The Highway.com

Hey there. I've been a masochist lately, putting myself up against the fanaticals... just a glutton for punishment, here. lol Been called the usual: "new age witch" and "of Satan" of course because I preach of a loving God. But, anyway, so many defend their hostility and insults by saying that God hates - they really look at the OT and take it literally saying God definitely hates - that God hated Esau with a perfect hate and all these different verses talking about God hating. And then I'm going by all these verses in the NT about how you walk in darkness if you hate your brother, etc. And I say, But Jesus revealed the true nature of God - and who knew God better than anybody else?

Jesus talked about having the fruits of the spirit which are peaceable and loving... so wouldn't a perfect God have these fruits? "Oh, but God still hates and this and that..." So how do we combat the OT god? You know, they take it all literally and then throw out what Jesus said about treating others. They tell me I'm calling God a liar by saying he doesn't hate... They can say what they want about me, I don't care, but they're in for a huge rude awakening - you reap what you sow - and I guess I feel bad for them... I want them to EVOLVE already. lol

I'd also like to let you know that I've totally dropped the Christian label not only because I can't be associated with modern day Christianity, but because I see God and Jesus so differently. I am just about Spirit and have no label when people ask.

So any insight you can shed on this "god hates" thing... would be wonderful because I feel that the God Source is pure goodness, unconditional love and a creative intelligence that we can't begin to fathom but that we are all a part of... And so hate cannot be a part of the Source. I can't talk like that to them because it's "new age" and "of Satan" as I said before... lol

Thanks for your time, Mark - appreciate it. It's always good to see you and/or Nasty in the chat.

Take care... Alexa

 Does God Hate?

Dear Alexa,

In one sense they are right . . . the God of the Old Testament was a ruthless, vengeful, angry, tribal deity bent on coercing loyalty through fear. But, then again, man wrote the words, and as you read it in its entirety, a clear pattern emerges, revealing a given writer‘s general displeasure for those complacent at the time, who felt somehow entitled to God’s favor. We see a classic example the beginning of Isaiah, the writer reflecting upon the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, the destruction of the first temple, a seeming end to the Jewish nation. He begins by slamming all the "good" servants of the Lord:

Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, "Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. "An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master's manger, {But} Israel does not know, My people do not understand."

Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.

Where will you be stricken again, {As} you continue in {your} rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, {Only} bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.

Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields--strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers. The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.

“Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon {festivals} and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing {them.} So when you spread out your hands {in prayer,} I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

We see a similar statement in Jeremiah:

"At that time," declares the LORD, "they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground. And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the places to which I have driven them," declares the LORD of hosts. You shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD, "Do {men} fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not repent? Why then has this people, Jerusalem, Turned away in continual apostasy? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return. I have listened and heard, They have spoken what is not right; No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turned to his course, Like a horse charging into the battle. Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their migration; But My people do not know The ordinance of the LORD.

This is typical fare in the Old Testament. . . "God" gets angry and exacts His revenge, or, more accurately, the writer criticizes the establishment and then connects its misfortunes on God‘s equal displeasure (much like Pat Robertson saying our sin caused 9/11). Yet what Fundamentalism tends to overlook: what exactly is the target of "God‘s wrath?” The Old Testament writers are no different than Jesus, who (remember) was also quite vicious to the establishment of his day:

"The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say {things} and do not do {them.} They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with {so much as} a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels {of their garments.} They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call {anyone} on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, {that is,} Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, {that} is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.' You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, {that} is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.' You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears {both} by the altar and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple, swears {both} by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears {both} by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

These were the voices that called for change, attacked those who bandied God about in self righteousness and arrogance. They chided all, who expected status alone to carry them, much like the elder son Esau with his birthright. Each voice typically said: "You took it all for granted, and you got what you deserved. God no longer listens to you because of your vanity, nor endorses your pathetic twisted attempts at piety. You need to get your own act together, or you will be sorry." These were messages of warning meant to elicit introspection . . . that any of us can use God as a weapon to hurt others, and this is NOT what God is about. As we read the verses, we should see how they apply to our own behavior, take a step back and say: "Wait! This is NOT how it should be! I am better than this! God expects better from me. If I don't watch myself, MY "sacrifices" will fall on deaf ears too."

There will always be people who seek excuses to hate. If we were to somehow convince them this is not what God is about, they would abandon God in favor of another who would give them the license they crave. This is life, and thankfully most in life are not this way. Typically, when I encounter someone like this I realize that nothing I can say will change him or her. The words will fall on a single set of deaf ears, but those silently watching and seeking direction will hear, see, and eventually understand. These are the ones that seek to "evolve," and they will slowly see and shy away from the negative influences that always find a home in religion. Remember that at one time most of the ones now deemed little more than sideshow attractions to most in the rooms were once their leaders, voices nobody would dare speak against out of fear. "Ye shall know them by their fruits," and their ugliness becomes exposed:

Do not go out hastily to argue {your case;} Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor humiliates you? Argue your case with your neighbor, And do not reveal the secret of another, or he who hears {it} will reproach you, And the evil report about you will not pass away.

I hope this helps.