from a logical point of view that is completely impossible since by loving "your enemy" he cant be called your enemy, since an enemy is by definition someone you dont really love (you will be his enemy but not the other way round)...so how come an infallible god asks anyone to do something that is not possible?
2007-09-06 14:19:08 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
spirit god doesnt say AN enemy but THY enemy...
2007-09-06 14:23:20 · update #1
so ?? someone throws a stone to my head and i love the person but hate the throwing of the stone???
2007-09-06 14:30:47 · update #2
yes kr but we are their enemies...but god said THY enemy...you cannot have an enemy if you love him...god should have said "love those who think you are his enemy"
2007-09-06 14:32:18 · update #3
So now you're against love also?
But at least your question admits that God is a God of love!
2007-09-07 13:14:21 · answer #1 · answered by demandfreespeech 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
An enemy is simply someone that doesn't love you. It's completely possible for us to love those that don't love us. (teenage girls do it all the time on Y!A) Indeed, you can have enemies that you don't even know about (before 9/11 how many people even heard of Bin Laden?)
Above "add that "he" tells us to forgive, but "he" seeks eternal revenge." - forgiveness is only demanded if there is repentance (and in all cases, God will forgive the repentant).
2007-09-06 21:23:15 · answer #2 · answered by wigginsray 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well it's pretty simple if you look at it like this. There are people who hate us and want to kill us, so that would make them our enemy. Or people even on R&S who hate us because we are Christians. But as Christians we don't hate them back. In Matthew 5 below, notice verse 46:
Love for Enemies
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
He's saying if you love only those who love you, even our enemies love those that they get along with & who love them, so that isn't very difficult.
And you really shouldn't twist the bible into your flawed opinion to make it sound like God isn't perfect, because He is. That only shows your infallability.
2007-09-06 21:30:23 · answer #3 · answered by kaz716 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think that someone can dislike me and wish for bad things to happen to me without me having the same intentions toward them. Many times a first impression can be wrong and a potential enemy can be turned into a friend, if we can give kindness to that person. When we rise above the hatred of others, that is when we are acting in a Godly manner! Going against our carnal instinct and acting with love is what will cause miracles to happen in peoples lives...and our own. Try it sometime...you might be amazed with the results!!
2007-09-06 21:26:49 · answer #4 · answered by Native Spirit 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You wrote: "so ?? someone throws a stone to my head and i love the person but hate the throwing of the stone???"
Perhaps you should read up on the details of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the "Saint of Auschwitz". Yes - he was able to still love those who were responsible for his death. It is possible. Now, whether I could do it is another story.
BTW - your definition of enemy is not one I could agree with - you slant the definition towards the answer you want.
2007-09-07 01:33:41 · answer #5 · answered by SigGirl 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You got your answer. God wanted us to look at others in a logical way and see that we are not each others enemy. If we do that, we would resolve our problems without going to war, hurting each other, or hurting ourselves with hate.
If you think if is impossible to love your enemy, how can war stop? How can hate stop? How different races live together? All you have is hate and vengeance.
2007-09-06 21:27:39 · answer #6 · answered by John A 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No it isn't absurd. There are two Greek words in the New Testament for love. Agapao means to give of yourself with no thought of anything in return, it has nothing to do with the 'feelings', it's an action.
The other word is phileo, which means a give and take relationship as in marriages and friendships (for example: Philedelphia is the city of 'brotherly love', phileo-love; adelphos-brother)
The thing is, the Lord never commanded phileo love. He always used the word agapao. Except of course when he was dealing with Peter after the resurrection. Twice Jesus asked Peter 'do you love (agapao) me?' In response Peter said 'I love (phileo) you. Peter didn't understand yet that agapao was the higher form of love. Then Jesus bent down to his level and accepted the inferior love by saying, 'Do you love (phileo) me?
You don't have to well up good feelings about somebody you don't like...just don't do them harm, and if they come asking for help, give it to them.
Our society puts too much emphasis on feeling-love...they've made feeling-love their God, and that brings trouble because feeling-love changes like the wind, but agapao-love doesn't change with moodswings or the stock market. Agapao is sometimes translated 'Charity' in the Bible. Check the Greek when reading and you'll know which 'love' is being spoken about.
2007-09-06 22:11:18 · answer #7 · answered by soterion 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In truth, you have no enemies. You may not like what a person or tribe does, but it is not the man that is the enemy, but his misplaced trust in other gods which has bound him to evil. So, love thy enemy actually is a command to heal them.
2007-09-06 22:09:29 · answer #8 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is where you're wrong. An enemy is "a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent." Someone can hate you without you hating them. So what Jesus was saying is "Love those who hate you!"
2007-09-06 21:22:31 · answer #9 · answered by Y!A P0int5 Wh0r3 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes , some people absolutely will not let you love them. I AGREE !!! But that is not to say that you shouldn't treat them as though you love them. That is the trick. But you must consider also that sometimes tough love is what is called for. For it is written that if a man will not chastise his child then he doesn't really love them. Should it be any different for the way we treat one another?
2007-09-06 21:28:57 · answer #10 · answered by swindled 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋