How can you love God and not all of His people?

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   dianetrotterposted 11 years ago

   How can you love God and not all of His people?
   
   What does this mean: "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."  1 John 4:20.  The Bible was written for everyone.

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   Justsilvieposted 11 years ago

   The sad thing is religion and a belief in God or some other deity often divides us. Some people are like small children taunting with" My God is better then your God" and an irrational hate fest begins.

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      dianetrotterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It's very frightening Justsilvie and I say that as a Christian.

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   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   The same way you can adore someone from a family but hate their sibling or argue with his mother on decorating.

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      dianetrotterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ah!  So you have that mother-in-law experience eh?

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   Klevi M Fushaposted 11 years ago

   I am personally not a believer but I respect you for having such views. Christianity nowadays is simply interpreted as it best fits individual lives. I have personally met "Christians" who read the Bible everyday and go to church every chance they get, yet they preach for stronger nuclear armaments and increased war funds. It's mind-blowing, really.

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      dianetrotterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your kind words Kievi!  Unfortunately we all speak from the heart and that is quite revealing.

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   Jay Max Justerposted 11 years ago

   In truth, the way that you love God is fundamentally different from the way that you love His people. That's why Jesus, although he did boil the commandments down to two, could not make boil them down to only one:
   
   "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." [Matt22:37-40]
   
   Additionally, exactly how to "love they nieghbor as thyself" is a vague concept. Jesus instructs "And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." [Matt 5:30]
   
   So, if your neighbor causes you to stumble, would Jesus instruct us to kill that man, as well?

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      dianetrotterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I think the "cut it off and throw it away" was an admonition to make sure both hands are right.  It's just a matter of doing the right thing.  To prefer cutting the hand off to making it right would show defiance and unwillingness to do right.

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   i scribbleposted 11 years ago

   The ironic thing about the viewpoint of George Zimmerman versus the viewpoint of Trayvon Martin's family is that they both invoke their Christian beliefs as proof of being on the side of 'righteousness'.  I personally see no justification for stalking a teen, confronting him against police directives, and then shooting him in a fight you provoked. I don't have the answer to your question,except to point out that Christian piety can be misguided,  but I wonder if this irony is what inspired your question.

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