truelight Mike
Member
Yes. That is a reality for some people all around the world
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love your enemy
- Thread starter truelight Mike
- Start date
cambridge79
Active Member
this teaching for sure is powerful but it can work only in some circumstances. Just imagine what the world would be today if russians, americans and british had welcome the nazi with flowers and hugs instead of guns and bombs.
You can love your enemy but if your enemy doesn't give a damn you're screwed.
truelight Mike
Member
Unless the time we live is short in the big picture of eternity. And how we live this "short" life (either loving or hating) will have direct consequences or rewards. I'm talking about Judgement
truelight Mike
Member
Yep! And if Satan were a man trying to hurt me it would be my goal not to return evil for evil
truelight Mike
Member
The command to love, I believe, is not the emotion or feeling of love but it is a command of action like giving food to your enemy
cambridge79
Active Member
considering i don't believe in afterlife, and we're talking about "powerful teachings that should apply to everybody" the "die tomorrow, live in afterlife forever" argument doesn't work with me.
i think between war and peace the desirable choice is always peace. but if they drag you into it by your feet it's talking about survival or estinction.
i think "love your enemy" is a poweful teaching. I think in some cases you can chose to love your enemy and end up like south africa, or chose not to and end up in a civil war. in that case surely "love your enemy" and the power of forgiveness is absolutely something to adopt.
but again as i said it can't work in every possible scenario. Jews loving their enemies during Nazi regime would have simply led to no more jews around.
Kelly of the Phoenix
Well-Known Member
What if they are still being all enemy-ish? What if you go around in life mentally checking off exits and possible defense strategies because you were left without the ability to trust thanks to the enemy? What if they would die first rather than stop being enemy-ish?
truelight Mike
Member
Love triumphs even if it dies
truelight Mike
Member
What if their after life is not so peaceful? What if it's worse?
InChrist
Free4ever
Probably the teaching of loving God is higher...
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37
What do you mean by higher? Before Jesus, there was Dhammapada 1:5 "Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal."
Trying to combat hatred via more hatred only makes hatred grow and spread. The solution is to stop hating. Doesn't matter who says it. What matters is doing it.
truelight Mike
Member
I mean besides that one
A parent might love their child but not allow that child to do anything he or she wants. A child might love a parent but if the parent has Alzheimer's and acts out, the child might have to restrain the parent or put him or her in an institution. This applies in the more general sense.
The word is "agape" and it means love based on principle. You can "love" an enemy by not hating him no matter what he does to you. That is conquering evil with good.
You cannot be a Christian if you don't obey Jesus' commands. If you 'return evil for evil' how are you superior in any way to the one who hates you? There is no victory in that....only defeat.
How did Jesus demonstrate this? By asking his Father to forgive the soldiers who put him to death...they had no idea whose life they were taking.
truelight Mike
Member
That is not a very common belief among most professing Christians
Sadly this is true. Professing to be a Christian, does not automatically make you one.
Jesus said..."I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name." (John 15:11-15)
When Jesus told us to love our enemies, he meant what he said. There is no sanction to hate or to kill in the teachings of Christ.
Our warfare is strictly spiritual and our only weapon is "the sword of the spirit, God's word". (Eph 6:14-17)
"We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ." (2 Cor 10:3-5 NLT)
We cannot take up carnal weapons of any sort with the intention of using them on our fellow man for any reason. As Jesus said, we will cop a bullet for our friend but we could never fire one to harm even an enemy.
truelight Mike
Member
Amen