Love the sinner, hate the sin... IS NOT CATHOLIC DOCTRINE

Painting ~ Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, Minneapolis)

Contrary to much popular belief, the catchphrase "hate the sin but love the sinner" is not of biblical origin, and caution should be given to its connotations. The tendency it too often leads to today is to view the sinner as a victim of his sin, rather than the author of the sin he commits.

In truth, there are biblical teachings that contravene the above cliché, for example the following (from the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible):

-- "But to God the wicked and his wickedness are hateful alike" (Wisd. 14:9).

-- "Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes. Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity: thou wilt destroy all that speak a lie" (Ps. 5:6-7).

-- "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil" (Lk. 6:45).

A further teaching from Proverbs is instructive: "Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh His soul detesteth: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run to mischief. A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren" (6:16-19).

Note that the "things" listed that "the Lord hateth" are the sinners who commit the listed offenses. It is not a list of the sins in the abstract. The sinner attains the anger and rejection of God by the sins he commits through his own free will.

It goes without saying, then, that if you hate the evildoer's sin you cannot love the sinner who is its author. You cannot separate the sinner from his sin. The sinner is hateful when he commits the sin and this needs to be clearly understood. Sins are not condemned to Hell for eternity; it is the unrepentant sinner.

"Hate the sin but love the sinner" is a paraphrase taken from a letter written by St. Augustine giving instruction to a religious order of nuns on certain means of discipline to be observed in the correction of unlawful practices by their members: "When convicted of the fault, it is her duty to submit to the corrective discipline which may be appointed by the prioress or the prior. If she refuse to submit to this, and does not go away from you of her own accord, let her be expelled from your society. For this is not done cruelly but mercifully, to protect very many from perishing through infection of the plague with which one has been stricken. Moreover, what I have now said in regard to abstaining from wanton looks should be carefully observed, with due love for the persons and hatred of the sin, in observing, forbidding, reporting, reproving, and punishing of all other faults."

A careful reading of St. Augustine's letter makes it clear that the paraphrase "hate the sin but love the sinner" was not meant as a panacea to serve in the place of either condemnation or punishment of a wrongdoer. Its purpose, rather, was to inform that righteous condemnation and punishment, in the proper Christian sense, was not from malice but for the greater good of the offender as well as the community.

Sin is definitely not a zero-sum game as justice and rectification for every sin must be realized, whether in this life or beyond.

"Hate the sin but love the sinner" is a seemingly compassionate catchphrase tailor-made for today's milieu in which human behavior is no longer judged by the criteria of right or wrong, but rather from the vagaries of environment or psychophysiology (a pseudo-science that has been successful in masquerading psychosis and sanity as one and the same). These are delusions put forth which serve well to waylay right conscience and subvert accountability for evildoing.

In our celebrated age of psychoanalysis, however, the phrase "hate the sin but love the sinner" has objectives quite foreign to that of its author, St. Augustine. Our modernist spin-doctors have inverted its meaning to that of indulging the sinner and allaying his warranted accountability and castigation.

Full essay at New Oxford Review
Knights4Christ and one more user link to this post
lukedaniel
Enough with the 'hand holding'.. 'do not judge', 'we must be sensitive.' It just comes down to plain common sense and in imitation of the saints and apostles who feared nothing at correcting and condemning the sins of others. Had we not been 'so sensitive' in correcting our erring brothers for the past Fifty years, maybe the church and the world wouldn't be where it is now. God help us!
Holy Cannoli
Love the sinner? That depends on how you define "love." Smile, hold their hand and tell them that it's not for you to judge in typical modernist fashion not wanting to offend and without mentioning that there will be accountability for their actions often in this life and most assuredly in the next? Is that really "love"?
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St. John the Baptist calls the Pharisees a "race of vipers"; Jesus Christ …More
Love the sinner? That depends on how you define "love." Smile, hold their hand and tell them that it's not for you to judge in typical modernist fashion not wanting to offend and without mentioning that there will be accountability for their actions often in this life and most assuredly in the next? Is that really "love"?

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St. John the Baptist calls the Pharisees a "race of vipers"; Jesus Christ, Our Divine Savior, hurls at them the epithets "hypocrites, whitened sepulchres, a perverse and adulterous generation." St. Paul criticizes the schismatic Cretians as "always liars, evil beasts, slothful bellies." The same Apostle calls Elymas the magician a "seducer, full of guile and deceit, a child of the devil, and enemy of all justice."
yuca2111
Some of the most famous saints of the church all have nasty things to say about sin, even though they love their brother, so even though is not doctrine... it summarizes well what God loves, because he hates wickedness but though gave His only Son in the cross, but Jesus dying is NOT a free out of jail card if you don't repent and embrace His Mercy. Is true we can't judge and condemned people if we …More
Some of the most famous saints of the church all have nasty things to say about sin, even though they love their brother, so even though is not doctrine... it summarizes well what God loves, because he hates wickedness but though gave His only Son in the cross, but Jesus dying is NOT a free out of jail card if you don't repent and embrace His Mercy. Is true we can't judge and condemned people if we are even worst than demons, BUT if YOU embrace Jesus Mercy, repents each day, and try to seek Mercy... you will tell your brother... HEY DON"T HAVE SEX WITH ANOTHER MAN INSTEAD SEEK CELIBACY, HEY JESUS IS GOD AND IF YOU DON"T BELIEVE IN HIM YOU ALREADY CONDEMENED YOURSELF, DON"T KILL YOUR BABY...., a lot of this is not actually what we say when we evangelize because we have to be sensitive and careful because our brothers WILL shut their ears if we speak like that, BUT sometimes when everything is laid out on the table, you have to be blunt... GOD LOVES YOU AND ME BUT HE HATES MY SIN AND YOURS< WE NEED TO SEEK HOLINESS... blessings, happy new year.
Knights4Christ
🤗 3 John 1:11
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
1 John 3:8
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
8 Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed …More
🤗 3 John 1:11
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
1 John 3:8
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
8 Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Matthew 7:21-23
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
Concerning Self-Deception
21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’

2 Corinthians 5
10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.
2 Timothy 2:19
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.”

Revelation 14:13
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”
PNeri
Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. (Eph 5: 6,7) ........ And he said to his disciples: It is impossible that scandals should not come: but woe to him through whom they come. It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than …More
Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. (Eph 5: 6,7) ........ And he said to his disciples: It is impossible that scandals should not come: but woe to him through whom they come. It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him. (Lk 17: 1-3)
Knights4Christ
👏 Amen Thanks for posting 👏 😌
😇 and I just translated the article into Spanish 👍
“In this world I have but one enemy, and that is sin, and from the first I have sworn to wage war against it all my days to the end of my life”.~St. Leonard of Port Maurice 😁More
👏 Amen Thanks for posting 👏 😌

😇 and I just translated the article into Spanish 👍

“In this world I have but one enemy, and that is sin, and from the first I have sworn to wage war against it all my days to the end of my life”.~St. Leonard of Port Maurice 😁
Don Reto Nay
It is time that somebody finally spoke the truth concerning this argument.
speck
"psychophysiology (a pseudo-science that has been successful in masquerading psychosis and sanity as one and the same)"
I don't really understand where this is coming from or how it relates to the essay. Bizarre.More
"psychophysiology (a pseudo-science that has been successful in masquerading psychosis and sanity as one and the same)"

I don't really understand where this is coming from or how it relates to the essay. Bizarre.
truthbeauty
Just a thought... Aren't we ALL sinners? Fallen short of the glory of God? Should we then "hate" everybody including our own person? And since the word "hate" is being used, should we really be carrying around this hate around with us? Is this how we get to heaven? Just a thought...
holyrope 3
Good article!
AnnaMaieV
Another bogus one is "Live in the world, but not of the world"
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