A God of Hate

[Matthias]

I live just outside of the city that bills itself as “The Bourbon Capital of the World”.

There are more bourbon distilleries located in this county than anywhere else in Kentucky, and the in world. Even as I write this, more bourbon distilleries are under construction, and still more are being planned.

I like the smell of the mash, which is frequently in the air. I will on rare occasions drink bourbon but I’m not fond of the taste. (And the infamous black mold caused by the production of bourbon is a constant and unsightly problem for all who live in the area.)

One of the things that stands out in my memory from my time in Malawi is hiking through tea plantations to reach isolated villages and the singing of the women as they welcomed me into their villages. I like tea, and now, whenever I drink it, it leaves me with a good feeling.

I wonder if part of the allure of coffee is childhood memories.

And what about the allure of God?

 

[St. SteVen]

One of the things that stands out in my memory from my time in Malawi is hiking through tea plantations to reach isolated villages and the singing of the women as they welcomed me into their villages. I like tea, and now, whenever I drink it, it leaves me with a good feeling.

Wow. That's quite a memory.
I'm ambidextrous. I like both tea and coffee. - LOL

 

[Taken]

There are many passages in the Bible that explicitly say that Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is merciful and loving. Here’s an example:



But that’s far from the whole story. The Book of Joshua describes the conquest of the lands promised to the Israelites. Chapter 12 lists 31 kingdoms that were conquered under the leadership of Joshua. But those kingdoms weren’t just conquered. Every one of the kings of those kingdoms was killed. And not only that, but every one of the cities and towns over which those kings ruled was destroyed. And not only that, but all of the men, women, and children who lived in those cities and towns were killed:



God himself actively participated in this slaughter:



Furthermore, God ordered this slaughter:



Exactly why did God plan to slaughter all of those people? The answer is provided elsewhere in Deuteronomy:



So God didn’t want the Israelites to intermarry with the people of that region. But if God were actually merciful and loving, was there no other way to prevent the Israelites from intermarrying the indigenous people of the promised lands, or was slaughter the only possible option?

An omniscient God would have known that this problem would arise, and he could have planned for it at the time when he created the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the galaxies, and the earth itself. An omnipotent God could have created a force field around the entire region to prevent anyone else from entering. Then, when the Israelites arrived, he could have disabled the force field to let the Israelites enter a region that would have been fertile, lush, and unpopulated.

Or alternatively an omnipotent God could have left the promised lands at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea. Then when the Israelites arrived he could have lifted up the promised lands from the sea floor and the Israelites could have entered a region that would have been pristine, new, and uninhabited.

Or a truly omnipotent God could have lifted up all of the 31 kingdoms to carry them out of the way. If God had done that the inhabitants of that region would have been immensely grateful-- and he would thereby have gotten thousands of new followers as a result. Instead the only new followers he got were Rahab of Jericho and the other members of her whorehouse.

Slaughtering people simply for their beliefs is genocide. Yahweh certainly had plenty of time and opportunity to choose another path.

Why didn’t Yahweh choose any of the options listed above? There is only one possible conclusion: Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is a God of genocide, not of love and mercy.

Disagree with your conclusion.

God IS Love, WHO created and made (for Gods Pleasure) Natural mankind with a Natural “temporary” LIFE called (Blood).

God Provided Natural mankind His TRUTH and WAY and mans FREEWILL to CHOOSE agree, follow, accept or reject Gods TRUTH and WAY.

The prominence of Gods TRUTH is: ALL LIFE (BLOOD) of Natural men SHALL DIE, God requires it, None are immune.

Men WHO choose (while alive in their Natural BLOOD Life) agree, accept, Gods Offering of a New Everlasting (SPIRITUAL) LIFE, SHALL in the future BE Raised up in an Ever Living Spiritual Body, and reside forever WITH and IN the Visible Presence of God, VOID of tribulations, chaos, wars, disease, sorrow, suffering, evil, wickedness and death.

BTW…”HATE” is not the opposite of LOVE.
“HATE” is a strong “dislike”.
God LOVES all of His Creations. It would be naive to believe God is “pleased” with all of His creations behaviors, choices, actions, deeds. He isn’t! Not much different than human parents loving their own offspring yet hating their offsprings behaviors, choices, actions, deeds. The LOVE remains constant.

Glory to God,
Taken

 

[thelord's_pearl]

Disagree with your conclusion.

God IS Love, WHO created and made (for Gods Pleasure) Natural mankind with a Natural “temporary” LIFE called (Blood).

God Provided Natural mankind His TRUTH and WAY and mans FREEWILL to CHOOSE agree, follow, accept or reject Gods TRUTH and WAY.

The prominence of Gods TRUTH is: ALL LIFE (BLOOD) of Natural men SHALL DIE, God requires it, None are immune.

Men WHO choose (while alive in their Natural BLOOD Life) agree, accept, Gods Offering of a New Everlasting (SPIRITUAL) LIFE, SHALL in the future BE Raised up in an Ever Living Spiritual Body, and reside forever WITH and IN the Visible Presence of God, VOID of tribulations, chaos, wars, disease, sorrow, suffering, evil, wickedness and death.

BTW…”HATE” is not the opposite of LOVE.
“HATE” is a strong “dislike”.
God LOVES all of His Creations. It would be naive to believe God is “pleased” with all of His creations behaviors, choices, actions, deeds. He isn’t! Not much different than human parents loving their own offspring yet hating their offsprings behaviors, choices, actions, deeds. The LOVE remains constant.

Glory to God,
Taken

God LOVES righteousness and HATES sin and He created freewill

 

[BeyondET]

There are many passages in the Bible that explicitly say that Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is merciful and loving. Here’s an example:



But that’s far from the whole story. The Book of Joshua describes the conquest of the lands promised to the Israelites. Chapter 12 lists 31 kingdoms that were conquered under the leadership of Joshua. But those kingdoms weren’t just conquered. Every one of the kings of those kingdoms was killed. And not only that, but every one of the cities and towns over which those kings ruled was destroyed. And not only that, but all of the men, women, and children who lived in those cities and towns were killed:



God himself actively participated in this slaughter:



Furthermore, God ordered this slaughter:



Exactly why did God plan to slaughter all of those people? The answer is provided elsewhere in Deuteronomy:



So God didn’t want the Israelites to intermarry with the people of that region. But if God were actually merciful and loving, was there no other way to prevent the Israelites from intermarrying the indigenous people of the promised lands, or was slaughter the only possible option?

An omniscient God would have known that this problem would arise, and he could have planned for it at the time when he created the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the galaxies, and the earth itself. An omnipotent God could have created a force field around the entire region to prevent anyone else from entering. Then, when the Israelites arrived, he could have disabled the force field to let the Israelites enter a region that would have been fertile, lush, and unpopulated.

Or alternatively an omnipotent God could have left the promised lands at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea. Then when the Israelites arrived he could have lifted up the promised lands from the sea floor and the Israelites could have entered a region that would have been pristine, new, and uninhabited.

Or a truly omnipotent God could have lifted up all of the 31 kingdoms to carry them out of the way. If God had done that the inhabitants of that region would have been immensely grateful-- and he would thereby have gotten thousands of new followers as a result. Instead the only new followers he got were Rahab of Jericho and the other members of her whorehouse.

Slaughtering people simply for their beliefs is genocide. Yahweh certainly had plenty of time and opportunity to choose another path. Why didn’t Yahweh choose any of the options listed above? There is only one possible conclusion: Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is a God of genocide, not of love and mercy.

The tribes practiced paganism, it wasn't a simple belief. Back in those days it included child sacrifices to their pagan gods. All kinds of sadistic practices.

Deuteronomy 20
17 For you must devote them to complete destruction—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you,

18 so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

 

[Freedm]

Let's not pretend that God does not hate people. God is capable of hate just as much as we are, and he doesn't just hate sin, he also hates the sinner.

Leviticus 20:23
Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them.

Leviticus 26:30
I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul shall abhor you.

Psalm 5:5
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.

Psalm 5:6
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

Deuteronomy 18:12
For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.

Deuteronomy 22:5
“A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

Psalm 11:5
The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.

Romans 9:13
Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Deuteronomy 9:28
Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.”

Jeremiah 12:8
“My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to hate her.

Psalm 106:40
Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people
And He abhorred His inheritance.

Hosea 9:15
All their evil is at Gilgal;
Indeed, I came to hate them there!
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of My house!
I will love them no more;
All their princes are rebels.

 

[St. SteVen]

Let's not pretend that God does not hate people. God is capable of hate just as much as we are, and he doesn't just hate sin, he also hates the sinner.

Does that mean you worship the God of the old covenant?
Scripture support was all OT.

 

[Freedm]

Does that mean you worship the God of the old covenant?
Scripture support was all OT.

God is the same tomorrow, yesterday and today. You know this.

 

[St. SteVen]

God is the same tomorrow, yesterday and today. You know this.

I don't think THAT is what it means.

Did the new covenant REPLACE the old covenant? (yes)
God is the same, but his dealings have changed.

And the "hate" references are probably questionable as well.
Not a good idea to take literary exaggeration as stated fact.
Should we pluck out an eye and remove a hand to keep from sinning?

 

[Freedm]

If God does not change, you have no basis for claiming that he is no longer capable of hate. It has nothing to do with the old or new covenants.

 

[St. SteVen]

If God does not change, you have no basis for claiming that he is no longer capable of hate. It has nothing to do with the old or new covenants.

Does this mean you agree with the OP? (opening post) Post #1 ???

 

[St. SteVen]

If God does not change, you have no basis for claiming that he is no longer capable of hate.

Would God have a problem with me if I modeled the godly quality of hatred?

 

[St. SteVen]

Would God have a problem with me if I modeled the godly quality of hatred?

I actually wrote and recorded a song about this.

https://soundcloud.com/user-426611522%2Fburn-your-village

 

[Matthias]

Would God have a problem with me if I modeled the godly quality of hatred?

I’ll wait for @Freedm to answer that question.

Before I would answer it, I would want to know: do you hate what God says he hates?

 

[St. SteVen]

do you hate what God says he hates?

What God says?
Are we talking about an English translation of the Bible?

Majority Text vs. Critical Text vs. Textus Receptus - Textual Criticism 101 - Berean Patriot

 

[St. SteVen]

do you hate what God says he hates?

Why would I hate the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites?

 

[Matthias]

What God says?
Are we talking about an English translation of the Bible?

Majority Text vs. Critical Text vs. Textus Receptus - Textual Criticism 101 - Berean Patriot

We’re talking about any language translation of the Bible.

 

[Matthias]

Why would I hate the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites?

God talks about hating what people do. Why wouldn’t you hate the evil that people - not just Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - do?

 

[Freedm]

Does this mean you agree with the OP? (opening post) Post #1 ???

I agree that the Bible tells us that God is capable of hate, and that God instructed the Israelites to kill all the people in the land. That is what the Bible tells us, so that is what I believe. Do you not believe it? Do you not believe the Bible?

 

[Freedm]

I’ll wait for @Freedm to answer that question.

Before I would answer it, I would want to know: do you hate what God says he hates?

I think we should hate what God hates, and love what God loves.