Is it ever GOOD to hate?

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Do you think it's right to hate "bad" people, such as pedophiles and corrupt leaders? Or is it never right to hate anybody?

hate, like war, is seldom good for anything.

it is good to hate certain behaviour

it is not good to hate people

Why do think it might be right, or useful, or 'good' to hate pedophiles and corrupt leaders?

It depends on the nature of the hatred. Everyone hates SOMETHING.

From a Christian perspective, even Jesus from time to time expressed anger and hatred, but those displays were specifically aimed at corruption of Israelite religious practices. The purging of the temple, for example, was carried out with heated rage. What had happened, over time, was that merchants came to congregate at the temple in order to sell animals to be used in sacrifice. According to Hebrew law, the priests of the temple were to benefit from temple sacrifice--basically that's how they got their food. Well, not ALL Jews are necessarily agrarian, so it would be impossible for some to bring their sacrifices from their own stock as was required. So having merchants at the temple selling animals suitable for sacrifice was just a convenience.

The problem was that the merchants were there to make a profit, and it's reasonable to assume that the prices set for certain kinds of animals were completely inappropriate. We might call it "highway robbery." That Jesus expressed rage and hatred when He is most known for preaching mercy, love, and kindness should not be surprising. Who was the rage and hatred directed against? That's the first question--the temple merchants. The other question is: Who stood to benefit from the temple purge? Those who sought to bring a genuine sacrifice from the heart and worship at the temple. The way in which Jesus expressed anger and hatred was for the benefit of those who loved God.

So yes, there ARE times when hatred and rage are appropriate. We hate things that do not please us. We hate injustice. We hate those who attack our possessions and our families. Love is the IDEAL, and for the Christian we are called to love all people. Looking at it realistically, it's something we try to do even though it can't be perfectly done at all times. But whether hate is evil or sinful depends on the appropriateness to the situation and the condition of the heart. We should never hate someone, for example, on the basis of skin color or ethnicity. We SHOULDN'T hate based on sexual orientation. However, if the actions of those we disagree with infringes upon the freedoms of others, then it is perfectly acceptable to hate those behaviors and act accordingly--that is, to protect others from harmful consequences. In such cases, hate is a perfectly reasonable, acceptable, and appropriate response.

Think of it another way: Can you imagine loving with all your heart someone who is known, proven, and willfully and openly to being an unrepentant pedophile rapist axe murderer? If you can, you've got a more disciplined heart and mind than I do. Either that, or you're crazy.

If it weren't for the war that America fought against Germany, I would have ended up as a cake of soap in some Nazi's bathtub.

ruveyn

"United in this determination and with unshakable faith in the cause for which we fight, we will, with God's help, go forward to our greatest victory."

- General Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1944


It is not so much to hate the enemy you fight against, as was unfortunately portrayed in the movie "Inglourious Basterds", but rather that you hate the cause for which your enemy is fighting for or otherwise allowing to continue. There were Germans who hated the Final Solution of Hitler and weren't brainwashed by him, but they also couldn't do much more than hide individual Jewish people individually. If you were to have hated all Germans due to the actions of most, then you'd hate both the guilty and the innocent simultaneously. If you hate the actions of the ones which commit heinous acts, then you will more easily be able to judge accurately which they are and be more able to spare those who are innocent yet still punish those who are guilty.

I prefer to avoid hating things, but I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with hate, if that's what you want to do.

i said SELDOM, damn it.

Not really. Hate is too dismissive. It's the lazy way of dealing with things.

i guess hate could be create motivation for change. i would say it is certainly not the best motive but in many cases it is the strongest drive. It seems like we could do without it but i think it is quite natural to hate. Perhaps people learn to transform the initial hate into something equally as powerful and motivating???

At least three or four cakes unless the Nazis learned to make shampoo. That way you might have gotten into a Nazi's hair.

Actually, I hate having diarrhea. But then, some people have strange tastes.

I don't think it's always right to hate certain people but in some cases I won't hold it against people if they do. Or if they hate a person's actions. Although I think a lot of the time it's more anger or disgust than hate.

In cases where a friend is killed, grief turns into grievance. For example, consider the scene in Saving Private Ryan when the machine gunner killed the medic, Wade. The German gunner killed Wade in the line of duty, as they did with everyone they killed back then... but in the film, the sadness over the loss of their friend turned into rage. The men were talked out of killing the surrendered German soldier, but they were ready to kill him anyway because of the combined anguish and anger.

"Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that"

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Couldn't have said it better myself