Why do we find it so easy to demonize and dehumanize the enemy?

Question

Jesus said love your enemy. I believe that message without the God part.

Based on expirience, there are going to be Christians who are going to ask, "Then are you saying Jesus is a liar because his message was that he is God". My response to that is just misquoted.

Answer 1

Why do we find it so easy to demonize and dehumanize the enemy? It's called "marginalization". You find a group that you label as undesirable and subhuman and therefore can justify saying anything about them and doing anything to them. As long as they're outside the sphere of acceptability, you needn't care about what they have, what they feel, what they want...

Answer 2

To answer your main question, it is because it is easier for a human to summon the courage, hate or whatever it takes for him/her to fight and struggle if your opponent is in your eyes an animal or monster which constitutes a danger to one's survival and/or to one's way of life, rather than a fellow human being.

To follow that message of loving your enemy, you must be willing to trust that enemy. Because of the aformentioned perception (real or imagined) that an enemy is a danger to your life and others, this becomes one of the most difficult messages to follow.

As for any "Christian" who will say that "Jesus is a liar..." believe me that is no Christian. Just another troll or some crazy loon who thinks he/she is a Christian.

Answer 3

Because 'real life' is complicated and messy. Jesus' philosophy was to conqure ignorance and violence by not resisting it at all and living a life of complete example. That is why, whether you beleive it or not, calling him the Son of God is a sign of complete respect, just like calling the Buddha the Enlightened Being. Any human who crosses the line between self and others, or gets rid of that line all together, should call themselves Children of God.

Answer 4

It’s funny how often the turning points in one’s life arrive at the commonest moments. They don’t come when life’s movie soundtrack is swelling to a crescendo, or at some dramatic moment leading into a word from our sponsors. Rather they usually arrive almost offhandedly, through the back door, on tiptoe. Sometimes they aren’t even noticed right away, but are only recognized weeks, months, even years later in moments of reflection.

Answer 5

The interests of the ... only over time and only after he or she has managed to dehumanize the enemy. . . Machiavelli

This makes hating your enemy and killing them a breeze. Straight out of "The Prince".

Answer 6

Probably the best thing I've ever heard a Christian ask.

It's easier to not see foreigners as humans when they have their own beliefs. We separate ourselves the way Bush did by calling us the "Good" and them the "Evil", but who are we to decide those lines. We're by no means Good and have no right to judge others, but we have to protect ourselves at the same time. We should never lose site that these are humans just like you or me and that it's sad and consequential that we have to go to the extremes to protect our interests.

Answer 7

One finds it easy because then there is 'us' and there is 'them'. To separate and distinguish between the two goes along with 'good' and 'evil'. If you aren't in our group you are not like us.. we perceive ourselves as good so all others must be evil. The dehumanization justifies the thought and makes it easier to do.

Answer 8

It's hard not to dehumanize them when they don't act like humans--not even posessing human intellect half the time, attacking like dogs and never letting go, with vapid, mindless babble, painstakingly typed bible verses and cut and pasted webpage links--oh wait a minute, you meant christians dehumanizing their enemies--ooops I'm sorry, never mind

Answer 9

sometimes it is very difficult to love ones enemy. this is because of mans inhumanity to man. in warfare the soldier is taught to not spare the enemy because he is not human. with a mindset such as this think how easy killing another human would be. think about how most are taught not to have empathy with Lucifer. are we supposed to love Him as well as GOD? gets sort of confusing if one only reads this little bit doesn't it ?

Answer 10

That's right.

To the haters who are trying to pass themselves off as Christians:

27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

So I have to ask, who do YOU follow? Certainly not Jesus!