The History of Hatred and its Antidote
by Dick York - January 2007

The question has been asked, “Why does the whole world hate America so much? After all, there is no country in the world that has given more aid to other nations, contributed more to alleviate poverty and disease, and has even contributed to the modernization and prosperity of nations it has defeated in war.” That seems to be the truth. Some have joked about it saying, “If you want to establish a prosperous country, declare war on the U.S.A. , surrender, and the U.S. will set you up with a prosperous economy.” It happens all the time. Take, for example, Germany and Japan after World War 2.

But this article is not about the U.S.A. ; it is about the history of hatred. Hatred and evil, it seems evident, are woven into the very fabric of the world system; and they cannot be avoided by being good, benevolent or kind. One of the problems of American policy is that she hopes to change her enemies’ attitudes by being nice to them, by capitulation and compromise, by trying to demonstrate that we are really nice people. The enemy gloats because he interprets this as weakness and is encouraged to strike another blow––hopefully the deathblow––against his weakening adversary.

Our national leaders keep repeating that they believe Islam to be a religion of peace in spite of the brutality, genocide and mass murder they are seeing around the world. T hey tell us that aberrant, violent extremists have hijacked this “peaceful” religion and do not seem to notice that the “moderate victims” of their hijackers do not denounce the violence of the “extremists” among them. Why is that? It is because the so-called moderates know that the violent ones are practicing their religion as it is taught in their “holy book,” the Koran. If they were to denounce the violence of the “faithful” in the execution of Jihad, they would be denying the will of Allah. T he jihadists are encouraged by the naiveté of our Western leaders.

In the West, because our religious experience has been mostly with Chris tianity, we believe that all religion teaches what Jesus taught. We must be disabused of this error. No one taught in the past or teaches today what Jesus taught. Jesus himself said, “ All that ever came before me are thieves an d r obbers.” 1 T hat is true of all the ancient religions that were established many generations before the birth of Chris t. And it is equally true of all that have been more recent, such as Islam, established six centuries after Chris t. It could also be said of many religions designating themselves as “ Chris tian.” T he history of Catholicism and even of some of the reformers includes the inquisitions, both Catholic and Protestant, during which time unspeakable cruelty was exercised against their perceived enemies. Hatred ruled.

Jesus taught not only with his words, but also with his life. T he apostle John , too, taught, as Jesus did, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” 2 Jesus taught us even to love our enemies and demonstrated it as he hung on the cross petitioning the Father to forgive them even while he was dying at their hand. Religion has never had the capacity to teach as Jesus taught. He was the personification of righteousness and of love. He loved as his Father loves. T he history of religions disproves either their ability or inclination to teach what Jesus taught or in the way that he taught it.

To see the character of time-honore d r eligions one needs only to go to nations where those religions prevail and dictate the atmosphere of the society. T ake a trip to Myanmar ( Burma ) where Buddhism controls the people or India where Hinduism dictates the societal norm. T hese are a couple of the religions that came before Jesus, which he called thieves an d r obbers. If you were to travel there, you woul d r eadily understand why he said that. And as for those religions that have come since Chris t, try some of the countries where Islam dominates or aspires to dominate: Somalia , Su dan , or Saudi Arabia . It is evident that hate, not love, is the dominant trait.

The history of hatred begins in the heavenlies before time began. Lucifer, the initiator of iniquity, in his opposition to God said, “I wil l b e like the Most High.” 3 Ever since, he who is now called “the god of this world” 4 has loved and promoted evil and iniquity while hating and opposing righteousness on every hand. Nowhere is this more evident than in religion.

In the record of human history, it is first noted in Genesis 4: 1-8 in the story of Cain and Abel. Until that time, there was no record of religion in the world. T he norm until Adam’s fall was man and God in fellowship with one another. Religion, until then, was neither necessary nor known. After the fall, however, man became aware of his fallen state and began to try to please God––or perhaps flatter him––in order to cultivate his favor. Cain’s action fits this description; Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord. T his was a religious act initiated by his personal perceived need to do something for God. It may have been sincere, but it was neither required nor directed by the Lord, as evidenced by the fact that God did not respect it.

Meanwhile, Abel, Cain’s younger brother, also brought an offering of “the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” T his was apparently initiated by the Lord because it had all the earmarks of the offerings that the Lord later ordained at the hands of the Levitical priesthood wherein they were to offer the blood and the fat of their sacrificed animals. “And the Lord ha d r espect unto Abel and to his offering.” 5 What happened next defines the conflict and sets the tone for all the recorded history that was to follow. Even today, it is the expl ana tion for the seemingly irrational hatred that fills our world and dominates the news. “ But unto Cain and to his offering [God] had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell .” 6 T he bitterness and hatred of Cain’s unrepentant religious heart was revealed by the anger that ensued. He became so angry that a murderous rage filled his heart, “ And Cain talked with Abel, his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him .” 7

When the apostle John , in the New T estament, explained this action he said, “ And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you .” 8

All through history, right thinking people have probably wondered the same thing: why did they hate and kill the prophets? Weren’t they telling the truth and looking out for the wel l b eing of Israel ? Why did

they hate Jesus? He did nothing but good things. He healed the sick, fed the multitudes, and gave sight to the blind. He met the needs of people, and even the people who benefited by his goodness hated him; it is so irrational. It all started in the heavenlies with Lucifer’s rebellion.

It is a fact of life: darkness hates light; evil hates righteousness; the god of this world is at war with the God of heaven and earth. “But,” many would ask, “isn’t religion supposed to be good and promote righteousness?”

There may have been a time in which the words “religion” and “religious” were used in the English language to denote true worship of the Lord, but in fact religion has been an enemy of righteousness throughout history. It was the priests of Baal that opposed Elijah. T he priests of Israel opposed Jeremiah. T he Pharisees and Saducees persecuted Jesus and finally demanded his crucifixion. Religiosity is a counterfeit for and the enemy of righteousness. T herefore, from the perspective of the world, righteousness is the enemy.

For this reason the true Church, that is the body of Chris t, throughout the world and in every generation has been persecuted in some measure; and it is also the reason that believers in our present age should be prepared to experience the same. Jesus said, “ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you . 9 …But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, T hey hated me without a cause. ” 10

We opened this piece, in the first paragraph, by referring to the U.S.A. Was that meant to imply that, as a nation, we are godly an d r ighteous followers of Jesus Chris t? Not at all, but many of the principles that guide this nation are the result of godly men of the past that honored God’s word and guided our founders to embrace its teachings in the establishing of our national character. Wherever and to what degree those principles are still evident, they wil l b e reminders to the enemy that they were authored by God. In the mind of the enemy, that is sufficient reason to hate. We who are in Chris t should not be naïve and therefore surprised by the world’s irrationality. Nor should we forget that the apostle

Paul said, “ Yea, and all that will live godly in Chris t Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. ” 11 Remember also Paul ’s victorious proclamation, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Chris t , and maketh manifest the savor of his knowle dg e by us in every place.” 12

T he world will continue to hate because Satan, the god of this world, is the author of hatred. Jesus said of him, “ He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him .” 13 T his is true also of the world’s religions that he has spawned. But Jesus did not offer us another religion. On the contrary, he inspired these words, “ In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteousness. Marvel not my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 14

(Endnotes)

1 John 10: 8

2 1 John 3: 18

3 Isaiah 14: 14

4 2 Corinthians 4: 4

5 Genesis 4: 4

6 Genesis 4: 5

7 Genesis 4: 8

8 1 John 3: 12 ,13

9 John 15: 18

10 John 15: 25

11 2 T imothy 3: 12 -14

12 2 Corinthians 2: 14

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