By Emmett Smith

The lyrics to the 1994 song of that title seem to have really resonated with a lot of people. It got a lot of airplay, so most of us were probably exposed to it in some venue or other. The notion that sex is simply to be enjoyed indiscriminately with no emotional complications is not new. But the widespread acceptance of this philosophy is relatively new here in the U.S (as I've said before, we're a generation or so behind the Europeans).

Just this past Friday, an article in Worldnet Daily discussed upcoming officially sanctioned events at Tufts University in Massachusetts. According to the article, these events were mind-boggling in their explicitness and depravity. It's hard to believe this is sanctioned on any college campus. The unfortunate fact, however, is that such things are also encouraged in many, if not most, publicly funded secondary schools. Tolerance is highly esteemed as a virtue these days and is preached energetically in these forums as well.

But what can I, as a Christian, tolerate? What do these folks mean when they preach their doctrine of tolerance? Well, as anyone with one eye and half sense can deduce, they're not preaching tolerance of the Christian worldview. No, the message is that we must be "tolerant" of:

• Homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle (Massachusetts and San Francisco are making big waves at present)
• The inviolable "right" of any woman to "choose" to abort her unborn baby at any time she wishes
• The acceptance of paganism and Wicca into the mainstream
• The idea that personal character isn't important in choosing a political leader

Of course I could continue the above list ad infinitum. But surely you get the picture. As a Christian, I must not lend my support to such vile false doctrines. As Paul ended his discussion of activities for which, "God gave them up", he said, "Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them" (Rom. 1:32).

That's not a very tolerant position is it? Paul made it clear that as Christians we may not give approval to those who practice such abominations.

What's love got to do with it? Here's what!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil" (Jn. 3:16-19).