Category Archives: hate

We Often Create God in Our Own Image: Angry God Part 2

Last time we talked about how thinking God to be angry, violent, and vindictive, based on Old Testament stories like the flood and the genocide of the Canaanites, can cause us to be angry, violent, and vindictive too in imitation … Continue reading

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Posted in fear, God, hate, Jesus, love your enemies | Tagged , , | 60 Comments

Jesus’ Final Act of Anti-Violence—Crucifixion

For the past several posts we examined passages in the gospels to determine whether Jesus is violent (see the links just below this article). The purpose of this survey was to answer both believers and unbelievers who claim that Jesus … Continue reading

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Posted in behavior, hate, Jesus, Kingdom of God, love, love your enemies | Tagged , , , , , | 43 Comments

What does it Mean that Jesus Brings, not Peace, but a Sword?

Does Jesus come to bring, not peace, but a sword? According to Matthew 10 this is exactly what he says: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, … Continue reading

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Posted in alienation, hate, Jesus, Kingdom of God | Tagged , , , , | 30 Comments

What is Sin but Pain and Alienation?

[Alert: graphic photo below] We all feel the effects of sin; but the character of sin is not what many believers think it is. People DO sin, but not in the way many believers suppose. Sin has dire consequences, but … Continue reading

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Posted in alienation, God, hate, Jesus, legalism, love, sin, The Father | Tagged | 31 Comments

Prayers for Bobby: a Movie Review

Based on a True Story from the Early 1980s Mary Griffith, a very religious, ‘Bible-believing’ mother (played by Sigourney Weaver) discovers that her 16-year-old son, Bobby, thinks he might be gay. Immediately, she begins to do everything she can to … Continue reading

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Posted in alienation, book or movie review, gays, hate, judgment | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Is Southern Pride and Identity Consistent with Enlightened Thinking?

Some of my readers who know my dedication to equality and reconciliation, and my opposition to the baggage that characterizes much of southern religion, might be a bit surprised by this post. I have been a strong civil rights advocate … Continue reading

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Posted in hate, love | Tagged , , , , | 30 Comments

Does Leviticus Say Gays are Detestable and Must be Killed?

As a child, I knew the Bible said, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” (Exodus chapter 22 – KJV). Yet we knew where some witches lived; it was less than a mile from our house. We were afraid … Continue reading

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Posted in gays, hate, judgment | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Homosexuality: The Questionable Case of Sodom

Sodom! The very name suggests the vilest evil and causes us to shudder. The story of Sodom is found in Genesis chapter 18 and is the most well-known biblical passage associated with homosexuality. The Story of Sodom Two messengers of … Continue reading

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Posted in gays, hate, Jesus, sin | Tagged , , , , | 28 Comments

A Response to the Death of Gay-hating Westboro Church Leader Fred Phelps

A few days ago, I read that Pastor Fred Phelps was on his deathbed. ‘Oh boy’, I thought, ‘I had better be thinking about what to say when people react to his death with cheers and celebration.’ Such a response … Continue reading

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Posted in behavior, gays, God, hate, love your enemies, The Father | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Hating Our Enemies

Years ago, I was a manager in one of the departments of my denomination’s General Offices. The management culture was extremely heavy-handed, though not all supervisors were that way. One day I got a new supervisor who seemed to deliberately … Continue reading

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Posted in behavior, hate, Jesus, legalism, love | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Responding to Believers Who Oppose Us

Jesus was not big on commandments. His opinion about rules and commandments were reduced to two. Matthew chapter 22 reports Jesus as saying: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all … Continue reading

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Posted in behavior, hate, love | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

Schadenfreude!

Usually I don’t use big words, but Schadenfreude says something no other word expresses. I have seen the word in my readings, and its meaning is easy to grasp from the contexts, but I never heard it pronounced until recently. You can … Continue reading

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Posted in hate, love | Tagged , , , , | 61 Comments