Did GOd love Hitler? Does He love Charles Manson?

[ReformedWretch]

We were discussing in our men's bible study about God not loving everyone. This question came up when one of our members said the Arminian's he's spoken to will admit God didn't love Hitler and that He doesn't love Charles Manson yet still claim that God loves everyone

I believe that most Arminian's I know would say God did indeed love Hitler but that Hitler rejected God's love. Same with Charles Manson.

Thoughts?

 

[SmokingFlax]

Well...

I'm not persuaded that God loves/loved these guys -at least beyond any kind of common grace that is.

It's interesting to me that some of Manson's "family" were later said to have testified to being born again (Tex Watson and Susan Atkins both guilty of the most brutal aspects of their crimes).

I might be wrong but I'm of the opinion that Hitler and the National Socialists were a plain judgment of God on the Germanic nation for their rejection of truth and subsequent propagation of their blasphemous "higher criticism" of God's Word which they spread throughout the world. Furthermore, as far as I understand, Germany has only furthered itself down the path of apostacy and I wouldn't be surprised if they are soon to be hit by the Islamic terrorists or some other such judgment.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Perhaps they get this warped understanding from reading Young's Literal Translation rather than a better translation:

Psalm 7.11 (YLT): God 'is' a righteous judge, And He is not angry at all times.

Psalm 7.11 (KJV): God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Germany has certainly reaped the whirlwind from Hitler. I remember touring the WWII ruins of Dresden in 1991. The 1970's were the decade of terrorism in Germany. The Red Army Faction, the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre by Black September, and many more Socialist-Islamic groups and incidents. Germany was home to some of the 9/11 terrorists too. It's a far cry from the Reformation of 1517.

BTW, since yesterday was the anniversary of a famous sermon on July 8, 1741 by Jonathan Edwards, perhaps Arminians or others with a misapprehension of God's love towards sinners would do well to read Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

 

[Texas Aggie]

I believe the enmity between God and man is a two way street. Man hates God and vice versa (as harsh as that sounds). Who knows if God loved Adolph. All are the servant of God and instruments of His will.

Possibly our definitions of "love" and "hate" may be different from God's (I don't know). Just because God hated Esau may not mean He hated him in the sense we would with all the emotions of a fallen creature. Maybe His definition of love is different also. At any rate, I tend to believe the enmity is a two way street.