The ideal of tolerance in light of the premises contained in the Letters of St. Paul (Part Two: implementing rules)

Abstract

This article is a continuation of thepaper published in the previous issue of "Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia" that discussed the preliminary study, including the analysis of 1 Cor 8-10, which showed that tolerance is subordinated to love and, as such, it does notconstitute any absolute or autonomous value.In this paper, various implementing rules related to both tolerance and intolerance were identified. Christians should be tolerant of "outsiders" and intolerant of evil committed by "those inside [the Church]" (1 Cor 5:12-13), within the limits set by the apostolic authority (1 Cor 5:3-11). Assuming that tolerance in the Church is a consequence of love, and that its limits are set by the apostolic authority, it may be concluded that there is a significant sphere for decisions in the life of every Christian in which they should show tolerance for mistakes made by other Christians. In Rom 14, St. Paul mentions three different sets of circumstances under which the attitude of tolerance is recommended (see: Rom 14:15.19.22). In Rom 12:1-2 and 1 Cor 6:1-11, there is an answer to the question about how Christians can "translate" the Gospel of tolerance to everyday reality. They should be guided by reason (enlightened by the Holy Spirit), and their attitude should constitute the realization of "higher justice" based on the Gospel, which is different from the wisdom of this world.