Hate is Evil vs. Hate is required by God
Here are the two verses cited as evidence for this alleged contradiction:
| Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (1 John 3:15) | If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26) |
As with any word, the context must be examined to properly understand the meaning. Hate is defined as "To feel hostility or animosity toward. To detest." (American Heritage Dictionary). The Bible uses hatred in at least two different contexts: (1) a hatred of fellow man, and (2) a Godly hatred.
Hatred as a Basis For Murder
In the context of the first passage (1 John 3:15), hatred of our fellow man is spoken against. Calling one who hates a murderer is a reference to the end result of hatred if left unchecked. This was the case with Cain, who murdered his brother (Gen. 4:8). In a similar manner, Jesus spoke against those who are angry with their brother without cause:
(Mat 5:22 NKJV) "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.
Hatred of this type is everywhere spoken against in the Bible and its result is usually sin.
Godly Hatred
Christians are called to be like God (Eph. 5:1). God himself hates things which are evil, and calls us to do the same.
(Amos 5:15 NKJV) Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
We are to hate evil, because it is through evil that a man is destroyed. Those who do evil are said to "hate" their own life:
(Prov 29:24 NKJV) Whoever is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He swears to tell the truth, but reveals nothing.
Jesus said that those who love this life will lose it:
(John 12:25 NKJV) "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
This idea presented is that one who loves this life (i.e. his earthly existence above God), will lose his life by rejecting God, and so is spoken of as hating his life. Those who hate this worldly existence (i.e. love it less than God) are those who love God and by obedience to God will obtain eternal life. The second definition of hate in the American Heritage Dictionary is "To feel dislike or distaste for". Those who love God more than this earthly existence will have a Godly "dislike" for the corruption in this world brought about by sin, and so will "hate" (dislike) the things of this world and desire the eternal life which is in Christ Jesus.
In the same sense, anything that would stand between a Christian and service to God stands between him and eternal life, and thus will be a matter of "dislike". The Christian is called to love God more than even Father and Mother in the same sense as loving God more than his own life (earthly existence) as is stated in the context:
(Luke 14:26 NKJV) "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
So to "hate" father and mother is to love them less than God in the same sense as loving his own life less than God (John 12:25). This definition is supported by the dictionary and is clearly the meaning called for by the context.
Conclusion
The alleged contradiction is a misunderstanding created by not understanding the word in its context. When the context is examined and the word is used as given in the dictionary there is no contradiction. It is interesting that the usage of "hate" to mean "love less" or "dislike" is recognized by "Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary" as follows:
3. (Script.) To love less, relatively. --Luke xiv. 26
-- David A. Duncan