One of the most common subjects of conversation among non-Christians is why
Christians are so obnoxious. Why can’t they just live and let live? Why are they so
irrational? And why do they try to force their beliefs on everyone else?
Well, there’s a very good reason for it: That’s what the Bible tells them they must do!
Here are some quotations that make that injunction crystal clear.
Ex. 20:3: The first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have (i.e. tolerate) no other
gods besides me... For I (Yahweh) am a jealous God."
I Cor. 7:12: "If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to go on
living with him, he should not divorce her; and if any woman has a husband who is an
unbeliever, and he is willing to go on living with her, she should not divorce her
husband. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the
unbelieving wife is made holy through the brother. Otherwise your children would be
unclean... If the unbeliever separates, however, let him separate... for how do you
know whether you will be able to save [him or her]."
2 Cor. 6:14: "Do not be yoked with those who are different, with unbelievers. For
what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does
light have with darkness? What accord has Christ with Beliar? Or what has a
believer in common with an unbeliever?"
Rom. 3:28: "...we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the
law." 4:13 "It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his
descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that
comes from faith." 5:1 "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ., through whom we have gained
access (by faith) to this grace in which we stand..." 8:13 "For if you live according to
the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you
will live." (Skeptics, of course, undermine faith, and thus threaten everybody with
damnation.)
Col. 2:4: "I say this so that no one may deceive you by specious arguments... See to
it that no one captivate you with empty, seductive philosophy according to human
tradition... and not according to Christ."
Eph. 5:6: "Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for because of these
things the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient. Do not be associated with
them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children
of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to
learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them..."
2 Tim 4:2: "Proclaim the word" (of Paul's doctrine); "be persistent whether it is
convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and
teaching, for the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but
following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will
stop listening to the truth..."
Titus 3:9: "Avoid foolish arguments, genealogies, rivalries and quarrels about
(doctrine) for they are useless and futile. After a first and second warning, break off
contact with a heretic, realizing that such a person is perverted and sinful and stands
self-condemned."
Mk 16:15: Jesus says, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every
creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe
will be condemned."
Matt 10:21: Jesus says, "Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his
child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be
hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved."
Matt 12:30: Jesus says, "He who is not for me is against me."
Matt 28:19: Jesus says, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all that I have commanded you" (often interpreted as meaning "by force if
necessary.").
Lk 19:27: Jesus says, "Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as
their king, bring them here and slay them before me." (Granted, this line is part of a
parable about some other king, but if Jesus did not mean that Christians should kill
anyone who opposes them, then it is unclear why he is telling the story.)
James 5:19: "My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and
someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the
error of his ways will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."
(This is usually interpreted to mean that the only sure way to save yourself is to
convert others.)
Jude 17: "In the last days there will be scoffers who will live in their own godless
desires. These are the ones who cause division; they live on the natural plane,
devoid of the spirit. But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray
in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our
Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. On those who waver, have mercy. Save
others by snatching them out of the fire..."
I Peter 5:8: "Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing
that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings."
2 Peter 2:1: "...there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive
heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them, bringing swift destruction
on themselves. Many will follow their licentious ways, and because of them the way of
truth will be reviled." 2:10 "Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to revile glorious
beings... But these people, like irrational animals born by nature for capture and
destruction, revile things that they do not understand, and in their destruction they will
also be destroyed, suffering wrong for wrong-doing. Thinking daytime revelry a
delight, they are stains and defilements as they revel in their deceits while carousing
with you. Their eyes are full of adultery and insatiable for sin. They seduce unstable
people, and their hearts are trained in greed."
l John 2:21: "Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever
denies the Father and the Son, this is the Antichrist. No one who denies the Son has
the Father (i.e. Jews), but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well" (i.e.
Christians).
Some of the apocryphal books, found in Bibles other than the King James,
have equally pointed things to say about unbelievers:
Gospel of Bartholomew, Chap 5. Bartholomew asks Christ what is the one
unforgivable sin. Christ says it is criticism of anyone doing the Lord's work.
Acts of Paul. In this book, Paul writes a third Letter to the Corinthians to settle some
of their doctrinal disputes. He lists eight points of doctrine, most of which eventually
ended up in the Nicene Creed. But his ninth point is that anyone who disagrees with
any of these doctrines is doomed to hell.
The Epistle of the Apostles. In a legal deposition, the apostles all swear that Jesus
had commanded them to go out to the world and preach what he had taught them.
He said that eternal life would be available to all who believed (Paul's doctrines). But
eternal damnation awaited those who believe false teachings.
The Apocalypse of Peter. The author of this book takes great pleasure in describing
the tortures of hell. But the worst tortures are reserved for those who worship gods
other than Christ and Yahweh.
The Second Book of Hermas, Command Number Nine. "Do not doubt the power of
the Lord. Doubt comes from the devil."
First Enoch, Book Two, The Similitudes. Enoch explains that the reason Yahweh
destroyed the antediluvian world was because certain people had begun exploring
the secrets of nature and writing them down. This kind of investigation is an
unforgivable sin.
Sibylline Oracles, Book Three. The Sibyl praises the Jews for their total devotion to
Yahweh and condemns the Greeks for wasting their time on philosophy and the study
of nature.
So we can clearly see that Bible believers have ample reason for hating everyone
else. Of course, liberal Christians could find an equal number of quotations to
support their doctrines of peace and brotherhood - which is why there are more than
a thousand Christian denominations in the U.S., and why they rarely agree on
anything.
Why are Christians so Intolerant?