Love or Hate

@MadCornishBiker Said

Matthew 5:43 “YOU heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 However, I say to YOU: Continue to love YOUR enemies and to pray for those persecuting YOU; 45 that YOU may prove yourselves sons of YOUR Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous. 46 For if YOU love those loving YOU, what reward do YOU have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? 47 And if YOU greet YOUR brothers only, what extraordinary thing are YOU doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? 48 YOU must accordingly be perfect, as YOUR heavenly Father is perfect".

The above is one of the marks of a true Christian. How can killing people for whatever reason or on however's orders comply with that?

It can't, simple as that.

Also, what more evidence do you need of a loving God than his giving even the unrighteous, and to continue to provide them with what they need, so they can learn the error of their ways?

@restoreone Said

Just say thank you
when your bible is by your bedside not in the bonfire.
Just say Thank You
when you can say Matthew 5:43 out loud.
Just say Thank You
When speak of your religion with out fear.
Did God alone defeat those who would take this away from you?

@Electric_Banana Said

I personally don't think there is a true intentional evil but a lot of suffering is caused because of people looking to find and mistaking it in others.

Misconceptions due to warped perceptions of only partially understood concepts that are not commonly disclosed for good reason.

This is all the base catalyst for people losing care and concern for others which leads to greed and empires that feed on the weak.

@Eaglebauer Said

I think it would be more appropriate, rather than denying the actual existence of evil, to rechristen it as that mechanism of outlashing upon others. It's realistic, I believe, to label as evil that tendency to project our own self hatred or introspective pain upon other individuals who have done nothing to deserve being inflicted with it.

When you call something a "base catalyst for people losing care and concern for others, leading to greed and empires that feed on the weak"...beyond being somewhat macrocosmic...to me that describes something that is evil in and of itself.

How we deal with that evil and our treatment of it is another issue, but I think to deny that evil actually exists is at best myopic and at worst dangerously careless.

@TenaciousDave Said



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@Eaglebauer Said

@TenaciousDave Said

@MadCornishBiker Said

Matthew 5:43 “YOU heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 However, I say to YOU: Continue to love YOUR enemies and to pray for those persecuting YOU; 45 that YOU may prove yourselves sons of YOUR Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous. 46 For if YOU love those loving YOU, what reward do YOU have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? 47 And if YOU greet YOUR brothers only, what extraordinary thing are YOU doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? 48 YOU must accordingly be perfect, as YOUR heavenly Father is perfect".

The above is one of the marks of a true Christian. How can killing people for whatever reason or on however's orders comply with that?

It can't, simple as that.

Also, what more evidence do you need of a loving God than his giving even the unrighteous, and to continue to provide them with what they need, so they can learn the error of their ways?

@Glenn Said

 5 And when [e]Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6 and saying, “[f]Lord, my [g]servant is [h]lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion said, “Lord I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just [j]say the word, and my [k]servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith [l]with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and [m]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; [n]it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the [o]servant was healed that very [p]moment.

Notice Jesus did not say to the centurion "I will heal your servant when your enlistment is up."

@MadCornishBiker Said

Notice also that he didn't say "I will heal you". The servant was in the service of his master, not of the government.

On top of that Christ didn't tell him to "sin no more" as there was no prospect of that happening.

You need to take notice of what the early Christians did or didn't do, not some non Christian, non Jewish soldier.

Of course you are desperate for a way you out though aren't you. The point being that you are blood guilty for all the lives you have taken "at enmity", and will remain so until you repent from doing so and for serving Satan through his governmental authorities. God is allowing them to stand for the time being, until His kingdom is extended to cover the whole earth, and those serving those governments will fall with them. It is something well worth doing, believe me.

@MadCornishBiker Said

Of course you are desperate for a way you out though aren't you. The point being that you are blood guilty for all the lives you have taken "at enmity", and will remain so until you repent from doing so and for serving Satan through his governmental authorities. God is allowing them to stand for the time being, until His kingdom is extended to cover the whole earth, and those serving those governments will fall with them. It is something well worth doing, believe me.

@Glenn Said

I recognize my guilt and that is why I will enter ... If you refuse to forgive me ... you will not enter. So it is you with the problem not me.

@MadCornishBiker Said

It is not my place to either forgive you or not to do so. Only Jesus has the ability to forgive such guilt, and he will only do so if you turn away from serving Satan's governments like all true Christians do. If you continue carrying on in the sin you say you recognise then you run the risk of being found to have committed sin against the Holy Spirit, sin for which there is no forgiveness left, as scripture assures us.

Being aware of your guilt is not enough, if you are aware of it but do not turn back from it, the above Sin against Holy Spirit applies, forgiveness only applies to those truly repentant and willing to demonstrate that forgiveness.

So I have no problem, especially as I have warned you of the consequences of not turning around. Had I not done so I would be blood guilty for keeping quiet.

I have shown my willingness to forgive you for any sin by warning you, if I didn't care I would happily let you go down to destruction, and would most likely do so myself for that lack of love for fellow man.