was a good read and I did learn how to be more tolerant but at the same time not to back down from ignorant arguments that will never win a fool over.
November 23, 2018
This book as a relevant, reliable resource of godly ways to face cultural problems in today’s world. If you’re looking for the answers to some of those hard questions this book is your answer. I highly recommend it.
November 14, 2019
The authors give a very good explanation for why moral relativism doesn't work and why there are some things we need to be intolerant of. But they also explain how to be loving toward those with whom we do not agree.
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