Although JESUS told us to love our neighbor, the modern American right-wing evangelical church has come up with many political justifications to ignore what JESUS called the second greatest commandment.
… “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment…” (See Deut 6:5)
Then, without being asked, HE added: “… And a second
(greatest commandment) is like it: You shall love your neighbor as (much as you
love) yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the
Prophets…”
Looking more deeply at the key words, we can see just how comprehensive
these commands really are.
Love – from the ancient Greek word, agapao. It means to do and prefer what GOD prefers; which is to show love to GOD through willing obedience.
All – holos – The entirety (with no part left or given over to the world) of your:
Heart – kardia – Our internal emotional desires; the feelings that evolve into thoughts.
Mind – dianoia – The critical thinking process.
Soul – psyxe - A person's unique individual personality.
When JESUS said that all the law and prophets depended on
these two commandments, HE meant that they are the underlying lessons that
GOD meant us to get out of all scripture.
When HE said that the second commandment was like the first, it inferred that loving your neighbor proves that you love GOD, i.e., how can you love GOD who you have not seen, if you don’t love your neighbor who you have seen? 1 Joh 4:20
If you don’t love your neighbor, do you really love GOD?
The next time we will look at several
specific attitudes and doctrines rife in the modern American right-wing church that
willfully oppose the two great commandments.
Re: Your 1st post: In the modern White American National, Right-wing “Evangelical” Christian Church "Neighbor" applies only to people whose humanity (Other Nationalistic, Right-wing, Evangelicals mostly, maybe some Conservative Catholics and White Hispanics also) is recognized. The "others": Left-wing, "Liberals", Minorities, Blacks, Asians, Native Americans, Black & Brown Hispanics are first dehumanized (Justifying that loving them as "your neighbor" does not apply) Then demonized (Like the Nazi's did Jews in World War 2) justifying extreme "Augustine's Just War" principles to be applied to them in an Apocalyptic, End Times Dispensation. GOP(God's Only People) vs the Secular, Liberal, Pedophiliac, Baby-eating, Satanic, Democratic Party Forces of Evil
ReplyDeleteYes I think I mention somewhere that Calvinistic religion does not recognize many "others" as being neighbors per the Royal commandment.
ReplyDelete