Day 46: Bigotry

I realized the other day how much it drives me crazy when people call Christians - or anyone for that matter - bigots. It's a cheap shot really. It's like saying, "I don't know why you believe what you do and I can't even justify learning why, so therefore I am assuming you are acting on pure hate when you speak out against something." It's so ignorant.

Then I looked up Merriam-Webster's definition of bigot: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.


The word obstinate means "perversely adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion." Now, this reveals that there is something inherently biased about using the word bigot. If a person "obstinately" adheres to their own opinions, then that implies that their opinion is wrong and they are stubbornly refusing to listen to "reason."

Calling someone a bigot is a cheap shot because it implies that they are holding on to false and unreasonable beliefs. Everyone has a reason for believing what they do. Just because you can't see, understand or agree with someone's beliefs does not mean they are unreasonable.

I see the word bigot pop up most often in the debate about homosexuality. Many people are trigger-happy when it comes to using the word on Christians who do not support homosexuality. They are so quick to call Christians intolerant that they end up the intolerant ones themselves, unwilling to understand or tolerate the Christian perspective (which is not unreasonable at all - just different). Christians have very real reasons for not supporting or accepting homosexuality. To say they "obstinately" stick to their opinions is false.

That brings me to another point. Tolerance is marketed as such a virtue, but I think intolerance is more admirable. If you have conviction in your beliefs, then why would you tolerate, and therefore validate, contradictory beliefs? Would it be virtuous for someone to tolerate and accept their best friend's drug abuse even though they know it's wrong? Not at all. Was English antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce intolerant when he crusaded to end slavery? You bet he was. If you truly disagree with something, you shouldn't have to tolerate it. I'm not encouraging hate, but you should never accept something as right when you know it's wrong.