Hi,
I was speaking with a Muslim apologist when he gave me the following Scriptural quotes that indicate God doesn’t love everyone. Here they are:
Psalm 5:4-6
Code:
4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.
5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.
6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.
Psalm 11:5
Code:
5 The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked and those who love violence
his soul hates.
Romans 9:13
Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
What are we to make of this? Does God hate the wicked?
St. Thomas Aquinas answers this question in his Handbook of Theology. If you’ve never read it before, the Handbook can be confusing because it always starts each chapter by arguing Against Catholic doctrine. He sets out several detailed arguments Against Catholicism in the form of “objections” by an imaginary opponent in a debate. Then, St. Thomas explains what Catholic doctrine actually says and then answers the objections of his imaginary opponent.
His chapter on hatred has this title:
“[Is] hatred of one’s neighbor…always a sin?” (Summa Theologiae Part 2.2 Question 34 Article 3)
His answer is:
“hatred of one’s brother, if we consider it simply, is always sinful.” (ibid.)
His imaginary opponent gives this objection:
“nothing wherein we imitate God can be a sin. But it is in imitation of God that we hate certain people: for it is written (Romans 1:30): “Detractors [are] hateful to God.” Therefore it is possible to hate certain people without committing a sin.” (ibid.)
St. Thomas answers this way:
“love is due to our neighbor in respect of what he holds from God, i.e. in respect of nature and grace, but not in respect of what he has of himself and from the devil, i.e. in respect of sin and lack of justice. … Consequently it is lawful to hate the sin in one’s brother, and whatever pertains to the defect of Divine justice, but we cannot hate our brother’s nature and grace without sin. Now it is part of our love for our brother that we hate the fault and the lack of good in him, since desire for another’s good is equivalent to hatred of his evil. … God hates the sin which is in the detractor, not his nature: so that we can hate detractors [in this sense] without committing a sin.” (ibid.)
If you want to read the whole chapter, it’s available here:
newadvent.org/summa/3034.htm#article3
I hope that helps. Please let me know.
