The Myth of Secular Tolerance

I've just read an article for the second time with the above name.

With my theologically charged previous post, I figure that I might as well do another one - while I'm in the mood.

It is funny how today, this myth is prevelant in our western society. "Oh, we're so tolerant - we don't mind what you believe." Interestingly, the definition of tolerance - according to dictionary.com - is:

"a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own"

With the public outrage over the recent Mohamed cartoons, not just from Muslims, you would think that secular tolerance is at an ever increasing high. Never mind the fact that, while none of us would admit it, if we see someone who slightly resembles the myriad of pictures of terrorists that we are fed every day on the news, we ask ourselves "is he going to blow himself and us all up?" Maybe it feels a bit more real up here, especially with our imminent move to jolly old London what.

"Ah," says the secular tolerationist (made up word), "I know what I'll do. Because I can't attack the Muslims (after all, that would be politically incorrect), I'll attack religion itself."

But what nobody seems to realise, is that what they mean by religion, is Christianity.

Now before I go any further, I will qualify some of my comments. I do not (words split up for emphasis) blame Muslims for what the few extremists are doing, any more than I blame Christians for the brutal history we unfortunately have. There's no point.

Of course, getting back to the point, tolerance would then mean that people won't go on about Christianity as well - do we deserve it, somtimes, but that's not the point. If we were living in a secular tolerant society, we wouldn't get the crap we get so much.

Anyway, my point is that this pluralistic, tolerant society that we in the west treasure so much and believe in, doesn't really exist at all - it's bollocks.

The article is here http://www.jubilee-centre.org/pdfs/The_Myth_of_Secular_Tolerance.pdf if you're interested. It puts it a lot more elloquently than I have.