Intolerance of Tolerance, The

Tolerance currently occupies a very high place in Western societies: it is considered socially unacceptable, even rude, to question it. In this book however, questioning tolerance – or, at least, contemporary understandings of tolerance – is exactly what D.A. Carson does.

Carson traces the subtle but enormous shift in the way we have come to understand tolerance over recent years – from defending the rights of those who hold different beliefs to affirming all beliefs as equally valid and correct. He argues not only that the ‘new tolerance’ is socially dangerous and intellectually debilitating, but also that it actually leads to genuine intolerance of all who struggle to hold fast to their beliefs.

“Nothing is more intolerant than a tolerance that requires the absence of all convictions. Don Carson thoughtfully shows how tolerance, once defined as respecting others’ right to hold differing perspectives, has morphed into a pervasive insistence that no one should hold firm convictions. The consequence of such a shift is a challenge to biblical faith that needs a biblical response, which Carson ably provides.”?
– Bryan Chapell, President, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis