by Terry 32 Replies latest watchtower bible
It seems to me people don't need much of an excuse to hate, they can hate for just about any reason you can think of. As some have said above, religion can help organize the hate, as can skin color, political party, or just about anything else you can think of.
Why do we hate, what is it in our human nature that causes us to hate? That's what I really would like to know.
:Why do we hate, what is it in our human nature that causes us to hate? That's what I really would like to know.
Most often, it's simply a by-product of fear.
Welcome back Terry!
El blanko,
you said: It has alway puzzled me how God would judge harshly a man or woman who has a decent set of ethics, yet fails to grasp his divine nature and plan - thus being condemned to death.
Romans 2:13-15...(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things contained in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)
michelle
buy thats very left wing of you...it just goes to prove the left is trying to destroy religion......( RE first post).....ive said it before and ill stand bye it.......the left is out to destroy tatrational americia
Donald, you may be taking Michael Savage, too seriously.
Big Dog ask: "Why do we hate, what is it in our human nature that causes us to hate?"
Really sit with hate, investigate, and see for yourself.
Six, was right. Just under hate, is likely fear. But what do we have to fear? Silently keep watching the mind, and it can be seen that the mind continually weaves an identity of self, out of thoughts, ideas, beliefs and emotions. The mind is really good at this and extremely creative. It knows how to reinforce and support it's conceptual sense of self, or "me".
There are natural, healthy, instinctive fears, which the body uses for self preservation. The fear of a charging beast, the fear of a mother-in-law, etc. The mind uses fear to protect and preserve it's creation, it's egoic identity of self, as well. The very sense of hatred, on it's own, without any action, strongly supports a sense of "me" and "other". Hate, may be one of the best egoic building blocks in the minds bag of tricks.
Interestingly, if we really take the time to investigate into our sense of self and the workings of the mind, the charade is all there to see. Now, notice what is seeing. Does it hate, or fear? Or is all phenomena simply passing through It, while It, remains pristine and untouched? Does, what I truly am, hate? Or is hate just part of the infinite expression of life? Who/what, am I, really?
j
I think we hate others who are different than we are because we see it as questioning our choices about who we are--our self-identity. Others being different threatens to "invalidate" us. That's why we observe others for comparison--to see if we are "on the right track." If they reinforce who we are, or who we like to think we are, or who we want to be, we approve of them and tend to gravitate to them. If they don't, we dismiss them as being of lesser worth. So yes, it does come from fear--the fear that if our choices are invalidated, our being and worth is invalidated, and so we don't exist or deserve to exist.
There are different ways the mind can deal with this to survive, but the healthiest way is to be secure in one's identity and include in that an acknowledgement that there is always something new to learn--it's OK to grow and learn and change. That way, we aren't blinded to the value or worth of that which is outside of our choices.
Jesus addressed this in his teaching:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:43-48, NIV)
Jesus instructed his followers to be gracious to those who were different than them--to those who didn't reinforce their choices.
The kingdom of God doesn't grow by being forced on people.
anytime you place an idea or ideal above the one who holds it you have a cause for hatred
there are many ways to do this, some are called religious, other political, others simply idealogical, but slice it any way you wish
it boils down to seeing other humans as nothing more than containers and thus valueless if they contain the wrong things which enables others to justify murder.
if humans are seen as the valuable part and their ideas as transitory elements, then there is never a justification to murder one who only needs a software upgrade.
the notion of good and evil which stems from core human superstitions tends to label people with a stink they cannot wash off no matter what they do... a far better label might be mentally or physically ill.. .which alters the focus from hatred to pity, from destruction to seeking cures.
not all religions teach hatred. Buddhism for one, teaches that all sentient life [with certain exceptions in NJ] are valuable.
and agnostics do not generate hatred... you will never hear of an agnostic holy war
Hi Terry,Christianity really isn't supposed to be that way, but there'll always be people who misuse it. For instance, I don't consider the violent conflicts between Catholics and Protestant to have anything to do with Christianity--it's a political-cultural issue.
This troubles me.
Here is why.
Everything has its nature. It is what it is because of what it does. To say a dogbite has nothing to do with the animal being a dog is pointless. It is the nature of certain dogs to bite. The "dog"ness plays a part in some way. But, not all dogs are thereby impugned.
So too with religion. A man chooses a religion because of the nature of the way he thinks and feels and values. His subsequent actions assume those religious elements into the impact of his deeds.
Drop a bag on somebody's head and then try to tell him the contents of the bag had nothing to do with the crack in his skull!! You only want him to regard the 100% cotton fabric as innocent and have him ignore the bricks and anvil inside.
A Muslim arab pilots a plane that flies into a building. Hundreds die. His being Muslim has nothing to do with it? His thinking, as deplorable as it is, was colored in many ways by the Muslim ideaology he allowed in his head.
Catholics and Protestants monitor their own lives in many ways by the caveats of their religious persuasions. We must ask ourselves, "If the religion of choice has no impact on the actual attitudes and actions of the person espousing them---does religion even exist by any rational definition?"
To say "I am an X (religion) and all the good things I do are the result of my religion and all the bad things the result of where I've not applied that religion" is what you are after in your statement, isn't it?
The problem with the above is that we tend to view our actions (no matter how dark and profoundly destructive) as flowing from justification provided by that religion in some way. In effect, we pick and choose religion because it enables us to DO things we deeply desire to do.
It is the same with all of our choices. A man is the essence of things he loves. He chooses what he loves. He becomes what he is as a result of those choices and the choices reflect his nature.
Nobody escapes their own nature. Catholics and Protestants are what they are and do what they do in VARIANT forms like the dog who bites and the one who doesn't.
Terry
Terry,
by your examples, we should condem all christians by the way Jerry Fallwell behaves. Many would contend that the good pastor who sits on millions of dollars and preaches a weird message is not what the essence of Chritianity is. I go back to my original post. You see the results of religions that have long sense lost their bearings and have taken up all kinds of notions not taught by their founder. Islam is no different than Chritianity in that regard. The old wine skin stinks and is not fit for the "new wine".
carmel
Terry,
For some people, to say they are "Catholic" or "Protestant" or "Christian" is like saying they are Americans, or New Yorkers, etc. It's the social, cultural, or ethnic group they identify with, usually based on where they are from or how they were raised. For example, some people who are Jewish by heritage, and proud of it, don't care about the Scriptures and don't worship the God of Moses. They MIGHT keep certain traditions as part of their identity, but their lives are governed by the same values as an atheist.
