Is God capable of hating?

[RidgeSprinter]

Genesis 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Judges 2:18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

2 Samuel 24:16) And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite

1 Chronicles 21:15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Jeremiah 26:19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

It is all there in black in white in the Holy Writ.

 

[englands123]

David writes, “You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you ” (Psalm 5:4, ESV, emphasis added). By contrast, those who take refuge in God will “be glad” and “ever sing for joy” (verse 11). In fact, both Psalm 5 and Psalm 11 draw a stark contrast between the righteous (those who take refuge in God) and the wicked (those who rebel against God). The righteous and the wicked make different choices and have different destinies—one will see the ultimate expression of God’s love, and the other will know the ultimate expression of God’s hatred.

We cannot love with a perfect love, nor can we hate with a perfect hatred. But God can both love and hate perfectly, because He is God. God can hate without sinful intent. He can hate the sinner in a perfectly holy way and still lovingly forgive the sinner at the moment of repentance and faith (Malachi 1:3; Revelation 2:6; 2 Peter 3:9).

In His love for all, God has sent His Son to be the Savior. The wicked, who are still unforgiven, God hates “for their many sins, for they have rebelled” (Psalm 5:10). But—and this is important to understand—God desires that the wicked repent of their sin and find refuge in Christ. At the moment of saving faith, the wicked sinner is removed from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of love (see Colossians 1:13). All enmity is dissolved, all sin is removed, and all things are made new (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Hope this helps and yes God can hate because his hate comes from purity unlike anything else.

 

[fhansen]

How can this be explained? Does God in fact hate some people? It does not say God hates what they do but rather God hates them .

Personally I think it’s explained by the fact that its one verse out of over 30,000. And this is one very important reason why the Church is so important in her role of teaching on the nature and will of God.

 

[fhansen]

Dolphin:

So you are saying God is so perfect that He can’t even be in the presence of sin? Thus only those without sin can enter Heaven (be perfect has your heavenly Father is perfect). But then, how would it make sense that God is everywhere all the time as everywhere but Heaven has sin, so isn’t God therefore in the presence of sin?

It’s on our end. We can’t be in perfect communion with him if we have sin.

Yes-and we probably don’t yet even fully care about that communion to the extent that we’re still capable of being distracted by lesser, created things. The pure of heart will see God, because they can see God, even as He must enable the vision itself. And that calls for a love so strong that it excludes sin by its nature.

 

[De_Maria]

So you are saying God is so perfect that He can’t even be in the presence of sin?

No. God is immutable and transcendant. He is not affected in the least, by the presence of sin.

Thus only those without sin can enter Heaven (be perfect has your heavenly Father is perfect).

Like begets like. God is our Father. If we are living in the grace of our Father, we will not sin.

But then, how would it make sense that God is everywhere all the time as everywhere but Heaven has sin, so isn’t God therefore in the presence of sin?

We have to understand the nature of Catechesis. Catechisms are made for the average Joe. They are dumbed down.

But you are delving into deeper matters. So, heaven is not a place. It is union with God. Hell is not a place, it is the condition of living in opposition to God.

If we die in the condition of union with God, we will be God’s children for eternity.

If we die in the condition of opposition with God, we will remain God’s children for eternity.

Eternity is not a length of time. Eternity is the everpresent, now.

There are some things that our human minds are to small to wrap around.

 

[phil19034]

I always had the impression that God does not hate anyone, not even the worst sinners. God is rather, disappointed and saddened and calls us to greater virtue through mercy and forgiveness found in Confession. Even the souls in hell, I would argue from my understanding, they chose to reject God and thus sent themselves there and so therefore, God does not hate them.

But this verse from Psalms is very clear, it shows that God actively hates violent people.

“The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.”
- Psalm 11:5

How can this be explained? Does God in fact hate some people? It does not say God hates what they do but rather God hates them.

No. God doesn’t hate anything in His creation. However, God does hate sin.

“Hate the sin, Love the sinner”

 

[AlbMagno]

That sounds rather lutheran, we believe that Christ transforms us, not that he hides us from the Father’s wrath.

 

[MrZoom]

According to Catholic apologist Dave Armstrong, when the Bible attributes human emotions such as hate to God, it is using Anthropopathism. He writes:

Anthropopathism is a fancy word for the attribution of non-physical human emotions and passions to God. The related term, anthropomorphism , is the attribution of physical human properties (or animal properties such as wings) to God. Most Christians — of any stripe — recognize the metaphorical nature of the many anthropomorphisms in Scripture since they agree that God the Father is a spirit. But there is some debate about anthropopathism.

The traditional Christian view (Catholic, Orthodox, classical Protestant) holds that God is immutable, impassible (without human passion or emotion), so that it would be impossible for Him to “repent” or “change His mind.” This is also inconsistent with omniscience.

The full article (long read) is here:

Anthropopathism And Anthropomorphism: Biblical Data | Dave Armstrong

 

[Thom18]

God is love, and “hate” as we use the word today, is incompatible with love. I think the usage of “hate” in the passage you posted would be better phrased as “oppose”. For example, God opposes the proud, but bestows grace on the humble" (James 4:6).

 

[Dolphin]

God is perfection and all holiness. If God is capable of hating, does that mean hate has a place in perfection and holiness? Is this called righteous anger?