The Opposite of Love - Hate or Apathy?

Saturday 3/8/2014 7:22 AM

I once read that the opposite of love is not hate, but apathy.  I’m not sure of the veracity of that statement but it does seem to have at least some ring of truth to it.  Someone who exhibits anger or hatred is at least experiencing some sort of feeling about the person with whom, or the circumstances with which, they are dealing.  A person who is apathetic has gone past feeling and is simply numb toward the person or the circumstance.

Today I read an excerpt from The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Bruggemann.  He writes, “It is the crucifixion of Jesus that is the decisive criticism of the royal consciousness. … The criticism consists not in standing over against but in standing with; the ultimate criticism is not one of triumphant indignation but one of the passion and compassion that completely and irresistibly undermine the world of competence and competition.  The contrast is stark and total: this passionate man set in the midst of numbed Jerusalem.  And only the passion can finally penetrate the numbness.”

Today there are many who claim to be atheists or agnostics.  They believe that either God doesn’t exist at all or, if he does, he is unknowable and/or impotent.  In a sense they are apathetic or numb toward God.  Too often we in the Christian community want to oppose atheists and agnostics, claiming they are ruining society because of their desire to remove God from the public forum.  God’s desire is that we stand with them and express the passion of God’s love in our dealings with them.  God’s love is the only thing that can penetrate their numbness toward God.  It is our job to love.  It is God’s job to penetrate hearts and to judge.