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The Danger Of Embracing The Hate We Oppose

The Danger Of Embracing The Hate We Oppose

Last updated on: May 26, 2026 at 10:16 am by Henry Karlson

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The Danger Of Embracing The Hate We Oppose 2026-05-26T10:16:00-05:00 Henry Karlson

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I try not to reply to many comments on the texts I write and share online, for those comments often are abrasive, combative, and do not seek dialogue but debate.| WikiMax312: Hate Speech / Wikimedia Commons.

Becoming the Monsters We Fight

The ends do not justify the means. Those who resist evil must not embrace the way of evil themselves. For if they do so, they do not eliminate the evil; they only change who does the evil. We must not become the monsters we fight. This is why it is important for us to love our enemies; when we resist evil, we must always remember our purpose or goal is not to destroy or annihilate them, but to transform them. That is, we should do what we can to make our enemy become our friend, not, of course, by joining in with them in their evil, but by having them abandon their evil and join us in our pursuit of the common good. This is the way to establish a just peace. If we lose sight of this goal, if we say it is impossible, so we should not even try to attain it, we end up justifying some sort of evil (and often the very one which we claim to oppose). This is what happens when the death penalty is justified. We say “thou shalt not kill,” but then we say we should kill the killer. This means we believe it is fine to kill as long as it is the right person doing the killing. The debate, then, becomes who that person is. From a Christian perspective, the answer is: no one. Jesus said those who live by the sword shall die by it. Killing is always wrong; however, this does not mean we might not find ourselves in a situation in which there are no good options, and we might have to defend our loved ones in such a way we end up killing someone. When that happens, we should not glorify what we have done, we should not treat the act of killing as good, but rather, we should realize it wasn’t and that it will have ramifications on our soul which we must deal with (which is why many early Christian leaders stated that any soldier who killed someone, even in a just war, even when the economia of the situation required it, still had to do penance; they understood such penance was not about punishing the person who killed but about providing the means they need for spiritual and psychological healing).

The Trap of Hypocrisy

While I know this, why I write on this often, I still find myself failing to treat people in the way I know I should. Some might suggest that I am a hypocrite, and perhaps, in a way, they are right. But I also try to write reflections that remind myself of what I should do; that is, while talking about what is good and just, I am exhorting myself, just as much as others, to follow Christ’s lead. I do not seek to justify myself when I do what I say should not be done, when I go against the virtues which I say the faith promotes; this, I believe, stops me from the hypocrisy which we must avoid. This is because I see it is wrong, I try to avoid doing the wrong, I even, at times, confess when I feel I have gone greatly astray, while hypocrites will tell others to do (or not do) something which they themselves do not do or try to do. A major problem with hypocrisy is that people demand of others what they do not demand for themselves; those who struggle to do what is right should realize others likewise struggle, and so should promote the same mercy for others as they hope they get for themselves during their struggles. Thus, for example, I often have to resist my worst instincts when online, and write in a way to shame or denigrate someone I disagree with. This is one of the reasons I try not to reply to many comments on the texts I write and share online, for those comments often are abrasive, combative, and do not seek dialogue but debate. I find, if I engage such comments, I tend to follow suit, and so do not engage with the charity that I know I should. But I don’t want to deny people the opportunity to speak, because many others write insightful comments, sometimes with very good questions. While, again, I might respond to them, I try to do so sparingly lest I let my worst instincts get the best of me. I find the best way to deal with challenging posts, written out of true interest to learn and dialogue, and not just to debate, is to ponder them and see if they will inspire me to write something substantial in reply. And even if I don’t write something, I hope others will. Does that happen? Sometimes, but sadly, it seems the places online which get the most comments are those geared towards debate instead of people seeking to learn from each other. That is, so many want to prove themselves “superior” to everyone else, and so, they engage others to prove it to themselves; they do not really pay attention to what others are saying unless they can find a way to entrap them by their words. Again, I know this from my own experience; even when I begin with the best intentions, I find myself drawn into debates which go on way too long, and end up responding out of pride instead of charity.

When Bad Will Begets Bad Will

My experience online, especially from those times I find myself following my worst instincts or habits, shows how powerful an influence a bad will can have upon people. If it is left unchecked, it begins to inspire hate, both from those who have such a bad will, but also from those they harm due to their actions. And sometimes, the two go together. We find this in the way people from one religion begin to hate people from other religions. Their ill will sees the ill will of people from other religions and extrapolates from it reasons to hate people from other religions (suggesting such bad will is normative from the other religion, when it often is not the case). Antisemitism, Islamophobia, both rely upon generalizations which are based upon the way some Jews and Muslims doing bad things, acting like they represent those religious traditions (when most often, they do not). There are people from all walks of life, from every culture, from every religious tradition, who possess an ill will, act on it, and cause great harm to others; often, they come from people in positions of power who exploit a particular religious faith instead of following its greatest teachings. Antisemitism and Islamophobia constantly bring up examples of Jews and Muslims doing bad things, suggesting they are representative of the religion, and use that to justify hate. But those who do this follow through with a hate of their own, an ill-will of their own, embracing in themselves what they attack in others. In this way, we can see those who say that Jews or Muslims are trying to take over the world, those who say Jews and Muslims are not to be trusted because they lie, end up saying the solution is to take over the world themselves, and to use any means necessary, even lies, to do so.

Turning Enemies into Allies

Jews continue to suffer grave injustices in the world. Muslims also continue to suffer grave injustices in the world. Christians similarly find themselves suffering injustices in some places in the world. Atheists often find themselves unjustly attacked and criticized by those holding onto some religious faith. People of other faiths, similarly, often find themselves persecuted for one reason or another. While we can and should point out such injustices and why they are wrong, we should also do more. We should look at why people are being attacked, find out how people justify persecuting those holding onto other faiths, and do what we can to show them the reasons they give for their actions are wrong. People of diverse faiths and cultures should come together and help each other, such as when Muslims help Jews restore synagogues that were unjustly attacked or destroyed, or when Jews help Muslims when their mosques are attacked or destroyed. There are people of goodwill found in all faith traditions. When we see them, when we find ourselves with them, working with them for the common good, we end up seeing through the lies that would have us hate them. People need to care for each other, not fear or hate each other. That, again, takes me back to one of the main points of this reflection. Those who live by the sword will die by it, but those who seek after the common good, those who desire to have would-be enemies turned into allies and friends, will find their goodwill can and will lead to having their goodwill returned to them. No, not everyone will change and repent, but the more people come together with goodwill, the better they can properly resist those of ill will, so that those of ill will shall find themselves unable to spread their hate, limiting the harm they can cause to society.

* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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