Q&A: Hatred of the Wicked
Hatred of the Wicked
Question
Hello,
I don’t really know what it means to hate or to be angry. I don’t hate wicked people — yes, really, not even Hamas for example. Don’t get me wrong(!) — I don’t have a drop of empathy/compassion for them or for the people of Gaza; it goes without saying that they don’t even deserve to be called human beings… I just feel that I live more through love than through hatred. For example, when, God forbid, there is a terror attack, I feel deeply sad for whoever was harmed, because I love them, but I don’t have a gram of anger toward the terrorists. I don’t know what anger really feels like. Am I missing something important by not hating wicked people? Should I aspire to hate them? Do you think there is some similarity here in approach to Christianity? Is that what Christianity is missing?
Thank you very much in advance
Answer
The emotional dimension does not seem essential to me. In my view, intellectual hatred of evil is enough.
Discussion on Answer
Eliko, I think I would feel humiliated, but not hatred.
The question is whether you don’t feel hatred toward any person in any situation.
For example, if someone slapped you in front of everyone just because he was bored — would you feel anger or hatred toward him?
If in that case you would feel anger or hatred, but not toward terrorists, then apparently there is some kind of problem here.