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From: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: QUESTIONS FROM A FRIEND
Message-ID: <1296@shark.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 22-Mar-85 03:51:43 EST
Article-I.D.: shark.1296
Posted: Fri Mar 22 03:51:43 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 26-Mar-85 06:36:20 EST
References: <gymble.109> <347@oakhill.UUCP> <1281@shark.UUCP> <5288@utzoo.UUCP>
Reply-To: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison)
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR
Lines: 47
Summary: 

[ prayer bead to choke line eater ]

In article <5288@utzoo.UUCP> laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton) writes:
>From Hutch:
>
>	Anger is a legitimate emotion. There is nothing about anger that makes
>	it evil of itself.  However, like all emotions, it must be balanced by
>	reason, and it must not be allowed to fester itself into hatred.
>
>Does this mean that hatred is an illegitimate emotion? How can one tell
>the legitimate ones from the illegitimate ones, then?
>
>Laura Creighton
>utzoo!laura

So pick on me for my lousy phrasing, why doncha! :=}

The reason I consider hatred to be an "illegitimate" emotion is that I don't
consider it to really be an emotion.

I see I am being obscure.  OK, well, it's like this.  I refer to "emotions"
when I talk about what used to be called "passions", that is, emotional
states which come and go in relatively short order.  Things like Love, or
Hate, are actually HABITS which are formed by deliberate CHOICES!

That is, I chose to nurture the affection, attraction and caritas which
I felt for my dear friend Penny and deliberately built it into Love.
This was not a cold, manipulative, icy-hearted thing, but it was a
decision which I had to make.  I also chose not to nurture the
annoyance, anger, frustration and hurt which I have felt over some of
Rich Rosen's articles and letters, which would have formed Hate, and
instead have been concentrating on the more positive things which I
find in his communications.  (Sorry for using you as an example, Rich,
but you must admit that everyone will understand what I mean.)

So, the habit of love is the almost automatic surgence of positive
emotions which I have nurtured towards a person, and the habit of hate
is the similarly automatic surgence of anger, vengefulness, etc. which
I might unknowingly have nurtured.  I think this is why Jesus tells us
not to let the sun set on our anger.  If you let it fester, it can form
the habit of hatred.

What this means to me as a Christian is that I must recognize what my
feelings are, but that I need not be controlled by them and that I need
not deny or suppress them.

Hutch