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Writer's pictureBible Brian

Faithful is not hateful


Wouldn't it be great if we could fly? Wouldn't it be fantastic if meat grew on trees? Wouldn't it be amazing if human skin was completely impenetrable? These three fantasies, as amazing as they are, are just that: Fantasies. There are scientific laws to which we are bound. We must obey the laws of gravity and aviation, we must kill animals in order to obtain meat, and even turning a page may give us a paper cut.


There is no hate in expressing even the most undesirable scientific facts. There can be hateful ways to express them if you're a total weirdo, but the mere statement of a scientific fact is not hateful. Nor, indeed, is arguing for those facts hateful. In fact, what you'll find is our understanding of science progresses precisely by arguing for new hypotheses, or arguing against prevailing ideas.


But in our culture, in which you can make up and believe anything you want, it is assumed that you are as responsible for every belief you hold as if you had made it up. At least, this is how it seems when it comes to the Christian faith.


The Christian faith is grounded on, and centered around love. Christians are supposed to love our God, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our enemies, and even our persecutors. If someone hates us, the most Christian thing to do is love them in return. As far as it depends on us, we are supposed to live peacefully with all men. If someone persecutes us, we are supposed to do good to them. If someone is cruel to us, we are to show them kindness.


In spite of this, we have fallen so far as a culture that hatred, which by all rights should be a very strong term, and a very serious accusation, is now seen as synonymous with disagreement. Say something that offends the wrong person, you must hate them. And this is especially the case with basically any Christian view.


For 6,000 years, we as a species have been at war with God. He says "thou shalt", but we don't want to. He says "thou shalt not", but we want to. When He warns us of judgement for these things, we continue in them. These are the two most offensive things in the Christian faith; sin, and judgement.


Now, there are some sins people are, at least for now, ok with Christians speaking against. They're a little iffy on the details, but rape is a fairly solid example. Most people seem ok with saying rape is wrong, God will judge rapists, and if they don't repent, they're not going to like that judgement. Ironically, I find a lot of people find it repulsive that God can forgive a rapist.


But ultimately, all sin is repulsive to God, and He will judge it. And we've all sinned. Therefore, we are all commanded to repent and believe. Failure to do so will result in eternal condemnation. That actually does include Christians. No Christian on Earth is innocent; without Jesus, we would also be booked on an all expenses paid, everlasting trip to Hell. However, "sin leads to Hell" means "my sin leads to Hell", so of course, "you hate me".


While our culture is hanging by a thread, there is still a nugget of common sense left. Enough to say a healthy diet and sufficient exercise are an important aspect of living a healthy life, whereas being a couch potato who recoils at the thought of eating anything that can't be found on a McDonald's menu will make you fat, and lead to physical problems that will eventually straight up kill you. Is it hateful to say "live a healthy life, or you'll suffer and eventually die"? Of course not! There may be nicer, less blunt ways to put it, but really, aside from the fact it's true, it's actually helpful. If you care about someone, you don't want them to suffer physically or end up in an early grave. If you hate a fat person, just leave them alone.


In the same way, regardless of whether or not you believe Christianity is true, Christians obviously do. We didn't just wake up one day and decide "I don't like this person, so I'm going to concoct an imaginary scenario in which they burn forever, and I'm even going to tell them about it." In fact, a lot of us even have to deal with the reality that we already have lost loved ones. All four of my grandparents are dead, for example, but barring some deathbed conversion I was never told about, a maximum of two of them are in God's glory.


Now, how we come to faith does vary. Some of us were raised by devoutly Christian parents and just melted into our faith at a point in our lives when we can't even vividly remember. Some of us received a tract and began a journey from there. Some of us even set out to disprove Christianity, only to come back as Christians ourselves. However we became Christians, most of us didn't do so because we feel like it. We're Christians because we believe it's true, and therefore we treat it as if it was true.


For me, personally, my faith is almost entirely intellectual. There is, of course, the occasional moment where it hits my heart, but as a high-functioning aspinaut, I have virtually no time for emotions. I don't care how much you like, or do not like Christianity. I don't even care how much I like or do not like Christianity. And there are elements I don't like. However, because I truly believe it, I discard those emotions, and simply say the bits I don't like, I am the one in the wrong. After all, who am I to show up 6,000 years later and tell God how He must run His creation? What gives me the right to tell Him who may and may not enter His Kingdom? By what authority do I say He must submit to my rules, and cater to my desires, instead of me submitting to Him and fulfilling the purpose for which He designed me?


Of course, as with science, I, and my fellow Christians with me, will inevitably fail. We don't become Jesus when we become Christians, which means we have both blind spots, and even sin weaknesses. We don't always know God's word, and even when we do, we don't always perfectly follow it. We fail, we fall, we repent. And if we love you, we'll tell you to do the same.


Now, if you're arguing against God on an emotional basis (or at all), the chances are you're not a Christian. You might not believe there is a Hell, or even a God to send you there. This still does not give you the right to attribute hate to those who lovingly give you the Gospel you reject. Even if you, for whatever reason, feel hated, that is most likely your own fault. Obviously, that isn't the case if the Christian in question is explicitly voicing their (anti-Christian) hatred for you. It isn't Christian to hate, but it is human to hate, and so sadly, there are many people who claim to be Christians who do hate people. Ironically, the Bible calls such people murderers (1 John 3:15) and says they don't know God (1 John 4:8).


But then you have people like me. I believe the cliche "hate the sin, love the sinner" (and yes, that is Biblical). I'm actually from one of the most likely groups to interpret disagreement as hate. Not that they typically accept me anymore, as they generally see me as a traitor, but when I first became a Christian, I didn't know the Bible very well, and so I was actually in the process of coming out as gay. Now, obviously, I don't hate gay people. That would be stupid. I disagree with them because of what I know.


But what if you want to claim I don't know it? Then show that I don't know it. You lose the imaginary hatred because it just doesn't make sense. I can't hate gay people because I can empathise with them. I know, both from talking to them, and from being where they are, how they feel. And so it would be nothing short of asinine for me to then hate them, just as it is asinine when your only response to my Christian beliefs is "oh, you're a homophobe".


One of the greatest ironies is that not even the gays are the "top dogs" in the hierarchy of oppression. If you speak out against Islam, a religion in which gay people can still be punished with death, you're supposedly a "racist". It's "intolerant" for you to say people who tie gay people to chairs and push them off buildings must repent or be condemned.


The reason for this blatant hypocrisy, as far as I can see, is that Satan cannot drive out Satan. The devil loves to see men at war, but he is, himself, at war with God. Therefore, the Christian faith will always draw the most ire from the impenitent. The devil's people may shed all the innocent blood they desire, and if you rebuke them for that bloodshed, you're a bigot. But you can be sure one bad Christian, or even one bad person claiming the name of Christ, will permanently tar the reputation of the entire Church.


But it also gives us an opportunity, because as much as Christianity teaches about Hell, other religions do, too. As a Christian, I've often had to deal with being told I'm going to Hell. I have three tattoos. I occasionally drink alcohol. I listen to rock music. The KJV is not my sole, nor even main translation. Thus, many fringe-groups within the Christian faith have claimed I am going to Hell.


Likewise, I am very outspoken against Catholicism, a pseudo-Christian religion with mixed opinions on what, exactly, happens to a non-Catholic after death. Will I go to Heaven because my good works merit it? Or will I have to spend some time in the mythical realm of Purgatory first? Perhaps, I'll go to Hell, just for not being a Catholic, or especially for speaking out against Catholicism.


And of course, as I have already alluded to, I speak against Islam, a religion that teaches I have committed shirk, the unforgivable sin. I believe Jesus is God, and therefore, Allah would not forgive me even if I repented. In Islam, I am going to Hell, and there is literally nothing I can do about it.


Do I care about all these people's beliefs? So many people believe I am going to Hell, and yet I am able to calmly and reasonably respond to them, not on their emotions, but on the merits of their beliefs. To argue based on emotion is to tip your hand. You not only admit, or at least imply, that you cannot argue against the Christian faith, you just don't want it to be true, but you also show that you know, at least to some degree, that it probably is.


In the end, I do not hate those who do not yet believe the Gospel. Nor can I change it, however much I love them (not that any amount of love would make a wise person even want to change the Gospel). But I can, in love, give it to you.


As human beings, we are rebellious against God. This rebellion, called sin, is the reason for everything that is wrong in this world, up to and including death. The penalty for sin is death, and Hell is even referred to as "the second death". But God, in His love, provided a single escape route. Jesus became sin on our behalf, so that we may become the righteousness of God in Him. Whoever repents of their sin and believes He rose from the dead will be saved. Whoever does not, sadly, is as condemned to Hell as a man who jumps from a cliff to the rocks below is condemned to die.

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