Criticism And Hate Are Not The Same Thing

But Isn’t Criticism A Sin?

We know criticism is not a sin. How? Because Our Lord Jesus Christ criticized, and He was without sin.

In the Gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 23 Jesus calls the unbelieving Jews “hypocrites”, “blind”, “unclean”, “sons of prophet killers”, “vipers” and criticizes them heavily.

Moreover, in the Gospel of St. John 8:44 Jesus calls the unbelieving Jews “sons of their father the devil.”

Similarly, in Apocalypse (Revelation) 2:9 and Apocalypse (Revelation) 3:9 Jesus calls the unbelieving Jews the “synagogue of Satan”.

Also, in Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-18, and John 2:14-15 Jesus criticizes those in the temple, as He flips over their tables and whips them with reeds.

Additionally, in Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33 Jesus criticizes St. Peter by saying “get behind Me, Satan!”

Moreover, in Matthew 15:26 Jesus compares Canaanites to “dogs”.

Similarly, in Matthew 7:6 Jesus compares non-believers to “dogs” and “swine”.

Why am I telling you all of this? To prove the point that Jesus Christ was very critical of non-believers.

And yet, we know He never hated nor sinned in any way. (See Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 3:5, 1 Peter 2:22).

Therefore, we must come to the rather obvious conclusion that criticism, even harsh sounding criticism, is not sinful.

But Jesus Knew Everyone’s Soul And You’re Rashly Judging!

This is a common rebuttal when I make the point above that criticism isn’t a sin because Jesus did it.

It is correct to say that we cannot know another’s soul, like Jesus, God the Son, can.

Thus, we cannot judge someone’s soul because we don’t know if it’s in a state of grace or sin.

But there is a difference between judging a person’s soul and judging their actions.

If someone is a notorious, unrepentant murderer, one doesn’t need to be a soul-reader to know that this person is in spiritual danger.

Now, we still cannot know for sure where the final destination of such a person will be.

However, we can judge the actions of murder and lack of public repentance as being contrary to God’s morality and rightfully say that such a person needs to repent.

Similarly, if we see someone commit other sins or publicly brag about sinning, it is right and just to call out the sin for being the evil that it is.

And it is also right and just to call the person that committed the sin to repentance!

Calling sinners to repentance is a spiritual work of mercy that Christians are required to do.

It’s most definitely not rash judgement to simply call sin a sin and ask the one doing it to stop.

You’re certainly not judging their soul in doing so, and if anything, you are doing them a favor by asking them to stop spiritually hurting themselves!

I write more about this in this article here, if you want to learn the difference between judging the sin versus judging the sinner.

But suffice to say that judging the actions of others and criticizing them are not sinful.

But You’re Just Criticizing People Because You Hate Them!

People usually convict me, and people like me, of being guilty of hate because we publicly criticize sinners.

And usually they say it’s because of my venomous tone that they believe betrays an underlying hatred in my criticism.

Ironically, the people convicting me of hatred are actually crossing the line of judging my soul instead of my action.

That aside, this happens because people don’t know the difference between criticism and hate any more than they know the difference between judging and admonishment.

Criticism, as we have been discussing, is judging the actions of others. But what is hate?

Before I answer that, let me reiterate what love is.

I wrote about love in an article before, here, if you want a deeper dive.

But in short, love is willing the good of another for God’s sake and their own sake.

So what is hate then? Well, hate is the opposite: It is willing evil for another.

So let’s get pragmatic here, then, shall we? What is the greatest good you could will for another?

Well, beyond all doubt, the greatest good anyone can have is being with God in Heaven.

What about the greatest evil? Again, the greatest evil you could will for someone is Damnation.

Therefore, if you truly love someone, then you want them to go to Heaven.

And if you truly hate them, then you would want them to go to Hell.

You Are Criticizing People Because You Want Them To Go To Hell!

Do I want people to go to Hell, though? First, let’s go back to the criticism thing.

I unreservedly admit that my criticism is often biting and venomous.

I criticize the jews, masons, sodomites, transexuals, cowards, lukewarm, and others harshly.

But how is my criticism directed? It’s always directed towards getting these people to stop sinning.

And to convert. So what does this mean? This betrays my real intent: I want them to go to Heaven.

That’s right. I admit it. I want the enemies of the Church to stop sinning, repent, convert, and go to Heaven.

You know what I would do if I actually hated my enemies? I would confirm them in their sin.

I would be “nice” and tell them what they want to hear, and lie to them because then they would like me.

Then they would feel good about their sinful ways and treat me better, which my concupiscible appetite would enjoy.

People would stop criticizing me for being “hateful” too. But you know what? It’s the wrong thing to do.

Stop Your Criticism Of People And Be Nice!

I guess I am just not “nice” then. Let me put it like this: Sinning is like running towards the edge of a cliff.

Once you go over that cliff you will have an eternal and painful death.

Is he who is “nice”, smiles at you, moves out of the way, tells you to keep running, to run harder, and who watches you jump off the cliff, with a big grin on his face “loving” to you?

Or is he who is “mean”, gets in your way, tells you to stop, even begs you to stop, and even hurts your feelings while doing it, “hateful” towards you for trying to get you to stop from eternally damning yourself?

I guess I am just quite alright being that “mean” ol’ guy that wants you to have eternal life.

Similarly, when I see groups of people, like Jews, for instance, push insidious ideologies that metaphorically throw whole groups of people off the cliff, I am the “mean” ol’ guy that wants them to stop as well.

And you know what? By throwing groups of people off the cliff, these Jews are also throwing themselves off too.

So I guess I get to be that “mean” ol’ critic that tells them to stop, so they don’t have to face eternal death too.

In conclusion, if I have to be that “mean” guy that harshly criticizes unrepentant sinners in order to get some people to stop, so that they can go to Heaven, I am fine with that.

I love people enough to be that “mean” guy that tells the uncomfortable truths “nice” people won’t say.

Because I want to go to Heaven, and I want as many people as possible to go with me.

And I hope to see you there.

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