Philosophers corner: the nature of God

[Shempster]

This was shown to me tonight and its so cool.

Love for Enemies Matt 5
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Look at the context. He says we are to LOVE those who are our opponents or enemies.
Then he says that God blesses both the righteous AND the wicked.
After that, Jesus says are to be perfect as the Father is perfect.

Interesting. It appears that He is saying we must love our enemies because He loves the wicked. He proves it by letting the sun and the rain be a blessing on them. He is showing His nature and character to them and we MUST do the same thing if we love Him and keep His commandments.

 

[timewerx]

Jesus also told us to leave town if that town is persecuting us... St John told not to welcome anyone with different teaching...

Jesus told us to be loving but not stupid, but wise as serpent...

Jesus defended Himself from harm and at times, inflicted harm on His enemies.

Loving your enemies doesn't mean tolerating their evil ways but opposing their evil ways to show them it's wrong! And showing them it's wrong is how you love them! YOu love them with the Truth, NOT with tolerance!

A lot of Christians don't have any idea what kind of person Jesus is!

 

[Shempster]

Jesus also told us to leave town if that town is persecuting us... St John told not to welcome anyone with different teaching...

Jesus told us to be loving but not stupid, but wise as serpent...

Jesus defended Himself from harm and at times, inflicted harm on His enemies.

Loving your enemies doesn't mean tolerating their evil ways but opposing their evil ways to show them it's wrong! And showing them it's wrong is how you love them! YOu love them with the Truth, NOT with tolerance!

A lot of Christians don't have any idea what kind of person Jesus is!

With all due respect, I used to say the same thing. Verbatim, just like they taught me. I don't know, I guess I just see it differently. Because in the end, it spills over into a belief that we need to kill our enemies before they kill us-type mentality. I remember it well during the gulf wars. All the buzz was that we needed to either kill or convert them, like Phil Robertson said not too long ago.
This attitude is often cited by atheists as a primary reason they reject Christianity.

I guess he instituted a double standard. OK let's suppose he did inflict harm on his enemies, regardless, he told us NOT to do that. Perhaps that approach contains the wisdom instead?

 

[timewerx]

I guess he instituted a double standard. OK let's suppose he did inflict harm on his enemies, regardless, he told us NOT to do that. Perhaps that approach contains the wisdom instead?

If you wish to look deeper into the issue, you'll have to consider the authors of the "Synoptic Gospels" (Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke). They all had significant Pauline influence and Paul supposedly had to "become like" the people he's trying to win. In other words, adapt to the people's culture and beliefs.

Paul being a former Pharisee of the House of Hillel, Paul might have used Hillel teachings to try to win the Jews and the Pharisees (as a way of adapting to the culture of Jews and Pharisees, to win them).

The House of Hillel Pharisee is prominently known for converting Gentiles and quite well known for its teachings about love, generosity towards the poor, and non-violence. Something that Paul, taught and practiced a lot. Sounds good right???

I think most Christians would think of Pharisee as evil but ironically, we actually believe in many things they did, particularly from the House of Hillel Pharisee.

However, Jesus told us to beware against the Yeast of the Pharisees. And when Jesus accused the Pharisees of making converts, "twice the devil" they were, who do you think was Jesus referring to?? The House of Hillel Pharisee

All the buzz was that we needed to either kill or convert them, like Phil Robertson said not too long ago.

I do not agree with that view either because I have Muslim friends and I love them.

However, my Muslim friends are good, they made sacrifices for me and regarded me as a brother even if we're not of the same religion.

 

[AfterThought]

Love your enemies sounds good on paper but it's very hard to do maybe that's why Jesus taught it because it was not easy to accept but is a good message and it makes sense and I try to follow it