Hey everyone,
I want to apologise for my long absence I have been in a real dry spot recently and have struggled with some doubt and such but I now return well on my journey of restoration through Jesus YAY however I have been lacking in the revelations department so standing in for me is Ted Dekker one of my favorite authors and a huge influence on me so please enjoy this which I have copied from his home blog at www.teddekker.com
“Guilty of Hate?
December 5, 2007
I’ve been pummeled with a realization as of late: I will be hated for my hate and so will you if you’re anything like me. Not because we actually hate, but because there will come a time soon when what you believe will be interpreted as a kind of hatred. It all boils down to that cute little word, tolerance. Let me explain.
In practicum tolerance flies in the face of Jesus’ teachings. His challenge wasn’t to endure your neighbor but to love them as you love yourself — give them your coat if they are cold, your food if they are hungry, lay down your life for them as he did. So then we should go far beyond mere tolerance to loving. This is how we should treat Muslims and Hindus and Rednecks and even those who live in Washington.
How can that be construed as a kind of hatred?
Here’s the rub. Although Jesus is perhaps best known for his insistence that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, he was also equally insistent that he was the only way, the only truth, and the only life by which men can be saved from a terrible end. He wasn’t speaking about Christianity, mind you, or any other organized religion stuffed full of rules and traditions that purportedly lead to God. He was speaking of himself.
Saying ‘Unless you follow Jesus you can’t enter heaven,’ calls those who don’t follow Jesus substandard and ultimately damned. Foolish even. It’s like calling all Hindus foolish or stupid because they are Hindu.
Sounds a bit like call a white person stupid because they are white, doesn’t it? Like racism.
And this is why the day is coming soon when those who speak about the teachings of Jesus will be thought of as bigots and why their speech supporting these teachings will be classified as no different than racially deriding slurs. Hate Speech.
So, there you have it. One day soon, those who follow the one who insisted we love our neighbors will be accused of hate mongers for following him.
I’m not one to think with a narrow mind, you probably see that in my writting. I don’t spend energy condemning those who eat meat, or drink wine, or listen to grunge music (assuming the genre still exists.) The great battle of our generation is found in the corridors of ideology and faith, not in the much more easily regulated borders of ‘dos and don’ts.’ Many will fall from the faith in that day, Jesus predicted. They will be hated for what they believe, not for what they do or don’t do.
Your greatest challenge over the next ten years will be fought in your heart. The only question is whether you will continue to follow the way of Jesus or bow to society’s demand that you deny him with your silence.
Now there’s a loaded blog…” -Ted Dekker