GAY TRUTH

Cover of The New Tolerance Eye-openers. Startling, even shocking eye-openers. Both books reviewed in this article proved to be that for me, as they demonstrated where the culture I live in has been, where it is now, and where it seems to be going.  The Intolerance of Tolerance , by D. A. Carson , discusses postmodern ideas on truth claims, demonstrating, with many real-life examples, that the one thing absolutely not tolerated any longer is the stance that a particular belief might be wrong. Carson's book is larger in scope than Brown's.  The Intolerance of Tolerance  surveys the West in general, examining many different areas where the new tolerance is required. As the title suggests,  A Queer Thing Happened in America , by Michael L. Brown, looks only at American culture and deals exclusively with issues of homosexuality and gender preference. While I would differ with Brown theologically on a number of issues, those issues were not the subject of this book...

Cover of The New Tolerance Tolerance is our culture's supreme virtue. Whether it is  Glee  plot lines about homosexual children or battles about the role religion may play in the public square—from Christmas trees to Catholic Charities —the buzzword is "tolerance." Casual observers might note, however, that tolerance has undergone a change in meaning. What once meant recognizing other people's right to have different beliefs and practices now means accepting the differing views themselves. Vestiges of the old tolerance—conscience protections for medical professionals, religious liberty, and open discussions—are on the way out. Nowadays, conscience protections are frowned upon, threats to religious freedom prompt Congressional hearings, and "glitter bombs" replace meaningful debate. This shift from accepting the existence of different views to believing that all views are equally valid is "subtle in form, but massive in substance," explains...