I as Catholics, have to walk that fine line between hating the sin but loving the sinner.
I’m wondering if it’s actually best, as Catholics, to HATE the sin or a sin, rather than view the sin a bad but not ‘hate’ it. The reason I ask is because my heart used to be filled with hate, it was almost as if hate fueled my existance. I had a lot of problems and have since changed a lot.
But the use of the word hate, and my remembering what it was like to be consumed with hate, leads me to question if this is the best way to view sins as Catholics. I would like to keep hate out of my heart, my mind, my body, my soul, etc. It was a terrible time in my life and I could see no other way to live. Now that I am free of hate, I would like to remain this way.
I would like to remain this way even if, God fobid, someone did something horrific to my own son. I would like to not hate that person. Prior to my rediscovering my faith recently I supported vigilantism and was proud of this. This had a certain ammt of hate in me at all times. I have since changed that view and am against that now.
So I realize this might be a minor point, but I’m thinking that avoiding all hate, regardless of whatever the circumstances, is preferable to hating, even if it is a horrible sin.
I’m not sure exactly what the bible teaches on this, but I would tend to defer to ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’, which I realise you have pointed out to do as in loving the sinner but hating the sin.
I’m just questioning if there is another way to look at and understand and view sin without doing so to the point of ‘hating’ it and if this would be preferable. Based on my own past life I’m thinking it would be better for me to not even hate the worst of sins, but to simply look at them as wrong, without having emotion such as hate attached to them at all.
And I also realize that this may simply have been a phrase you choose to use without necessarilly meaning actually ‘hating’ the sin. Then again, maybe you did mean exactly what you said.
In any event I’m looking for feedback and guidance as someone who has recently rediscovered my faith as a Catholic and want to be a good Catholic, but want to avoid any hate under all circumstances.
Thoughts?
God Bless,
Bill