According to these passages, it seems as if God does not love everyone

[villaneweva]

Hi, I was discussing religion online with a calvinist today and he gave me these verses which seem to say that God does NOT love everyone. Can you reconcile them according to our belief that God is all-loving?

Psalm 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity (see also Matthew 7:21-23).

Proverbs 6:16-19 These six (things is in italics) doth the Lord hate . . . a false witness that speaks lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Romans 9:11-13 For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but* Esau have I hated*** (see also Malachi 1:1-3)

*Psalm 11:5 . . . but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

*I do believe that God loves everyone, but how am I suppossed to answer this calvinist’s scriptural passages which seem to say that God DOES hate certain peoples?

Thank you,
Jeff Villanueva

 

[TOME]

First, given that your friend is a Calvinist who adhears to the theology of predestination as taught by Calvin, I would ask does it really matter what a person does given the fact that they are already predestined for heaven or hell (just consider John MacArthur’s teaching on this). However, if your friend is able to move on from the point of predestination, I think you should point out that all the things listed are man activities which are against our nature as God intended when He created us (which should naturally lead to a discussion on Free Will). When we choose to go against the Nature God has given us and disobey the laws He has set in place that allow us to live according to God’s plan not ours, then the logical consequence has to be bad things are going to happen to us. Also, as we learn from the Revelation of God through the OT, God may chastize us but in the end He always shows mercy to those who seek forgiveness - God’s punishments are alway to correct never destroy. And if your friend bring up Hell, remind him that, despite his belief in predestination, as a Catholic, we believe Hell is the state of our total rejection of God’s Love, not an act of a vengeful diety.

 

[Verbum]

Hi Villa,

God is love. God creates all men and keeps them in existence. This very act is an act of love. Hate is a negative, the absence of love. Since God has perfect love for us, he cannot hate anyone.

These passages speak to God’s holiness and how sin offends Him. They are a human way of speaking, which must be interpreted in view of the divine nature.

Verbum

 

[MVH]

As Verbum stated previously, I think these versus are better understood as God hating the sin of these people, not the people themselves (love the sinner, hate the sin). Also, I think these passages address people who broke one or more of the 10 commandments. We know that breaking one of the 10 commandments is a mortal sin, which is a rejection of God’s love and grace. Those who reject God are seen as dead in God’s eyes. However, with Christ’s death and resurrection, we have effective means to reestablish our communion with God via the sacrament of reconcilliation.