The point is not that Jesus was a good guy who accepted everybody, and thus we should do the same (though that would be good). Rather, his teachings and behavior reflect an alternative social vision. Jesus was not talking about how to be good and how to behave within the framework of a domination system. He was a critic of the domination system itself. Marcus J. Borg
About This Quote

This is one of the most popular quotes on this list, and it's definitely the most important. It's about the difference between "tolerance" and "love." Many people are confused about what is meant by tolerance. They think that it means that you should tolerate the things you disagree with, but that isn't true. True tolerance requires us to love those who are different from ourselves.

We don't have to agree with them or even like them, but we cannot hate them. This quote has inspired many people to stop doing harm to others out of fear or anger. They can now see that there is no need to live in fear or anger because the whole world doesn't revolve around them, therefore they can deal with others without considering anything important as lost.

Source: The God We Never Knew: Beyond Dogmatic Religion To A More Authentic Contemporary Faith

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More Quotes By Marcus J. Borg
  1. The Christian life is not about pleasing God the finger-shaker and judge. It is not about believing now or being good now for the sake of heaven later. It is about entering a relationship in the present that begins to change everything now. Spirituality is...
  2. The point is not that Jesus was a good guy who accepted everybody, and thus we should do the same (though that would be good). Rather, his teachings and behavior reflect an alternative social vision. Jesus was not talking about how to be good and...
  3. Christianity's goal is not escape from this world. It loves this world and seeks to change it for the better.
  4. How we think about God matters. It affects the credibility of religion in general and of Christianity in particular. Our concept of God can make God seem real or unreal, just as it can also make God seem remote or near.
  5. The spoken word has come to dominate many Protestant forms of worship: the words of prayers, responsive readings, Scripture, the sermon, and so forth. Yet the spoken word is perhaps the least effective way of reaching the heart; one must constantly pay attention with one’s...
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