Preachers who Hate

[Riddle_me_this]

That is a beautiful way of looking at it.
Thank-You!

Yes, I like this scripture at Matt 5:43-48

43*“YOU heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44However, I say to YOU: Continue to love YOUR enemies and to pray for those persecuting YOU; 45that YOU may prove yourselves sons of YOUR Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous. 46For if YOU love those loving YOU, what reward do YOU have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? 47And if YOU greet YOUR brothers only, what extraordinary thing are YOU doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? 48*YOU must accordingly be perfect, as YOUR heavenly Father is perfect.

and Luke 6: 2-30

“But I say to YOU who are listening, Continue to love YOUR enemies, to do good to those hating YOU, 28to bless those cursing YOU, to pray for those who are insulting YOU. 29To him that strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also; and from him that takes away your outer garment, do not withhold even the undergarment. 30*Give to everyone asking you, and from the one taking your things away do not ask [them] back.

 

[CompSciGuy]

Ok so I may ruffle some feathers with this post, but just know that I don’t mean to.

One of the things that I loved a lot about the Catholic Church was the degree of reverence and respect they give to authority, particularly church authority. At least among the Catholics I know, they tend to hold the bishops and priests in high regard, and pray before making a complaint/request, or talking charitably to the priest about something that they find wrong with the liturgy, preaching, etc. and then accepting his authority and consideration instead of holding a grudge and rallying support against him, or speaking ill of him around others. This is not the case for my experience growing up evangelical and experiencing the Evangelical scene in college. Among many evangelical Christians that I knew (and still know) in my community there has always seemed to be this constant battle between pastors. When friends talk about churches, they always bring up “well pastor so and so says this and he’s teaching such and such an error and he’s so out of whack.” There is so much negativity between churches and pastors and it’s almost as if such negativity and criticism is encouraged. I’ve had many friends who pretty much thrived from getting into theological arguments with people, criticism of peoples’ preaching, etc. So much of the criticism is borne from personal opinion and feelings. And among some pastors, there seemed to be this idea that it is a good thing to always take a tough approach on your congregation, always calling them out and shouting at them, as if this approach will “wake them up” and get them moving in the right direction, even when such an approach isn’t really necessary. I don’t understand why there is so much hostility or why the same degree of respect, charity and obedience that exists in the Catholic Church does not seem to exist in the Evangelical community. Maybe it does in some communities, but not the ones that I went to in college.

 

[Dave_Noonan]

Church Militant’s thread over on Apologetics on an anti-Catholic evangelist named Mike Gendron got me to think about the subject of preachers whose entire ministries are based on ‘what they hate’ or what they are ‘against’. It doesn’t have to be anti-Catholic. They can be anti-other denominations they disagree with, anti-Calvinist, anti-Arminian, anti-other Bible versions (KJV-only Fundamentalist Jack Hyles once took great pleasure in burning an NIV Bible on his platform). They are anti-pants on women, anti-rock n’roll, anti Charismatic. And on and on and on…
I want Protestants as well as Catholics to chime in.
What do you think makes these people tick?

People are very attracted to religion that makes them feel that they are somehow better than the person across the street.