My response to a Christian writer focused on the need for Biblical Christians to love others.
I agree with all that you said and recognize the preponderance of Scripture presses us to love even our enemies. God is love. However, I would offer two points on the other side. First, we need to be all things to all people in order to save some. I believe there are times when pointed frustration serves to uniquely impress on some the error of their life and errant theology. That brings me to my second point which is the concept of righteous indignation. God made that case over and over again in the OT and Jesus did, at times in the new. Case in point was the turning over of the tables of the money changers. Hate is unacceptable and a sin for believers. However, anger, if properly founded and expressed in balance is Scriptural. Jeff (BCWorldview.org)
——————————-
I received a good response to the above asking how one could know when to be angry, basically saying if we can’t know, then we should never be anger. Below is my response….
Well, as you are, I am using Scripture in my response. The statement “how do I know…” could be said about anything. Sometimes the greatest expression of eternal love is to tell the truth about hard things, like there is a broad road leading to Hell and a narrow one leading to Heaven.
What about Matt. 18:17, or 1 Tim 1:20, or Titus 3:10–11 or 1 Cor. 5:1–5 or the Old Testament?
Jesus was angry because there were people making money in the outer courtyard of the temple, a holy place. To ignore the fact that anger can be a Christian response, is to ignore one portion of Scripture. Again, a response of love should be our first and primary answer to all circumstances. But Scripture gives us the freedom to respond differently at certain times we are led to do so.
Jeff (BCWorldview.org)
