The US legislation has historically developed a system of criminal prevention of crimes committed on the grounds of ethnic, national and religious enmity. Awareness of the high public danger of these acts gradually led national legislators to introduce criminal liability. The category of hate crimes includes any criminally punishable act committed against an individual. It is motivated by hatred because of their race, skin color, ethnic origin or nationality, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability. Hatred of one’s brother is forbidden in both the Old and New Testaments. Thus, this intensification of hate crimes is an appropriate exercise of the jurisdiction of the civil Government in accordance with the biblical worldview.
Jesus spoke out against hate crimes, and we should also speak out against them. The criminal legislation already contains such commandments as “Do not kill”, “Do not steal”, and jurisdiction should also be issued regarding love for one’s neighbor. This is due to the fact that this commandment is the basis of Christian morality (Gover et al., 2020). All the commandments of the Old and New Testaments are reduced to two commandments: love for God and one’s neighbors.
The first four commandments of the Old Testament are the commandments about the love of God, and the next six are about the love of one’s neighbors. (Exodus 20:1-17). Likewise, the commandments given by the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament in the Gospel are also dedicated to the love of God and neighbors. Love for God consists in the fulfillment of His commandments. “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he loves me; but whoever loves me will be loved by my Father; and I will love him and appear to him Myself.” (John 14:21). This love is sacrificial, and consists in fulfilling the commandments of God, faithfulness to Him.
Those who love the Lord are ready to sacrifice their time, some of their interests, and even their lives for Him: “for your mercy is better than life.” (Psalm 62:4). People should also sacrifice their principles, such as hatred of other races, gender and individual characteristics. It is clearly written in the Bible that racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, as well as hatred or enmity against any social group is wrong. They completely contradict God’s command to love our neighbors, His unconditional love and the teachings of Jesus. All forms of hate crimes go against the principles of the Bible about love and compassion.
It is written in the Bible that God created all the nations from one person so that they would settle all over the earth. God marked the times assigned to them and the boundaries of their lands. The Bible says that there are many different nations and ethnic groups. Some of them are mentioned in it: these are Arabs, Cretans, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Israelis and Romans (Ben & Silvestri, 2020). In the Old Testament, the Israelites are called the chosen people, because God founded a new nation through Abraham. The chosen people were invited to follow Him not only in action, but also in heart. The Jews were given faith in a God who loves and cares for them.
Despite the fact that the Israelites were a chosen people, God extended His love and care not only to them, but to every nation. Jonah, by the command of God, was to visit Nineveh and preach there, saving people from destruction. The Old Testament provides examples of non-Jewish converts. For example, Ruth and Zipporah followed God. God has opened his arms to the whole world.
One day Jesus approached a Samaritan woman standing by a well. The woman knew that Jews treat Samaritans as second-class people. She was surprised that Jesus asked her for water. He, a Jew, spoke to her and showed mercy. Jesus told the poor woman that he was the Messiah. He invited the Samaritan woman to eternal life. This proves once again that Jesus was against hate (Pezzella et al., 2019). He never judged people by their appearance, not putting one person over another, and loved everyone equally.
In Revelation it can be seen how God completes history, leading humanity into eternity. People of all nations, races, skin colors, social and political groups will worship God in Heaven, standing together as brothers and sisters in Christ. God loves every nation and every individual. The Holy Scriptures say that hatred cannot be combined with Christianity. Therefore, it is necessary to prohibit such a sin as crimes based on hatred, as a particularly grave violation of the law.
The practice of applying hate crime legislation in the United States is based on the idea that such legislation is designed to protect the rights of all social groups. However, some members of society have historically been the most vulnerable to discrimination and harassment. The Israelites, who had special privileges, had a special responsibility of applying the law of God. Therefore, members of the secular community need to take care of their neighbors, who are often subjected to oppression. Caring for others, including in the form of a legislative guarantee of their rights, will be the highest manifestation of Christian love.
References
Ben, C., & Silvestri, M. (2020). The role of (in)visibility in hate crime targeting transgender people. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 4(7), 1-13.
Gover, A. R., Harper, S. B., & Langton, L. (2020). Anti-Asian hate crime during the Covid-19 pandemic: exploring the reproduction of inequality. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(9), 647-667.
KJV Holy Bible (2022). New York, NY: Christian Art Publishers.
Pezzella, F. Z., Fetzer, M. D., & Keller, T. (2019). The dark figure of hate crime underreporting. American Behavioral Scientist, 15(2), 30-49.