A Meditation on True Tolerance and the Courage to Think

Fr. Scott Haynes

There is a saying that circulates in various forms: “Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as not to offend the imbeciles.” It feels exaggerated at first glance, yet something in it stirs the conscience. It points to a tension in the modern soul: the fear of truth, the shrinking back from honest thought, and the temptation to replace substance with sentiment.

We live in a world that often praises “tolerance” but recoils from conviction. The prophets faced this same tension. When Isaiah warned the people that their smooth words had become lies, he said they cried out, “Speak unto us pleasant things, see not the things that are right” (Is 30:10). They did not want truth — they wanted comfort. A society becomes spiritually dull when it seeks to silence anything that disturbs its illusions.

But the Christian heart is not called to comfort; it is called to clarity.

The greatest thinkers in history were often unwanted voices: Jeremiah thrown into a cistern, Amos told to flee, Paul driven from cities, Stephen stoned, John exiled. Christ Himself stood before a world unwilling to hear Him. Even His own disciples sometimes wished He would soften His words. Yet He looked into their souls and asked, “Will you also go away?” (John 6:68).

Truth has always carried a cost. But it has also always carried light.

When the world encourages a “tolerance” so thin that it dissolves every distinction between truth and falsehood, virtue and vice, wisdom and foolishness, it is not kindness. It is fear dressed in soft language. It is the refusal to face reality. It is the slow suffocation of the human mind.

A society that cannot bear to be challenged will eventually punish those who dare to think.

Yet the saints show us another way.St. Catherine of Siena confronted corrupt rulers. St. Athanasius stood firm when nearly the whole world embraced heresy. St. Thomas More kept his intellect free even when the cost was his life. Their courage carried a quiet message: Thinking in the light of God is not pride — it is fidelity.

God gave us minds to know Him, to seek truth, to pierce through the fog of confusion and name things as they are. He did not place intelligence in us to be buried out of fear that it may offend. Christ Himself commands, “You shall love the Lord your God… with all your mind” (Matt 22:37).

So what should the Christian do in an age where deep thought is suspicious, and clarity is regarded as cruelty?

Think anyway.

But think with charity.

Think with humility.

Think with courage.

Let your thoughts be shaped by Scripture, sharpened by prayer, purified by grace. Speak the truth gently, live it boldly, and offer it as a light rather than a weapon.

If the world grows uncomfortable with truth, let your life be a quiet reminder that truth is not the enemy of peace. It is its foundation.And if society ever reaches a point where intelligent voices are unwelcome, then your fidelity becomes even more necessary.

For God is not honored by a silenced mind, nor by a fearful heart. He is honored by souls who think clearly, love deeply, and stand firmly — even when others prefer the darkness.

Lord, give me courage to think in Your light, to speak with wisdom, and to love without fear. Make my mind a place where truth is welcomed, defended, and cherished. Amen.