Hello angry Christians.

[Gab]

Another verse which I find in the Amplified quite curious (not in a good way) is 1John 3:15---
Anyone who hates (abominates, detests) his brother [in Christ] is [at heart] a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding ([k]persevering) within him.

So another words, if you hate your NON-Christian brother, you are NOT a murderer

Another example, again from our friends at the Amplified: ch4:20-21---

If anyone says, I love God, and hates (detests, abominates) his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not seen.
21And this command (charge, order, injunction) we have from Him: that he who loves God shall love his brother [believer] also.

So here we see that it's OK for believers to NOT love their unbelieving brother.

Am I missing something here? Or is this fuel for the ET (bigot) fire?

ANY help clarifying these verses above would be GREATLY appreciated..

Brian

This isn't hard, actually.  Look at the Greek:

1 John 3:15

pas ho mison ton adelphon autou anthropoktonos estin

every the one-hating the brother of-him murderer (lit. human-killer) is

"Every one who hates his brother is a murderer."

Where's "in Christ"?  Nowhere - that's not a translation; it's a commentary in disguise.  The second passage is the same:

1 John 4:20

ean tis eipe hoti agapo ton theon kai ton adelphon autou mise pseustes estin

if-ever anyone may-be-saying that I-am-loving the god and the brother of-him may-be-hating liar he-is

"If ever anyone says 'I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar."

1 John 4:21

kai tauten ten entolen echomen ap autou hina ho agapon ton theon agapa kai ton adelphon autou

and this the direction we-are-having from him that the one-loving the god may-be-loving also the brother of-him

"And this (is) the direction we have from him: that the one who loves God also loves his brother."

Confer with what Jesus said to the expert in the law:

"On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. 'Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

"'What is written in the Law?' he replied. 'How do you read it?'

"He answered: ' 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' '

"'You have answered correctly,' Jesus replied. 'Do this and you will live.'

"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'

"In reply Jesus said: 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"'Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?'

"The expert in the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.'

"Jesus told him, 'Go and do likewise.'" (Luke 10:25-37)

Such a beautiful command for us that Jesus left, and such a tragedy that so many just plainly do not want to be like Jesus.  Be very, very wary of any version of the Bible that inserts "helpers" that "guide" you to the "proper" interpretation of what you are reading - they are very much wolves in sheep's clothing, whose purpose never was to be a straight translation of the Bible, but rather to advance the preconceived doctrines of the translators through the defilement of scripture to their own ends.  No offense to those who worked on the Amplified Bible, but I daresay that the Bible does not need their amplification. :laughing7:

I personally said if there's not some hope of good coming from it, spending my time listening to people deny Jesus, trying to win converts to that way of thinking, well, I've just got better things to do with my time.  I believe Jesus interacted with those folks to make a difference in their lives.  Just sitting and listening in on someone else's "bully pulpit" is just what I'd probably prefer to not do if I have a good choice...

"whatsoever things are pure, honest, of good report, etc...think on these things".

I also said we are to love him.  I do believe the scripture is talking about more than love (though love is always present).  I see scripture teaching pretty clearly that if any man outright denies Jesus Christ's existance in the flesh (and especially teaches others so) that that is the spirit of anti-Christ.

My understanding, James.

Fair enough, I suppose - thanks for the clarification.

[jfraysse]

Thanks, Brother Gab for the analysis and advice - It was awesome and I agree with you completely! :thumbsup:  You Rock! :Urock: 
In His Love, John :HeartThrob:

[whyiloveitaly.com]

Gab,
Thanks for the clarification.
I have always felt in my heart that what I read in the KJV was truly talking about loving ALL people, just as Jesus taught. There was a harmony between the two.

Then when I read these verses in the Amplified (and indeed they are commentaries when you see the "[]" brackets), it rubbed me the wrong way. I just couldn't believe that the scriptures would be so narrow as to distinguish loving our brethren in Christ from loving the "unbelievers."
But then I got thinking, "no, they must be seeing something I don't." I thought perhaps those who made the Amplified were people who "knew" something about those verses that were not specified in the KJV, when they are apparently only commentaries with a hidden agenda. Yikes!

Just like Barry said: compassion before doctrine!

Brian