Religious Tolerance Misapplied

I have been teaching matters of faith for many years now. I have noticed a trend that disturbs me greatly. In fact, it was my reading about Americans’ responses to religious diversity that became the catalyst for the timing of writing this book.

Religious diversity is the trend I am concerned about. “What?” you may ask. “That smacks of intolerance!” But carefully consider what I read about Rabbi David Ingber. He was raised in Orthodox Judaism and departed from the faith in his twenties. On his self-described spiritual journey, he practiced various aspects of Eastern religions. Ultimately he returned to his Jewish roots, bringing with him these Eastern concepts and practices. He has since become a rabbi and founded a congregation in New York City named Romemu. His slogan is Judaism for mind, body, and spirit. When interviewed, Ingber explained, “I do think that there’s a level of maturity involved in being so secure in your own root tradition that you can dabble, that you can borrow, and that you don’t feel that it’s in some way sacrificing your own identity. There is a way for those who love God to love God together, and I think that’s what we’re trying to do now—we’re trying to say, let’s go beyond the labels.”1 On the surface this sounds good; after all, tolerance is an essential and politically correct aspect of present-day American culture.

Tolerance, however, is only as good as the wisdom behind it. Consider the wisdom of tolerating an open flame near gasoline. There is none, unless the desired outcome is a catastrophically devastating explosion.

In my book I substantiate this conclusion. What is your opinion?

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