Knight said:
God doesn't seperate the sin from the sinner.
What is sent to hell? The sin or the sinner? :think:
the sinner is sent to hell because he sins. he is morally responsible for what he does. but that doesn't mean God hates him. God is acting justly towards him. a judge can love the defendant with all his heart, and still convict him of breaking the law.
Evil isn't a being unto itself so of course it would take a being to act out evil. That being said God says we are what we are....
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
Therefore if a man thinks evil a man is evil.
that sounds strangely like total depravity :think:
however, i do not think this would justify our hating individuals. i believe we all were born with parts of us that were evil. those parts lead us into committing sin. but we are never so far gone that we cannot repent of our evil and turn to God.
that is why i don't believe we are ever completely evil. complete evil would never repent, never turn away. and since all can turn away, they are not completely evil. and as long as there is some good in people, then there is still hope, and i will continue to do what is necessary to bring the individual to repentence. and as i see it now, that would never include hating them, as hating them would push them away.