Hatred
Summary
Scripture distinguishes between righteous hatred of evil, which God commands, and sinful hatred of people, which is condemned as equivalent to murder and incompatible with claiming to love God.
☩Righteous Hatred
Scripture commends hatred when directed at sin and evil. Hatred, in the sense of abhorrence of what is wicked, is not sinful but a moral duty—God's people must hate wickedness as God himself hates it. The psalmist declares, "I hate every false way" and "Do not I hate them that hate thee, O Lord?" Hating what God hates—sin, falsehood, injustice—is part of fearing the Lord. Theologians distinguish this loathing of evil qualities (odium abominationis) from personal hostility, noting that reprobation of what is evil is not sinful but right and necessary.
☩Sinful Hatred
Hatred in the sense of deep-seated ill-feeling toward another person is condemned as one of the evil results of sinful human nature—it is the opposite of love. Hostility directed at a person (odium inimicitiae), as distinct from abhorrence of evil, is always sinful and may be grievously so. The law commanded, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart." Proverbs warns that hatred stirs up strife, while love covers offenses. Christ intensified this by commanding love for enemies—believers must love even those who hate them.
☩Hatred and Spiritual Darkness
John's epistles present love as the sole evidence that a person "is in the light," and hatred as proof of darkness. "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now." Christ's new commandment of love sets the standard for the Christian community, and the absence of love—expressed through hatred—exposes a fundamental spiritual failure. Most starkly, "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Hatred is listed among the works of the flesh that exclude one from God's kingdom.
Related Verses42 mentions
References
- 1.Don Fleming, "Hatred," in Bridgeway Bible Dictionary (Bridgeway Publications, 1990).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Hatred," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 3.Charles G. Herbermann et al. (ed.), "Hatred," in The Catholic Encyclopedia (Robert Appleton Company, 1907–1912).