A Lesson on Hatred

Frank "Centurion" Turk gives us a lesson entitled All About Hate. As soon as I read this I was heavily reminded of the cussin' incident and the more recent backlash from my "Moments of Theological Stupidity" post. Frank's post points towards a growing trend that increasingly dismays me; namely the ridiculous idea that one can't disagree with someone, especially a brother or sister in Christ, unless one hates the person being disagreed with. That is such postmodern nonsense. That's taking tolerance too far. Now, before certain pomos in the blogosphere start trumpeting the mythical "Buddy Jesus" that loves and gets along with everyone, let me quote Frank on this: did you actually read the words in red? You'll find Jesus was quite brusque in His disagreement with people. You'll find quite a few of those whom He sank His teeth into hated on Him because, quite frankly, the truth hurts. But in the end, did Jesus hate them? Certainly not! Didn't the Man break down and weep over Jerusalem? Didn't He lament over Bethsaida and Chorazin? Did He not bemoan that the Son of Perdition should never have been born? That doesn't sound like someone who actually hated people He disagreed with or whom He tried to correct. Likewise, there is no one out there who can actually say I have animus for those whom I think are wrong or whom I have sought to correct. Even those to whom I could rightly be said to have taken a power sander to their planks. I'd prefer the use of a chain saw, but I'd rather have an intact ship with a few rough boards. Not to say that I'm smooth as pudding, either. But let's all take a step back and remember that we're adults before we go off on tangents, calling people haters. A lesson all of us, including those who've been accused of being haters, should sit back and reflect on.