Why do people think Christianity is about hate?

Question

I have been reading on here a good bit and constantly see people referring to Christianity as a hateful religion. It is not. I do not hate anyone. I do not desire to do harm to anyone. People think Christians hate gays. Some may but a true Christian following the Bible will not. I do not hate homosexual people. I do feel they are sinning and doing wrong but I do not hate them. I would never treat them badly or do wrong to them. If I did then any chance of showing them Christ or getting them saved would be lost.

I just don't understand why people on here seem to feel Christians are hateful. Can anyone please explain to me?

Answer 1

Very good question. I wish I knew. From what I've seen, it seems like many people generalize about Christians. A few Christians hate or judge, so we get lumped in with all of them. Some don't like Christianity in general, so they don't like Christians. Or else they use the parts of the bible (mainly the OT) where God punished sinners (the flood, Sodom & Gomorrah) and use that as their reason to claim God/Christianity is hateful. Unless it's just that they don't like what they don't understand.

Oh, I also notice some (Chukk, Dellow, smoothopr_2, Swift Wings) judge today’s Christians by what happened in history. Apparently we’re responsible for things that happened before we were even alive, too. Which just goes to show they don't understand Christianity either.

Answer 2

When you view Christianity most think of the crusades and/or quote old testament to back there claims of Christianity/Jewish being a hateful religion. First most of what they quote they do not understand and second they can not understand someone correcting them. They do not accept authority.

If you had a chance to watch on CNN God's Warriors, Though Christianity had it bad marks as well as Jewish religion, what disturbed me more was the hate Islamic seem to have. Average Christian does not bare arms or fight. Though Moslems on the other hand seem to try and bomb people and are taught this even at a young age.
When Christians in general talk about Spiritual warfare it is not with guns, but against satan and sin. This war is fought not with guns and swords(steel blade) but with th sword(God's word). Misconceptions about Christianity on this site and many other sites are the reason why people do not know the truth that our faith is very peaceful if we are truly Children of God.

Answer 3

What you explained to us is that you are not hateful. You're only one out of the 2.2 billion Christians out there.

I personally do not believe Christians in general are hateful, but I do believe that a great many of Christians are forceful when it comes to their beliefs. This has been interpreted as hate since some Christians who do not get their way with other people's beliefs tend to resent those people. An example of this would be the inquisition, the crusades, any war caused by Christians.

History tends to stick with mankind for a long time.

Answer 4

Thank you for asking this! I blush to say that I've used the terms "hateful" and "blasphemous" when referring to what I felt, at the time, were very hardline Christians insisting that I was going to hell, and that my relationship with The Higher Power was "all wrong"...

...which , of course, makes me just as intolerant and generalizing as the well-meaning folks I was debating with. Ah well ...here we all are. :)

Simply put : Anyone over-zealous in their 'witnessing' seems inured to the idea that they're basically waging what feels like an ATTACK. I find it incomprehensible that one's individual relationship with God could be deemed "wrong" by another! The very thought seems hurtful, hate-driven, and - ironically - 'un-Christian'.

Also, the Spanish Inquisition does'nt help much.

On the lighter side, I recently had a quite sweet, mild debate with a Lutheran woman who was certain that I would go to hell for my beliefs, but that I still seemed like a good person. I thought that was nice.

Good question! *Bless* SJ

Answer 5

It sort of is because it reflects upon non-Christians. See in the bible, don't know what section, but it says don't hang around sinners. Don't come in contact with them, but if you read on it says its alright to go up to a sinner, come in contact and tell them its alright god forgives your sin. It also says that if your friend is non-christian and you hang out with him your gonna go to hell. That and the 1 of the 10 commandments says that if you yell back at your mother and father you should be put to death. I mean come on how hateful is that? To me it seems that this was a religion just made up and everything in the bible is a load of crap. If you read it it makes you wonder if the person who wrote the thing was a power hungry maniac trying to make everyone follow what he believed or they go to hell. If there is a hell.

Answer 6

think approximately to be kidding. Christians prompted by Jewish hate? go searching, kiddo. you're labeling hate as a Jewish characteristic it is by some ability rubbing off on "reliable" Christians. it is amazingly narrow-minded, to no longer point out self-righteous, and fake. no one has the corner on hate, my chum. And Christianity may be a faith of love and Peace, yet its followers don't get the message. perchance you elect new instructors. Islam and Judaism are additionally religions of love and Peace, and so as that they have got not got a corner on hate. Hate manifests throughout the time of the middle of the guy, no longer the agency of religion. in case you want to locate hate, look no extra than your own self.

Answer 7

You are an exception to the rule. Everyone gets lumped together in these situations. If you have no hate, then no one is talking about you. I'm an ex-christian myself and I get hate from my old christian friends since I left the "fold". Unbelievable. I have to wonder was I like that when I was fundie. I hope not. I have no ill will toward any then or now.

Answer 8

Um, ever read history? Ever read a newspaper? Ever read your own bible? Religions in general, and Christinsanity in particular, are all about dividing people and making others into evil dehumanized things who can be slaughtered at will on some imaginary god's command.

As an active atheist, I've had Christians threaten my life, property, and family over words I spoke on TV or wrote. Gee, why would that make me thing the religion is about hatred? Never had any Jews, or Wiccans, or Scientologists do that - though I equally consider those religions hogwash.

Answer 9

Christianity is clearly about Love so why would anyone think it's about Hate?

This would be easier to explain if you were a Darwinist, but I'll try.

Love is the act of considering the self interest of another as if it were your own.
Love isn't really an emotion; it's a conduit for emotion

Love is what allows us to form couples, groups and nations. It allows us to act for the common good.

BUT…

Love is NOT the opposite of Hate or Violence. In fact, few things will drive a person to hate and violence faster that hurting someone they love. Are you with me?

All life competes for survival. The biological imperative is to collect resources, to reproduce and to protect yourself.
Hate evolved to focus destructive intent on anyone and anything that interferes with the imperative.
Love evolved to allow us to act as a collective in the service of the imperative.

So, while Love allows us to act collectively in a constructive nurturing manner, it also allows collective hatred.
War cannot exist without Love, because War is cooperative violence.

Anything that creates or enhances Love also enhances the capacity for Hate.
And Christianity is very good at enhancing Love.
Within the Society, Love lets you feel warmth, affection and camaraderie; it is only from the outside, when a united society moves against you, that you feel the hate.
So, in general, anyone excluded from Christian society may think it's about hate.

Now, add to this the eloquent idiocy of Karl Marx.

When Marx saw evil rich men oppressing society, in a stunning display of academic pin-headedness, he blamed the evil on Capitalism and Religion.
Now Capitalism just creates wealth, and Religion just unites and stabilizes society. But Marx, in his infinite wisdom, failed to notice that the evil men made rich from a free market, in a society of Christian morals, were suppressing the free market and no longer practicing Christian morals. To Marx, the REAL source of societal woe WAS Capitalism and Christianity.

So, today we are saddled with a bunch of intolerant liberal socialists who believe Capitalism and Christianity are roadblocks to, rather than sources of, happiness and prosperity.

They see you as hateful because you are a perpetuator of Christianity, which they view as a big-time source of societal evil.

Hopes this helps.
-Quill-

Answer 10

Well lets see here there are over 50 religions in the Christian faith alone that scream bloody mary that they believe in christ, but cant see eye to eye on doctrine, which bible is the most accurate of all bibles, and who has the right authority. Seriously, if there is one faith, one lord, and one baptism. then, there should be one way to worship, one knowledge, one way to perceive christ, and one official way to do baptism. Some christians do christening, others just go for a swim without invocation or any type of prayer, and others do not do full immersion. So, when Christians are generally approached with one question, we dont have different answers because we are different people, we have different answers because we are all on different pages--yet we ALL call ourselves christians. Then, we spend hours defending our personal beliefs because some hardcore judgmental misled christian has the misconception that it is his/her christian duty is to place judgment on people. However, if someone were to remotely attempt to place all Christians in one way of doing things...we'd probably have a lot of converted atheist.