Hate the sin, not the sinner!!

edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
hay!
i have a question...
ok if you know people who practice immorality should you hate them for it, tease them, laugh at them and throw things at them??
my opinion fav quote is HATE THE SIN NOT THE SINNER!.
but i see so many people of our religion an culture doing just that teasing them mocking them an harresing them...but in my eyes they are STILL people how could you treat another human being so badly we were all created by the same creator!...i just dont know why they do that??????
-Mariam

Comments

  • Hi Mariam,

    I agree with you, Jesus never treated any sinner in that way. It comes down to making a weighted response. Some people need encouragment and some need a karate chop to the neck. Jesus used both techniques and he did point out many peoples flaws in a critical way like when He called Herod a fox and when He labled the pharisees as hypocrites and spoke at length about the wrongs they did. I think the problem is intention. Some people want to help sinners and others don't. There is a good story from the sayings of the desert fathers:

    There was a brother at a monastry who was accused of sexual immorality but his brothers didn't know that he was innocent and they started to accuse him and he kept denying the charges. The contention continued and they didn't know how to resolve it so they decided to go and see St. Anthony and St. Paphnotius was with them. When they arrived they told St. Anthony the story and they started to accuse the monk and he kept denying what the accusation. St. Paphnotius said there was a brother stuck to his knees in the mud and some brother came to help him and pushed him in it up to his neck and St. Anthony said this (Paphnotius) is a man fit to teach others.

    We may infer our sins on others when we mock them and we may insult them to make ourselves feel big but Jesus is not like that and always had sympathy for the sinner. Jesus did sometimes act harshly but only when the person needed it to come to their senses.

    I hope this helps a lil.... :-\

    God bless you,

    CS
  • yeah...its like my dad with me. wenever i do something wrong, or i have any bad habit that he doesn't like, all he would do is make fun of me, because he knows that yelling at me won't make me stop it. so he just tries to make fun of me and crack on me to try to make me feel embarassed of what i'm doing. most of the time it really doesn't make a difference to me cus hey, the person making fun of me is..my dad. lol. but i think thats SOMETIMES what goes on with other people. They mock somebody for a certain fault they have, while at the same time trying to get them to stop it by mocking them.
  • It’s silly to say you 'hate the sinner' because the only thing that is preventing us from doing the same sin as the 'sinner' is the Grace of God.

    This story never fails, when the topics such as these arise:

    - There was once a woman who believed that no sin was worse than that of stealing. She hated people who stole, she thought of them as low and moral-less and she refused to believe otherwise. This woman, when confessing to her Priest would recite all her sins, but remind him that the one sin she has never committed- and would never commit- was stealing.
    Anyway, weeks passed and the priest realised she had stopped attending church so he decided to pay her a visit. When he did she was so ashamed that she could not look him in the face. He asked her what was wrong and she told him that a few days after her last confession she was in a supermarket and she stole, and now she cannot control stop herself. Seeing that she had never been caught, the habit just grew. The woman broke down into tears and could not control her crying. The priest comforted her and told her that this was a sign from God and that she should not look down on those who commit sins. He also told her it taught her that the only thing that stops some people from sining is the grace of God.

    I don’t think its right to hate the sinner. You never know their circumstances and by hating someone you are making yourself ‘superior’ towards them. Who are we to put down a son or daughter of God, the King?

    just my opinion :-[
  • AMEN TO THAT....great points CS and Suzanne. By hating the sinner or acting "superior", in doing so we are being judgemental of the individual.

    "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with that judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Matthew 7:1-3
  • i have to somewat disagree guys, St.Paul said somewhere in one of his epsitles (forgive me, but all probably know that im not good with refrences) that u have to stay away from the sinner, because they could cause you to sin. if i find it ill post it.
    i believe that actions make the person. although we dont always sin intentionally, our weak points r our sins.
    but i also have to say not to judge teh person based on their sins
  • so then how are u disagreeing with us? lol
    i mean, yea we should alwayz stay away from the sin/sinner becasue of what influence they might have on us... i agree
    but what if this person has no one to turn to? yea, we say that they can go to the priest or to an older servant, etc... but how often does that REALLY happen?
    yea, hate the sin, but dont forget to love the sinner too... not to just not hate them
  • hey just because ur teasing them, that doesn't mean ur making fun of them. me and one of my best friends always tease each other all the time. i call him a stupid polock and he calls me a stupid egyptian and we're both cool. 8)
  • hay GUYS! :)
    thanks heaps for giving helpful points on the question.
    Coptic_Avenger and Paulh that kind of teasing is based on a love between you and whoever but the people i see teasing this gay guy is aweful!! and i feel as though if i say something agaisnt them they will believe i believe that what his doing is right which isnt true but still where is the compassion in the world today??
    if i do stick up for this guy not only will these people thick i'm all right with gays but also probably tell the whole coptic community...as the saying goes words spreads by telegram, telephone an tell a copt! lol :)
    i fear for my reputation but i also feel compassion??..any suggestions on what to do?? ???
    -Mariam 8)
  • [glow=red,2,300]ignore that reply i wasn logged on my name!! lol...im so silly![/glow]

    hay GUYS! :)
    thanks heaps for giving helpful points on the question.
    Coptic_Avenger and Paulh that kind of teasing is based on a lov between you and whoever but the i see teasing this gay guy is aweful!! and i feel as though if i say something agaisnt them they will believe i believe that what his doing is right which isnt true but still where is the compassion in the world today??
    if i do stick up for this guy not only will these thick i'm all right with gays but also probably tell the whole coptic community...as the saying goes words spreads by telegram, telephone an tell a copt! lol
    i fear for my reputation but i also feel compassion??..any suggestions on what to do?? ???
    -Mariam ;)
  • Hi Mariam,

    Don't worry about your reputation, we now have a more important reputation to protect that our own, thats Jesus's reputation who get insulted if we do things in His name the wrong way. :(

    There is a thread on same sex marriages where we talked about this. Basically don't worry about going out and forcing your views on them. If you live as a honest Christian and they see the virtues in you and the happiness in your way of life they'll naturally want to become like you. Homosexuals suffer from serious psychological problems and they need a lot of compassion.

    If you do have to confront one, one day and they angry at you try and be as sensative as possible. There is a psychological ethos in customer service "people who are like each other, like each other." For this reason if a person is panicing, we adopt their mindset when we comfort them. I know that sounds sill but think about times when your really really angry and you go to your dad or brother or somthing and they act all calm, does that calm you down or make you more mad? In my experience it makes people more mad!

    If they get angry, use the same tone to say something like, I know this sounds like a personal attack or a judgement but please hear me out... In this way if you persist you can calm them down very effectivly. Try it at home the next time someone is angry with you. :)

    God bless,

    CS
  • quick verse(s)...

    "but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. "
    Philippians 2:7-11

    we being Christ's heir to the kingdom should look at the world in the same way... we are here to serve His name.. not make a name for ourselves..
  • hey if u wanna defend the person and still keep ur rep then its gonna be hard, but here's something you can do: make believe i'm making fun of a gay guy ok. u come along and here me making fun of him so u come and say something about me, something stupid i do ect. and then say something about the gay guy and they might leave each other alone.
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