tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post726674941737215558..comments2023-05-13T12:42:00.360+01:00Comments on PamBG's Blog: Directing hatred at sin is self-defeatingPamBGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11324370506889227234noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20471270.post-55077541748979683862011-10-30T18:10:41.805+00:002011-10-30T18:10:41.805+00:00Pam, this post and the one before it are examples ...Pam, this post and the one before it are examples of why I keep coming back to your blog: because you try to work out your ideas very carefully, paying great attention to the words you use and what those words mean.<br /><br />It seems to me that this particular issue (about the possible meanings of the word "hate" in reference to God) stems from something very basic in the Bible's descriptions of God: that God is passionate. Those of us who consider ourselves intellectuals are always in danger of making God into a dispassionate onlooker, but the biblical narrative jars us again and again by attributing strong emotions to God (including words like "hate").<br /><br />I agree with your strategy of focusing on the positive (love rather than hate). Christ seems to offer the supreme precedent here, as suggested in that word I used a moment ago: passion. In the Passion, Christ took the world's hate (and some would say, even God's hate of sin) and transformed it into an act of love... THE act of love for all time. For those of us who strive to be his disciples, that's the right focus, it seems to me.Ron Johnsonhttp://rjmythicadventures2.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com