Hate the Sin and Love the Sinner?
“Christians can be guilty of making pithy statements of a theological nature that require a lot of explanation for the phrase to be accurate. If an explanation is not offered, we are sometimes demanding a lot of the reader to put all the pieces together.” - Ref21
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I really enjoyed this. I do think the author is a bit off when he says we can hate a wicked person while loving him (only) if we have personal dealings with him. I think it is better to use an old paradigm and say we hate the condition (state) of the person but love his soul. We certainly can love others in a sense and hate them in another, as does God.
"The Midrash Detective"
I found Charnock’s hair splitting interesting but ultimately unhelpful. If you’re going to say God “does not hate their persons, nor does he hate any natural or moral good in them” then later say His hatred sort of lands on them because that’s where their sinfulness is, you might as well say God hates the sin and loves the sinner.
Maybe I’m in an impatient mood, but it seems like distinctions without a difference.
I do appreciate the article, though, because the whole genre of “let’s challenge a popular theological cliche” is healthy and something we need more of. We might not end up debunking the cliche effectively, but at least we took a deeper, thoughtful look at it.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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