Zeal for Love, Not for Hate

I stumbled across an internet video where a man, saying that he was a devout Christian, claimed that it was legitimate for Christians to hate others. He insisted that the Bible never teaches that hatred is wrong, sinful, or forbidden and that we even have a duty to hate some people. He did not quote where the Scriptures command us to hate our fellow man. He did not cite proof texts in or out of context to support his claim, but he was absolutely certain that his claim was true. He likewise did not name the people that we are allowed to hate or that we ought to hate. The closest he came to justifying his belief was that God hates some people and we are thus permitted to hate them as well.

Yes, God says through Malachi the prophet “I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau” (Mal 1:3). St Paul quotes this passage in his letter to the Romans: “As it is written: ‘I loved Jacob but hated Esau’” (Rom 9:13). Aha! These are the smoking-gun verses the man in the video must be basing his belief that hate is licit, even obligatory for Christians. If so, we would surely hear St Paul, in his profound Christian zeal, “breathing murderous threats against” the enemies of Christ. Surely he dragged Jews and pagans out of their homes for imprisonment. Surely Paul would write something expressing the desire to “heap burning coals upon his head” regarding an enemy. Surely there would be examples of Paul’s Christian zeal, zeal leading to violence. There just is no such evidence. Zip.

We’d also have to ask why God, who “in these last days, spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word” (Heb 1:2-3) would have Jesus create and sustain people He hates. Does God keep people in existence so that He might hate them, that we might have people to hate? In like manner, why would Paul actually write “If possible, on your part, live at peace with all. Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ Rather, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.’ Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good” (Rom 12:18-21)? Paul is essentially saying ‘do not overcome hatred with hatred but conquer hatred with love.’

St John cannot be ignored either. He writes clearly that “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him” (1Jn 3:15) and “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1Jn 4:20). Thus, we cannot hate and expect to obtain eternal life. However, the man claiming that we are allowed to hate would likely say that those he hates are not his brothers. The parable of the Good Samaritan disproves this argument. The second greatest commandment – You shall love your neighbor as yourself – knows no exceptions.

But the Bible clearly says “I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau” and therefore God hates. This is a prime example where literalistic interpretation of the Bible fails. Yes, the Bible is to be taken literally, but also in context. We interpret poetry differently than old-fashioned news reporting. We also take idioms and expressions into consideration. Loving one while hating another is a Hebrew idiom that would have been understood to mean that one is preferred to another. Thus, God loved Jacob more that Esau. Esau became a nation and was very prosperous, but that was the limit of his blessings. Jacob was not as rich but he was the father of the twelve tribes, the Chosen People, that fulfilled God’s covenant with Abraham. God blessed them differently, Jacob more than Esau.

In any case, Jesus’ own words also cannot be ignored: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Mt 5:43-45).

That man’s claim about hating others clearly demonstrates the importance of knowing the Scriptures. How many people, including himself, has he led away from the Lord?

—Fr Booth