Yet the relational focus of this fellowship is not a new or unique cultural formation, but rather a rediscovery of traditional Christian social action. David Morsey Award for Best Biblical Exegesis, 1998. Many people claim that they are relativists and proponents of tolerance. Yet relativism cannot foster tolerance in part because it is untenable as a coherent philosophy. All three types demonstrate that even renowned scholars who hold to relativism are not tolerant, since a tolerant relativist is a contradiction in terms.
Relativism is also theologically incoherent, since neutrality is impossible concerning truth claims.
However, tolerance is essential for the social order to prosper. Since tolerance is founded on Biblical truths, the Church is responsible for promoting tolerance without sacrificing the truth. Once the Church deals with its own intolerance in a spirit of humility, it can become a catalyst in promoting tolerance to those of varied beliefs. At the end of the second millennium, we seem to be somewhat nervous again. Yet none of the new codes, paradigms, and ideologies appear to bring us nearer to some new and generally shared creed.