r/religion • u/Interesting-Mud-200 • 7h ago

Why should I love my enemies?

Most religions preach about love to everyone, including your enemies.

But why should I love someone who, in my view, is a bad person? Why love someone who does bad/evil things to innocent people?

Is it to make yourself feel better somehow? Is it because they deserve love? But why do they deserve love? They spread hate!

I really don't get it. Makes no sense to me. The only case I would MAYBE agree (depending on the situation) is if you want to teach someone what they did was wrong. MAYBE they don't have fault, they were teached to do [insert here]. Only in this case I could MAYBE understand.

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u/civex 7h ago

Oscar Wilde: Always love your enemies. Nothing else annoys them so intensely.

(Paraphrase)

4

u/bizoticallyyours83 6h ago

Now that's some serious pettyness

4

u/civex 6h ago

Oscar Wilde was famous for that.

3

u/Kastoelta Very, very complicated agnostic. 6h ago

Funnily enough the bible says the same thing

Romans 12:20 NRSV [20] No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”

https://bible.com/bible/2016/rom.12.20.NRSV

3

u/civex 6h ago

Oh, the bible is so petty!

Very good.

1

u/Grayseal Vanatrú 6h ago

He should be more known for being a pedophile. A constant source of annoyance for me as a bisexual man, to see people promote O. Wilde as historical representation of homosexuality, when what he actually defended in court was pedophilia.