ARCHIVE: Is it ever OK for a Christian to hate someone?

Army of One

New member
God_Is_Truth said:
i think the people misunderstood what God said in the OT.
I agree.



no, that we agree on.
Good to hear.:)



i disagree. all the other instances in that chapter are all quotes from the old testament as well. things like "eye for an eye" and "certificate of divorce" are directly from the old testament, and i see no reason to think he suddenly switched sources a few sentences later.
I agree, but I don't think He was saying any of that was wrong. He was just correcting their application of it. For example, He wasn't rescinding "an eye for an eye", but was pointing out that an individual should not seek his own vengeance. And He was not outlawing all divorce, but clarifying what the acceptable justifications were for divorce (sexual immorality), and pointing out that God intended marriages to last a lifetime. In the same way, He was correcting their understanding of "Love your neighbor".

further, he goes on to link loving your enemy to what the Father does

Matthew 5
45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

46"For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

48"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus is saying that the Father loves those who hate him. we see no hint of a suggestion to hate back those who hate you. no, we are to love them, just as the Father loves them as demonstrated by sending rain and causing the sun to rise for them. how could you call these things "hateful" towards them? would such things really be evidence of hate? surely not!
Again, I'm not saying that we should hate all unbelievers, or all our enemies. We should love them, just as God loves them. But there are times and places for hate as well, as is evidenced by the times God is recorded as hating people.

As Knight has already said, Love and Hate are not mutually exclusive. One of the reasons that I quoted Jude 22,23 is that it illustrates that point, in that it speaks of saving someone from the fire (an act motivated by love) by hating. The same can be seen in Romans 12:9.
 

billwald

New member
"I hate what David did, but I love David."

How does one have a relationship with a long dead human? The Catholic interpretation of "Communion of the Saints?" You Catholic?
 

Lighthouse

The Dark Knight
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Aimiel said:
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
The question wasn't whether or not we can hate our brothers, or sisters. We know we can't hate them. It's the ones who are not our brothers or sisters that this is about...
 

stunrut

New member
Lighthouse said:
The question wasn't whether or not we can hate our brothers, or sisters. We know we can't hate them. It's the ones who are not our brothers or sisters that this is about...


We're not to hate even our enemies. We must judge them to hate them. Only God can judge those outside the church.
 

Lighthouse

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stunrut said:
We're not to hate even our enemies. We must judge them to hate them. Only God can judge those outside the church.
We are not to judge them the way we judge our brothers, but we can still make judgments about them. They are sinners. I am sure you agree. And that is a judgment.

But we judge our brothers differently. We distance ourselves if need be. We may even kick them out of the church. We don't do that to those who are not our brothers. Those outside of the church are the ones we go to, because of their sin, and point them to Christ. And it requires that we make a judgment in order to even know we need to witness to them.
 

Army of One

New member
Lighthouse said:
We are not to judge them the way we judge our brothers, but we can still make judgments about them. They are sinners. I am sure you agree. And that is a judgment.

But we judge our brothers differently. We distance ourselves if need be. We may even kick them out of the church. We don't do that to those who are not our brothers. Those outside of the church are the ones we go to, because of their sin, and point them to Christ. And it requires that we make a judgment in order to even know we need to witness to them.
:thumb:
 

CRASH

TOL Subscriber
Knight said:
Bill? Or the Bible?

Bill says...

The Bible says...
Psalms 139:22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.

Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

So did anyone learn anything from this thread?

Did anyone change their mind?

As a Christian, is it Okay to hate Osama bin Ladin?
 

CRASH

TOL Subscriber
death2impiety said:
I'm curious how the "love is not hate" side of this argument thinks we should deal with murderers, rapists and the like. If we know our neighbor is a homosexual freak who seduces and eats 13 year old boys should we walk over with a freshly baked pie and discuss his sin? "Oh Jeffery, thats not right. Please stop eating the neighborhood children, my son has no one left to play with..."

:rotfl: :rotfl:
 
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