Where is the acceptance and tolerance for Christians??

I awoke very grieved this morning after a challenging political discussion with a close colleague whom I would consider to be a good friend and a beautiful person. However, it seems that differences in religious and political persuasion may become a divisive factor between us, which is not my wish nor intention and it deeply aggrieves me to think that our own innate beliefs may cause us to remain divided. Now that my true identity as a bible believing Christian has been revealed to her, it seems that my value to her may have been lost.

Our beliefs and values, no matter what persuasion are critical to who we are and how we interact with others on this journey called life. They form our sense of meaning, purpose, belonging and the way in which we form and maintain relationships. I consider that critical thinking and personal reflection to be crucial to forming our own individual character and in turn the quality of our relationships and as a flow on effect our own intrinsic values weave the very fabric of society and culture and therefore we carry great responsibility in choosing our persuasions carefully.

It was in going through such a process throughout my teenage and young adult years which brought me to the decision to align myself with Jesus Christ and with the Christian faith. I spent many years desperately seeking truth and meaning, I explored and analysed any political or religious ideology which crossed my path for years. I tested the waters in many areas and weighed things up solidly. I avidly read texts and spoke to people with a completely open heart and mind willing to receive whatever resonated to be true and purposeful at the time however in the end after much wrestling and careful consideration I settled with the Christian faith which I found to hold the answers I was searching for and all of the qualities I was seeking to embody as a person. It was only in reading the bible and applying it to my life that I discovered the power to change and the key to developing the character I was aspiring to within myself. And it is my right as an individual and I believe my responsibility to myself and others, after considering all of the facts, to make an informed decision as to my value system and to form my own convictions according to my own conscience.

However sadly I find that I am often not accepted for who I am once I am found out to be a Christian. People tend to appreciate my personality and many of my character qualities – which mind you are only consistent as I actively embrace my faith – until such time as we have a conversation which stumbles upon the revelation of my faith and on many occasions I have found that this becomes a stumbling block, a divisive factor in my relationships. But why is this so?

My most recent discussion with my friend was in relation to the current plebiscite on same sex marriage which is soon to be held in Australia, which mind you she, not I, raised and queried my political leaning. I as a Christian certainly hold strongly to my faith which has been made alive through my application of the Bible and therefore due to my experience I trust the certainty of God’s Word in my own personal decisions and affairs however I am always careful to treat others and their opinions with the utmost respect. I will openly share my values and opinions if a friend is genuinely interested in getting to know me, however the focus of my faith tends to be on taking responsibility for my own development by loving God and others rather than engaging in political discussions and actively passing judgement on those who haven’t formed the same convictions as me. However due to my alignment with the Christian faith, I am often rejected, ostracised and seen as a threat. It seems that everyone is entitled to their own persuasion and opinion in the Western world – except Christians.

As bible believing Christians many of us are ostracised and openly vilified and rejected for simply holding to our beliefs without seeking to impede upon others – however unlike other persuasions this seems to be acceptable and left undefended. Many of the far left wing persuasion are strongly supportive of bringing in gay marriage and therefore use this as an excuse to ramp up hatred against the Christian faith, however I have also found that many of that same left wing persuasion also avidly welcome the Islamic faith which denotes even stronger teachings against homosexuality to the point where gay people are still in the present day being persecuted and sentenced to death in the middle east. Homosexuality is condemned in Islam to be unnatural, abnormal and abhorrent and in some middle eastern countries gay people are flogged and in some cases even sentenced to death – and that is in this present day not just historical. I am confused as to how far left wing people can reconcile supporting both LGTBI Marriage and welcome Islam whilst at the same time openly vilifying and mocking Christians whilst claiming to be tolerant and accepting of all persuasions.
Genuine Christians (with the exception of a few) if actively living out their faith seek to treat ALL people regardless of sexual orientation, religious or political persuasion with genuine love and the utmost respect and wish LGTBI people no harm or indignation, we simply wish to protect our own values and convictions with one of our core values being the institution of marriage. It appears, however that we are not entitled to our own opinions nor to uphold our own values in a nation which was founded upon the principles of our own religion. We are labelled bigot and homophobes for simply wishing to uphold our own value system to which the freedoms of modern society are indebted.