“God hates sin!
How many times have you heard that one? Many too many for me. I’ve always recoiled at that one and yet have felt inarticulate in trying to argue about it. But, tinker around the focus enough and one day a picture might clarify.
I see it now. Only a God who is a throw-back patriarchal white man hates sin in the traditional way. Yes I said it. And before you get all up in the arms let me qualify: I’m referring to God “the father” not to your Jesus with whom you ‘relate’ in a personal way. If I went there I’d be getting way too psychologically twisted for your comfort. And, honestly, I’m not up for dealing with all your emotional and sensitive snow flaking out on this one. So, no. I’m talking about God, “the father”, the vader of [awesome] anger and [awesome] vengeful destruction. He is the white man who hates sin.
Which by my saying I mean, of course, that I disagree. I fundamentally disagree.
Yes, by fundamentally disagreeing in this manner, I am aware of what I’m accusing. I’m accusing you and your cherished “tradition” [organized, structural, systematic, spiritless, rote ‘religion’] of constructing this white man and projecting this hate and anger. There, I’ve said it. [What a relief].
When I reflect even cursorily upon what I’ve just said, it occurs to me that your traditional “construct” is more dangerous than merely the projection and perpetuation of hate and hate-based — systemic and sanctioned ‘law and order’ violence — punishment would make it. In doing this you all are dangerously toying with that fundamental commandment, the one about making (i.e. “constructing by projecting”) false gods.
So, that’s a fundamental wrong on an even deeper level. That will be psychologically challenging enough. I’m glad I didn’t complicate matters more. I don’t want to snow flake you out.
It’s still funny though: fundamentally wrong. Fundamentalist! The irony is sweet sorrow. Sweet sorrow indeed. (And fear’s not far away. Fear is lurking in the shadows as always).
When I know you’re wrong I’m not afraid to say it. You’re wrong. God is not a white man. God does not “hate” sin. On the contrary. Quite on the contrary. I’ve known this all along, like I’ve said. I’ve always recoiled. Yet I recoiled mutely, in the same manner as I’ve always had to recoil mutely– mummified — to the apartheid [denial] racism of my upbringing.
It is most uncomfortable to be right and mute amidst the conformist conventional “wisdom” that is so frighteningly unwise.
In the course of my toying with the focus and in the occasion of my reading intently (like it’s 1666) I ran across a very pertinent quote which provided the impetus for the above personal analysis, the likes of which I’m never shy to share. The book is “Mysteries of Faith” by Mark McIntosh. This is from page 133 in Chapter 6. I recommend that you might read the entire Chapter, though I warn that it starts off horridly for the first six pages before it makes a delightful and fresh-thought turn. But anyway, here’s the quote material:
“Yet in Christ we learn that God is goodness and love itself, and has nothing whatsoever to do with violence, hatred, and anger. You have sinned, but God does not hate you or condemn you; I would go even so far as to say that God does not hate your sinning. God does not need to *hate* sin, for God simply loves it out of its sinfulness and back into real life. But we must also say that whenever we are set *against* Love we are bound to experience Love as working against us, even as condemning us.”
So there. I’ve said my piece. My peace I give you.
Here’s the full citation:
McIntosh, Mark. “Mysteries of Faith.” Plymouth, UK: Cowley Publications, 2000. (Page 133)”