'I want to suggest that when we accept the terms of the debate - exclusion vs. tolerance - we lose. When we chose exclusion, the church circles the wagons and becomes a fortresslike, members-only organization overcome by a siege mentality. We bar the door to everyone who looks scary or asks questions that make us uncomfortable.
When we choose tolerance of every person and ideology, on the other hand, we shrink from sharing the very, very good news of Good's love, demonstrated like never before or since in Christ, and from confronting sin and suffering that is sin's results. Exclusion lacks love; the wrong kind of tolerance lacks courage.
At the heart of the Christian story, however, is the Triune God's rejection of both exclusion and tolerance. The Creator was not content to exclude those who had rejected him, but neither was he prepared to tolerate our hatefulness and sin. So what did he do? He became one of us, one of the "other," identifying with us to embrace us in solidarity, empathy, and selfless agape love - all the way to the cross.'
David Kinnaman, You Lost Me, p.180.
