Tolerance vs Acceptance it really is a very fine line. my father and i were having a discussion in the car this morning and i'm really glad we did. he was trying to put across his point that all religions should be tolerant. he said he had no objections to me having my own religion (tt's how he put it) but i should be wise to pick one that is tolerant to other religions. so i asked? how exactly would you define tolerant? he gave me an example of his muslim colleague who doesnt mind people having pork before him. just as long as he doesnt consume it. so i was like. ohhhh. that's like tolerating but not accepting. that's easy. then he said "oh you shouldnt be choosing a religion that disallows you to walk into a temple". and i was like ya.... *raise eyebrow* but going into a temple is a totally different thing from praying to the gods right? tolerating, but not accepting! things got abit trickier when we started to talk about showing respect and worshipping/praying. i said there's nothing with showing respect to someone. i mean, people offer oranges to their elders during chinese new year right? offer tea during wedding? that's just a simple gesture to show that "I RESPECT YOU". but it gets ugly when the concept of showing respect and praying is synoymous. like offering incense. how was i to answer him when he asked me whether offering incense to him when he's dead would be wrong. ideally, i know the answer. but it's much easier said than done so please don't even bother to offer me all the textbook stuff. so i said well i suppose when you're just paying respect it's ok...but not when you start to bow down to worship and pray. i suppose he sensed that i was really reluctant on even the offering joss sticks just for respect bit. so he asked "what is wrong with that? you must question and not just anyhow believe". hello, now how was i supposed to say that i could become a stumbling block? i tried to put that idea and conveyed it in layman's terms. but i know what answer i was gonna get. and i did get it. "who cares what other people think? as long as you know what you're doing isn't wrong..." stumped. but you know what, at least they aren't stopping me from going to church. and as much as it's difficult to explain to them that church doesnt 'force people to donate money' i'm just going to take things slow. and pray for the best. because i believe one day that they'll truly understand. for now, it's an upward struggle. but im not alone.