Jesus said, "Love thy enemies." Why do Christians hate their enemies, & don't even TRY to love them.

Question

That was supposed to be the greatest of his teachings. It seems hard for christians to even tolerate anyone who disagrees with them.

Answer 1

Some Christians just don't get is I suppose. There is a saying that Christians are biggest cause of atheism in the world. Sad though.

Answer 2

Well, first of all sweety, You are making a judgment that you really shouldn't make. Jesus also said by what measure you judge you shall be judged by.
You may know someone who is a christian who does not love their enemies, but i wouldn't say "christians" hate their enemies. I can only speak for myself, and I am a christian and their are some things about people that i do not like, maybe they have hurt me or something but i don't hate them. I pray for them that God will show them the areas in their life where they hurt people and help them to change.
On the other hand if i get hurt by a christian then that means I am being led by my emotions and the bible says "the just shall live by faith."
Now, some christians may be babies, so to speak, in the Lord. Maybe they have not learned how to set theire emotions aside and realize that it is really the devil that works through people to hurt them or cause them to be an enemy.
Christians must grow up just like children grow into adults. We cannot expect them to be perfect from the day that they get saved. They have to be taught. Christians grow according to the amount of time they study the bible and pray.
The bible says, "if you see your brother overtaken in a fault, restore him in a spirit of meekness." If you know a christian that doesn't love their enemies, if you are a christian, then pray for them to get love in their heart for their enemy.
If you are not a christian, then let me encourage you to get in church, read your bible, and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins. Really that's what being a christian is .
Christians are still human beings. We won't be perfect until we get to heaven. However, we are supposed to strive everyday to live our life just as Jesus did. He went about doing good to everyone and undoing the works of the devil. Christians need prayer also. So please, don't judge them. Pray for them, ask Jesus to help them be a better christian.
Sincerely,
Cricket

Answer 3

There are a number of ways to answer this queston. I could bash Christians for not living up to this directive. I could turn it around and bash anti-Christians for making it so hard for Christians to love them. I could go into a word study and show that what the average person perceives as love is not what the Bible is referring to in this case. I could explain that people simply don't feel loved because for a Christian to love people, they must point out sin. But, the bottom line is that many of the vocal Christians fail to show love to non-Christians.

You do not have the scripture quite right. The greatest of teachings is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, body, and mind. And, the next greatest teaching is to love your neighbor as yourself. I don't say this to thow stones, only to correct a misconception.

Let's look at the various ways to answer this question. We, Christians, tend to loose sight of the fact that when people reject us, they are not truely rejecting us. They are rejecting our God. Jesus stated that we should not be surprised when the world rejects us. The world rejected (hated) Him first. But, we take it personally when we are attacked for our God. I'd ask that you recognize that we are not perfect. (We need to recognize this also.) We feel pain, physical and emotional, just like the atheists and evolutionist and any other group you can think of. Does that make our hateful responses right? NO!

Concerning the anti-Christians (and there are many at YAHOO! ANSWERS), have you ever tried loving someone who demonstrates only contempt for you? It is not easy! Does that make our hateful responses right? NO!

The word which was translated "love" is a form of the Greek word "agape". This word does not refer to a quantity of love, but a quality. This is a selfless love which thinks only of what is best for the one loved. It is not a feeling. It is a choice. A real-world example of this type of love can be seen in the life of a doctor. A child is brought to him with a broken arm. The arm must be set or it will not heal properly. The doctor knows that it will be very painful, but chooses to set the bone anyway. Why? Because he knows it is best for the child. Christians who point out sin in the lives of non-Christians and anti-Christians, hopefully do so out of love for the person. The individuals might feel hated or persecuted by us, but (hopefully) it is done for the right reason. I hope that the problem is that Christians don't know how to confront people about their true need, Jesus, in a way that causes them to feel loved. Is our ignorance or inability a good excuse? NO!

Should we quit trying to show people their need? If we did, we would not be fulfilling that second greatest command to "love your neighbor as yourself". The Bible teaches that without Jesus, a person is condemned to hell because of his sin (John 3:18, Romans 6:23). The Bible teaches further, that all have sinned (Romans 3:23). There is no escaping this eternal torment in a Lake of Fire (hell) without Him. That being the case, love demands that we try to show the non-Christian and the anti-Christian his need for Jesus. Does a Christian's rude and uncaring demenor serve this purpose? No. But, can you understand why we are driven?

Answer 4

Really, I've never even heard of that before! You're totally right, some people claim to be "Good Christians", when they don't even follow what you say is the most important teaching. That's really sad if you ask me. Love their enemies? They don't even love their allies for Christ's sake! (no pun intended)

Answer 5

Thats a pretty generalized statement. If your making that statment from what you hear in the papers or see on tv, its the viewpoint of liberals, who are for the most part not Christians. There are many examples in the Old Testement where God himself destroyed the enemies of the Isrealites.

Answer 6

For starters, There is two types of "Christians" - Christendom and Christians. Christendom is the mulltitude of "Christian" religeous denominations teaching falsehoods and lies" - True Christianity is the only one true way. For when Jesus came to the earth He taught one way of worship that was acceptable to God. Therefore there can only be one true religion all others are false religion. Christendom think they worship the true God, (They dont even know the Name of the Allmighty) , when in reality they indirectly worship SATAN. - These people display their god's behaviour - they hate their enemies.

Only the one true Christian religion love their enemies, and they truly love their neighbours, 'cause they follow Jesus's words and actions to the letter. For only that way of worship is acceptable to the Creator.

So if you come across people that behave different to what they preach they are obviously part of false religion, part of Christendom!

Answer 7

Christians are just confused humans. We all hate, and we all love. We can't love EVERYONE, because we don't KNOW everyone, nor can we hate everyone, because you just don't know them. There will always be those certain people that really make your world spin wild or spit mad. It is most gratifying to your natural ways and health, also it is naturally human to hate, so an enemy is healthy to have. Besides, Christians can't handle the truth behind their protective walls of lala land and untrue promises.

Answer 8

I like your answer Suspendor. I'm a Christian because I have Christ\God in my heart and don't subscribe to anyone's definition and I don't hate. However, I do dislike some people; I hate the act of evil. Enemy is evil and God takes care of that for me.

Answer 9

yes u r absolutely correct.
actually the thing is present day Christians r not following the real/old testament these days .
they have forgot there duties and the firm believe that Jesus has to come back for the sins of human,what they use to believe earlier.
anyways wish them luck

Answer 10

Finally someone has put it simply. Yes yes, a thousand times yes. Why leave it at that even? why even make the enemies? I guess Jesus was trying to take them on baby steps first.. :)