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My heart is heavy and my Spirit is depressed by the belief that our God can hate or be jealous or any of the other complex negative human emotions born of our psychological weaknesses. This misunderstanding has produced a corruption of God's love for us all. I cannot believe how badly Christ's revelation has been misunderstood. God IS agape love. He loves us all and will not count our sins against us. This IS the central message of Christ's Gospel. Hate plays no role and is no part of God, period. Hate is entirely a human psychological weakness caused by our immature Spirit and our animal nature.
For clarity of communication . . . I will once again employ a simple narrative to convey the processes that are essentially driven by very complex neurological and physiological processes to produce the complex human emotions . . . like anger and eventually hate. This simplification encompasses (as do all of my broad analogies and narratives) the essential nature of the processes without any undue jargon and specialized knowledge required. The simplicity combined with my spiritual emphasis will also no doubt annoy our non-Christian brethren.
Hate is a human psychological weakness born of the combination of our immature Spirit (conscious awareness) and our animal nature. It is based in the emotion of anger. Our awareness of evil, injustice, cruelty,etc. (Good and Evil) is transferred to our animal nature and its response is automatic. Our animal nature senses hurt and seeks to assuage the hurt. Failure to do so can result in frustration, cumulative frustration and eventually anger. When we cannot rectify the hurt . . . the combination of our animal nature and immature embryo Spirit produces the emotion of hate for the cause of the hurt.
Without our conscious awareness (Spirit), there can be no anger . . . only frustration. Humans are the only animals we know about that have our unique awareness (Spirit). Therefore, humans are the only animals that can get angry. There will be many of you who have at one time or another seen an animal teased until it got angry. You might think that I am in error. However, the effect that you witnessed was that of physically-imposed cumulative frustration (technically: abreaction). (Tease a dog while holding its muzzle closed and you will be treated to the effects of this cumulative frustration in a very unpleasant fashion.) Cumulative frustration is the basis for human anger . . . but anger is the more complex response created by the involvement of our conscious awareness (Spirit).
Anger can result when someone hurts you, either physically or mentally, or both. The pituitary (Serpent's tongue) produces the hormones that result in the emotion of anger or even rage depending upon the circumstances. Signals to run, hit or kill are the ones most often produced by our animal nature in answer to hurt inflicted by an antagonist. This is usually referred to as the fight or flight response. The logical course of action for your body is to perform some behavior that will satisfy the drive signals and restore equilibrium to the body. This sequence of internal events would occur in any organism that was physically hurt by an antagonist, even the lower animals.
The controls in our cerebrum afford our Spirit many options. It can amplify and perfect the hit or kill response. It can simply allow it to occur without interference or it can decrease reroute or prevent it. The brain is a coordinated grouping and the circuits in the cerebrum are necessary to effect the response. However, the response need not be altered by conscious thought. The entire sequence can occur completely without thought, and frequently does. The irresistible impulse or temporary insanity so often pleaded in murder trials is the result of this combination. The cerebrum enters into the sequence only if you have the time or the inclination to think. Therein lies the important difference.
Anger is a possible, but not a necessary part of this sequence. Our special talent lies in being able to initiate this sequence and then to frustrate it by suppressing the natural physical response thereby producing cumulative frustration eventually leading to the emotion of anger. Anger begins with a feeling of hurt experienced by our Spirit, (e.g. an unkind word or injustice.) There is no need for a physical stimulus. If a physical stimulus is present the response will be intensified, (e.g. an unkind word and a slap in the face.) Our animal nature receives this hurt signal and responds with a signal to make some response in retaliation.
Our Spirit is in the middle. The signal to respond creates a need that must be satisfied, i.e. to do something. Our embryo Spirit unlike our animal nature does not really want to respond aggressively to the hurt. Atheists would attribute this attribute of our Spirit to the fact that we learn early in our development that a physical response is almost always a detrimental one . . . and in most cases merely adds fuel to an already volatile situation. Since I believe our Spirits emanate from God . . . I attribute the reluctance to God's nature. Regardless which view you prefer . . . there is a conflict.
Consequently, our animal nature is frustrated, we feel additional hurt from the added frustration, so we signal this hurt to our animal nature, and a reinforced signal to respond is sent. This self-amplifying process continues with our Spirit simultaneously preventing response and sending hurt signals to our animal nature until it exceeds some internal threshold. When it does our Spirit gives up, loses control, and our animal nature is allowed to react . . . usually very violently. It is this cumulative frustration of our animal nature that produces the angry response or outburst. When there is no opportunity for such outbursts . . . hate for the cause of the anger ensues.
In short . . . the primary reason anger occurs is that immature souls transmit hurt signals to our animal nature in the first place. The physiological conditions are unavoidable once that is done. By thinking or dwelling on an incident or unpleasant situation, we end up transmitting cumulatively frustrating hurt signals to our animal nature leading us closer and closer to a physiologically-induced answer in response. Diverting our thoughts from the situation and controlling our interpretation of its significance is the fastest way to short-circuit this destructive inner conflict and eliminate the angry responses. This is why we are told to try to "love God and each other" daily and repent when we don't. Dwelling on the negative only frustrates us and increases the negative emotions within us. That is physically damaging . . . not just psychologically damaging.
The phenomenon of the complex emotions is the reason our immature embryo Spirit has so much difficulty controlling certain behavior. If we do not have an external source of motivation for control of our animal nature . . . we will continue to seek comfort, solace, and pleasure from our body. This indiscriminate transmission of signals to our animal nature can only produce animal answers and temporary animal satisfaction of our needs. Besides, our embryo Spirit will never mature if we don't invest our life energy in Spirit-strengthening responses (Self-control).
I am not optimistic that this description of the genesis of hat will alter the fundamentalists' beliefs that our God hates and is vengeful, etc. . . . but writing it has allowed me to vent some of my cumulative frustration dealing with the lack of understanding of our complex human emotions and why they cannot be attributed to God. I also am frustrated by the inexplicable corruption of the Gospel and Christ's instructions to love . . . into believing all the right details ABOUT God and Jesus . . . as if our Almighty God would NOT know what we believe. Nothing we say or proclaim about our beliefs will fool anyone but other humans nor will it have any relevance to what we truly believe in our innermost hearts and minds. I hesitate to point this truth out to you, brothers and sisters . . . but God already knows our innermost hearts and minds!
At the risk of sounding simple, says who? I see nothing but your 'own understanding'. (Which we are not supposed to rely on.)
The Scripture contradicts this entire post.
Psalm 5:5, "The boastful shall not stand before Thine eyes; Thou dost hate all who do iniquity,"
Psalm 11:5, "The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates."
Lev. 20:23, "Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I shall drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them."
Prov. 6:16-19, "There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers."
Hosea 9:15, "All their evil is at Gilgal; indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels."
Yes, God is love, but God is also perfectly Just and cannot accept sin, which runs contrary to His very nature.
At the risk of sounding simple, says who? I see nothing but your 'own understanding'. (Which we are not supposed to rely on.)
Modern psychology is not just my understanding . . . it is my knowledge as a Professor of it for over 30 years. I am familiar with the Bible interpretations made by our ancestors who saw God in OUR image and in the image of their rulers. The idea that their human emotions were NOT shared by God was inconceivable to them. To them . . . God was responsible for everything . . . including their triumphs and failures. There was no such thing as an accident. If something happened to you . . . God did it to you. You can continue to retain the ancient ignorance of our ancestors as your basis for understanding God . . . as the Christian leaders before you have . . . but it is unwise.
We were made in HIS image. Hate is NOT necessarily an evil thing. I hate slavery, I hate pedophilia, I hate many things. What I cannot hate is people because God RESERVES that right unto Himself as a righteous hatred, because only He sees the heart of man which is wicked beyond description. If we were made in the human image that the OP desires, we would only have love in us from the beginning, but we don't. Just the opposite.
Modern psychology is not just my understanding . . . it is my knowledge as a Professor of it for over 30 years. I am familiar with the Bible interpretations made by our ancestors who saw God in OUR image and in the image of their rulers. The idea that their human emotions were NOT shared by God was inconceivable to them. To them . . . God was responsible for everything . . . including their triumphs and failures. There was no such thing as an accident. If something happened to you . . . God did it to you. You can continue to retain the ancient ignorance of our ancestors as your basis for understanding God . . . as the Christian leaders before you have . . . but it is unwise.
...and to joyfully repeat the same thing I repeat in all of your threads, Jesus believed it, and so do I. Check mate. Nothing more to say. You call it 'ancient ignorance' and I call it the same thing Christ did, 'the Scripture'.
God is holy and if He did not hate sin, He could not be holy. He would be a contradiction and God cannot be a contradiction.
God does not hate is true , as God is Just and Justice will prevail ..... See there is No divisions in heaven and God prefers to see all man with out any divisions , even all the multi denomination of Christianity , God only see Jesus in His people and all people of Jesus are on the same sovereignty ............ See people who go to heaven cannot have any divisions , as the Word of God says `` the accuser of the brethren is caste down ``.............. See get to heaven and be caste down as the justice of God ,.......... See God does not hate as He will lose a tear in His judgment of His creation because there is No division in heaven as the presence of the Lord will be the motivating force where people will love to love in heaven
We were made in HIS image. Hate is NOT necessarily an evil thing. I hate slavery, I hate pedophilia, I hate many things. What I cannot hate is people because God RESERVES that right unto Himself as a righteous hatred, because only He sees the heart of man which is wicked beyond description. If we were made in the human image that the OP desires, we would only have love in us from the beginning, but we don't. Just the opposite.
Did you read it, Warden . . . or just make a knee-jerk response to the title? The part of us that is from God is our Spirit because God is Spirit. The part of us that is our adversary is our animal nature because it has no conception of Good or Evil and is simply focused on survival, pleasure and avoidance of pain . . . like most animals. Our Spirit arrives in us at birth as a seed and it grows or not based on our development of control over our animal nature. Unfortunately it starts out handicapped because it is just a seed and must germinate and develop over time . . . while our animal nature is fully developed and functioning.
This is why it is important to teach our children properly and not expect them to be mature adults when they are not. They will develop increasing control and be happier and healthier later in life when their Spirits are more mature. Teaching them that they are just born as worms or filthy rags or whatever simply because their animal nature is stronger and indiscriminate is just plain cruel and evil. It is our animal nature that does not know Good from Evil and will always make indiscriminate choices. Our Spirit which CAN know Good from Evil must discriminate for it and exercise self-control over the baser urges. That does not make us worms or filthy rags . . . it makes us immature.
...and to joyfully repeat the same thing I repeat in all of your threads, Jesus believed it, and so do I. Check mate. Nothing more to say. You call it 'ancient ignorance' and I call it the same thing Christ did, 'the Scripture'.
God is holy and if He did not hate sin, He could not be holy. He would be a contradiction and God cannot be a contradiction.
Your definition of love is incorrect.
Peace. Whenever I encounter a brother or sister who is focused entirely on a blind acceptance of the Bible . . . I usually withdraw from further discussion. It is impossible to reason with unreasoning credulity. God is NOT human and does NOT have our human weaknesses, period. Our ancestors did NOT know that. They believed God had the same weaknesses we possess. But God is Spirit and that Spirit IS 100% agape love. Flourish in Christ's love.
Did you read it, Warden . . . or just make a knee-jerk response to the title? The part of us that is from God is our Spirit because God is Spirit. The part of us that is our adversary is our animal nature because it has no conception of Good or Evil and is simply focused on survival, pleasure and avoidance of pain . . . like most animals. Our Spirit arrives in us at birth as a seed and it grows or not based on our development of control over our animal nature. Unfortunately it starts out handicapped because it is just a seed and must germinate and develop over time . . . while our animal nature is fully developed and functioning.
This is why it is important to teach our children properly and not expect them to be mature adults when they are not. They will develop increasing control and be happier and healthier later in life when their Spirits are more mature. Teaching them that they are just born as worms or filthy rags or whatever simply because their animal nature is stronger and indiscriminate is just plain cruel and evil. It is our animal nature that does not know Good from Evil and will always make indiscriminate choices. Our Spirit which CAN know Good from Evil must discriminate for it and exercise self-control over the baser urges. That does not make us worms or filthy rags . . . it makes us immature.
Have you read and do you believe in any part of this passage?
Quote:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26-27
If so, one must first understand the attributes of God--ALL of them---before one can assess what assets are spirit and what are "animal."
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