Who Do I Hate?
Actually no one!
What do I hate? I hate destructive ideas and false beliefs. I hate Socialism but I love socialists and grieve for the lie that is consuming them. I hate war but know that it is an unavoidable and sometimes necessary evil. I hate Islam but love Muslims and pray that their eyes will opened to the Son of God so we can share eternity in Heaven.
You cannot love someone and also love the thing that is destroying them. You cannot love an alcoholic without hating alcoholism; you can't love a drug addict without hating their addiction. I could go on and on. I feel the same way about Islam.
So what is Hate?
My Random House College Dictionary defines it as to dislike intensely or passionately; detest.
One problem of definitions is to use one define a word by synonyms. I would prefer a more practical definition. It is often seen as the opposite of love. That too creates a problem as the word "opposite" has two meanings.
You can have polar opposites such as North and South which actually compliment each other (ie one cannot exist without the other), or you can have an opposite in which one is the absence of the other ie. light and darkness. (Darkness is not the compliment of light, but the absence of light.) Now is hate the compliment (ie polar opposite whose existence is made necessary by the existence of love) or is it the total absence of love? Or is it something else?
One of the best secular definitions of love I ever read was in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, where he defined love as a state where the happiness of the beloved is a prerequisite for happiness of the lover. If the beloved is unhappy then the lover cannot be happy. There are a couple of philosophical problems with this but on the whole it is a very workable definition.
If hate is the opposite of love, then perhaps it should be defined like this:
A state of mind where the hater's and the recipient's happiness are mutually exclusive. What pains one brings pleasure to other and brings pleasure to one brings displeasure to the other.
Wanting someone to become a Christian and adopt our worldview is not hatred. It is wishing to share the joy of Christ and how can that ever be seen as hatred. Expecting change in people comes with the territory as you cannot go to Him and not change.
If I hated someone, I would wish for and take delight in their damnation, and feel wronged if they were redeemed. I hope I never sink that low.
What do I hate? I hate destructive ideas and false beliefs. I hate Socialism but I love socialists and grieve for the lie that is consuming them. I hate war but know that it is an unavoidable and sometimes necessary evil. I hate Islam but love Muslims and pray that their eyes will opened to the Son of God so we can share eternity in Heaven.
You cannot love someone and also love the thing that is destroying them. You cannot love an alcoholic without hating alcoholism; you can't love a drug addict without hating their addiction. I could go on and on. I feel the same way about Islam.
So what is Hate?
My Random House College Dictionary defines it as to dislike intensely or passionately; detest.
One problem of definitions is to use one define a word by synonyms. I would prefer a more practical definition. It is often seen as the opposite of love. That too creates a problem as the word "opposite" has two meanings.
You can have polar opposites such as North and South which actually compliment each other (ie one cannot exist without the other), or you can have an opposite in which one is the absence of the other ie. light and darkness. (Darkness is not the compliment of light, but the absence of light.) Now is hate the compliment (ie polar opposite whose existence is made necessary by the existence of love) or is it the total absence of love? Or is it something else?
One of the best secular definitions of love I ever read was in Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, where he defined love as a state where the happiness of the beloved is a prerequisite for happiness of the lover. If the beloved is unhappy then the lover cannot be happy. There are a couple of philosophical problems with this but on the whole it is a very workable definition.
If hate is the opposite of love, then perhaps it should be defined like this:
A state of mind where the hater's and the recipient's happiness are mutually exclusive. What pains one brings pleasure to other and brings pleasure to one brings displeasure to the other.
Wanting someone to become a Christian and adopt our worldview is not hatred. It is wishing to share the joy of Christ and how can that ever be seen as hatred. Expecting change in people comes with the territory as you cannot go to Him and not change.
If I hated someone, I would wish for and take delight in their damnation, and feel wronged if they were redeemed. I hope I never sink that low.
posted by shoprat at 10:58 AM
11 Comments:
I agree. I hate nobody. I dislike and fear their actions, often. And when those actions place my safety in jeopardy, even though I don't hate them, I will fight to defend my safety.
At one time, I hated my husband so much! I was told I needed to pray for him. I said, forget that! Then, I found a passage in the Bible that said to pray for your enemy and God would heap burning hot coals on their head. I decided I could do that! LOL I'm finally seeing what a tortured man he must be and I actually feel some pity for him.
I cannot say that I hate Islam per se; I can, however, state that I advocate the complete and utter eradication of those persons who use Islam as a crutch, as the justification for killing so many of themselves and for targeting any society that does not believe precise as they believe, does not think precisely as they think, does not dress precisely as they dress, does not abuse women as they abuse women.
On the other hand I can coherently say this: I feel absolutely no pity for Islam or for Muslims; radicals have hijacked their religion. They cower in corners. And evil prospers when good men and women do nothing. That is why I believe:
Islam IS what Islam DOES.
Deeds; not words.
BZ
I may have thought I’ve hated someone at some time; I am in fact, human and imperfect after all. Hate, for me is a difficult emotion to sustain. I tend to easily forgive those who’ve wronged me; however, forgiveness in my case should never be misconstrued as forgetfulness.
Yep. I was right... you are a natural philosopher, Shoprat.
I wish I could say I've never hated anyone but it wouldn't be the truth. I have felt intense hatred in my heart, but I have managed to forgive over time. However, like Steven, I feel foriveness is one thing, but forgetfulness is another.
I agree with Douglas' comment above. I don't really hate anyone, but I do hate some ideas or movements, especially the radical left. I hate people trying to destroy our country, from within and from without.
Thanks for this post. Have a great night!
All. I too have struggled with hatred (in fact when The Return of the Jedi was first released I was struggling spiritually not to hate someone who had spiritually destroyed someone I loved -- courtesy of cocaine - - and I could truly relate to Luke's struggle not to hate the emperor.) The problem is that even justified hatred can destroy your soul if you allow it to fester and grow. That is why forgiveness is so important, not just for the one you forgive but for yourself as well.
dvg It is hard but we do have to sometimes fight and kill, but we must do so from a sense of justice and self-defense and not a bit of hatred.
lp There is that burning coal stuff too. But in the end doesn't it feel good to forgive?
bz I don't hate Muslims either but I hate the lie that is driving them to destroy themselves and forcing us to kill them in self-defense.
Steven Like I said I too have struggled with hate.
gayle Thanks for the compliment.
dd Thanks for visiting. I took a look at your blog and will be linking to it when I redo my links.
Wonderful post Shoprat!! I couldn't agree more and you said it all so eloquently. Liberals need to read and understand what you have to say here.
Shoprat, it does feel better to forgive. For me, those feelings were telling me DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS SITUATION! Once I did, things started getting better.
Well said, Shoprat.
It is hard not to hate the person, and just hate the behavior, but you seem to have it down pat.
I am humbled.
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