“If your religion teaches you to hate people based on who they love, maybe it’s time to find a new religion.” This is a challenge on a picture that I’ve seen making the rounds on Facebook so a few thoughts.

1) This accusation is not true of Christianity. Jesus teaches us to love everyone. This challenge distorts a few definitions to make its “point.” Yes, there are certainly those who do hate others in the name of Christ, but every religion/philosophy/group of people have “members” that do not live in accordance with what is taught. Christianity needs to be measured by what the Bible and what Jesus actually teaches. So if someone wants to say Christianity teaches hatred, they should show it from the Bible – the whole Bible – not cherry-picking verses out of context, but be willing to do some actual research and have serious discussions.

2) Loving someone never means approving of everything they do. God loves everyone, but certainly never approves of sin. If your God does, it is not the God of Christianity revealed in the Bible. Jesus routinely condemned sin and emphasized the need for EVERYONE to repent and live in obedience to God’s commands. If your Jesus is OK with sin, he is not the Jesus of Christianity revealed in the Bible.

As parents, we certainly do not approve of everything our children do. In LOVE, we correct and discipline (and punishment is a very small part of true discipline – most discipline is teaching and instruction, including the verse, spare the rod, spoil the child – rod was a means of instruction and course correction, not something to beat your kids with). The most hateful thing you can ever do as a parent is not correct and discipline your child. Letting them do whatever they want to do is hatred and not in their best interest.

Telling someone you don’t agree with their actions is not hate. Urging people to repent so that they can find forgiveness and peace with God and have eternal life is not hatred – it is, in fact, loving. If someone was on the tracks and you saw a train coming and warned them, that is not hatred. Hatred would be remaining silent and let them get hit by a train. In this case, we can’t force people off the tracks. It is up them if they want to believe a train is actually coming, but if we believe there is a train, we need to speak up.

3) Christianity says you should love everyone, but that doesn’t mean you should sleep with everyone. This post abuses language to make its point seem more righteous. God repeatedly gave strict commands on sex. The Bible clearly teaches that sex should be limited to one man and one woman within the bonds of marriage. Again, this teaching is not hatred. Just because someone may disagree with it doesn’t mean its hatred.

What if someone says they “love” children in that way? Should we love children? Yes. Should we have sex with children? No. Should we love our family? Yes. Should we have sex with our family members? No. Everyone should have boundaries in this area – is it hatred to speak out against pedophilia or incest? And yes, God commands that we must love those who commit those sins as well, but never agree with their sin. Is it hatred to condemn those actions and seek to protect those abused by those actions? So, why is automatically hatred if our boundaries are different from someone else’s?

Disapproval doesn’t mean we are afraid of people. Is someone a pedophiliaphobe (I’m making that up, not going to look up if there is a real word for it) for being against that? No. Using those labels is just an attempt to make up terms to demonize those that have a different opinion. Its childish and, ironically, bigoted.

4) Frankly, many Christians aren’t interested in trying to force people to live their lives a certain way. Sure, there are those that do, but again, don’t attack a whole religion because of some followers. But also don’t expect us to give our approval. We don’t expect the world to applaud our beliefs, so don’t expect us to applaud the opinions of the world. Just because we disapprove of certain actions doesn’t mean we don’t love the people who do them or are going to try to force people to stop doing what they want to do.

However, I will speak out against people, groups, and ideas that are telling my kids and others that living in ways contrary to God’s Word is OK. Do people have the right to express their views? Certainly. But I have just as much right to express a competing view. That is free speech. They can promote it, I can denounce what others are promoting without hating them or being afraid of them. If I was afraid, I would remain silent. When groups say I must be silent, they are hoping I am afraid of them. But they have no moral authority to tell my kids what is right or wrong. God’s Word is our moral authority. And if people think their opinion overrules God’s clear commands, that’s fine, God has given everyone the ability to reject Him. But I will not let these groups tell my children what is right or wrong. And I will speak out when they attempt to slander Christ (and please, we all know they are targeting Christianity) to advance their agenda.

Following Jesus is not a religion of hate; it is a religion of the greatest love ever known. But it is also a religion of righteousness, and a religion what warns against the consequences of sin. Some people may hate Christ and His teachings, some may simply disagree with Christ and His teachings, but that doesn’t mean we have to hate those who disagree with us. We all need to quit acting like anyone who disagrees with us hates us. If we can only love those who always agree with us, we don’t know what true love is.

So, yes, if your religion teaches you to hate people based on who they love, (I’ll even omit the maybe) it IS time to find a new religion. And the only way to find the religion of true love is through Jesus Christ – God’s love made flesh. And the only way to Jesus is through humility. Confess your sin, and you will be forgiven. Surrender your life to Him and you will experience the truest love anyone has ever offered you. And Jesus offers this to all who would receive Him. Out of His great love for you, a love greater than even your love for yourself, He calls you to repent, believe in Him, and follow Him to eternal love.

John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”