Grace offers acceptance. Likewise, tolerance offers acceptance. Both grace and tolerance offer acceptance regardless of one's actions, regardless of the kind of person they may be. Both words evoke images of open hands and outstretched arms. Gracious and tolerant people are not tight-fisted, arms-crossed, people. Grace and tolerance share a common longing to embrace people where they are, refusing to reject others on the basis of what they have done or how they live their lives. Given this overlap, it is no wonder that many flatten the nuances and conflate these words to mean essentially the same thing. But, are grace and tolerance synonyms?

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