At what point does zeal become zealotry?

Question

At what point does zeal become zealotry?

Answer 1

Zeal, by very definition, is almost always zealotry.

Answer 2

I would say, when one cannot acknowledge the truth of someone else's spiritual, religious or political path as having any validity; when one no longer respects the views of another person whose views are different. There are many sorts of fanaticism, and they are all dangerous in their indifference and animosity to others.

Answer 3

when they go over-board in their passion/belief and force everyone else to be just like them when they all-too often can't live up to their own unrealistic ideas

also when people start dying and when some take rights away from others and demonize them plus promote lies, bigotry, hatred and intolerance

Answer 4

If zeal is enthusiasm about a belief, then it probably becomes zealotry at the point when that enthusiasm becomes so warped that it is perceived as a divine edict, and when you forget that what you believe is only your opinion about something, and start assuming your own belief is God's True Word.

Somewhere around that time, I suspect.

Answer 5

Good question.  I think it has to do with when following God's word and His leading gets more mixed up in the ego.  For example, some people seem to think that they have to get everyone to agree with them in order to feel in their own hearts that they are on the correct path.  When you have the conviction of God in your soul that you are on the correct path, you want to share; but you don't feel like everyone HAS to agree with you.  I know from my experience of being distant from God for many years that He has a beautiful and accurate timetable for each soul as He reveals the Truth in their life.

--Happy Catholic convert, full of zeal.

Answer 6

stoning would be a good clue.

Answer 7

The point at which zeal becomes zealotry is when ones fervor for whatever one believes in starts to encroach on another person’s rights. A person who believes in the literal verbal inerrancy of the Bible, is perfectly within his right to believe in this radical (if not patently false) notion, but when he takes this interpretation, and believes that the United States needs to incorporate religious precepts into the government, they way religious precepts where incorporated into the Israeli kingdom in the Old Testament, he has crossed the line from zeal to zealotry.

Answer 8

When it leaves reality & becomes a delusional system.