Righteous Anger

[otseng]

This is spawned from The Origin of Good and Evil.

Not "evil", but a source of evil, as the love of money is. Anger, in any form, whether it be righteous or not, is a destructive emotion. Did the anger against your friends and family ever further the love you have for them? Did it ever contribute anything to the relationship? If so, could that same result be achieved through other means?

Can anger ever be good? Is all anger bad? What about righteous anger?

[cattious]

Well, God has wrath. That's a kind of anger. Isn't it? And, if God is truly perfect and sinless and yada yada, then some anger must be good.

[Corvus]

The only time I can think of where anger could be of use is when it's required as a means to motivate a people who are incapable of being motivated. Wars, for example. But I can't categorise that as "good" or "bad", but perhaps a matter of necessity.

I do believe anger can be justified, but I don't believe that equates to saying anger can be good. It is in the same order as tapping a mallet on a knee and observing a reaction. They are both natural responses.

[Illyricum]

Well, I don't think that anger is nesserily wrong, I know it's not a sin (at least, I can't recall anywhere in the Bible where it states that). Anger is an emotion, there's nothing wrong with having emotions. It's just that the things that usually happen because they've gotten angry that are wrong. God has emotions too, but unlike us humans, he's able to control his anger everytime he gets angry.

[cookiesusedunderprotest]

The Bible mentions God's anger several times. Additionally, we are told, "In your anger do not sin." (Psalm 4:4a, Ephesians 4:26a, NIV) So it would seem that it is possible for us to have righteous anger. However, I think we should keep a few things in mind.

First, the Bible indicates that anger is not a characteristic response of God: "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." (Psalm 103:8, NIV, several verses similar to this one are found elsewhere in the Bible). Nor should we allow it to reside in us: "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." (Ephesians 4:26b-27, NIV)

Second, since God is perfect, He is perfectly able to control His anger. However, I believe we have a tendency to allow the emotion of anger to produce the attitude of hate, which is clearly wrong. "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." (1 John 3:15, NIV) Therefore, we should always be wary of our motives when we become angry.

[Corvus]

Well, I don't think that anger is nesserily wrong, I know it's not a sin (at least, I can't recall anywhere in the Bible where it states that). Anger is an emotion, there's nothing wrong with having emotions. It's just that the things that usually happen because they've gotten angry that are wrong. God has emotions too, but unlike us humans, he's able to control his anger everytime he gets angry.

But I can't think of why he should get angry. Anger is the result of strong dissatisfaction with a circumstance or outcome. It is usually the result of failed hopes or expectations. That God could be angry as a response to something he has always known about seems strange to me.

[otseng]

I believe that anger, by itself, is neither good nor bad. It is neutral. What is good or bad is what follows from the anger.

If, as a result of anger, someone becomes unforgiving and revengeful, that is bad.

However, I believe there are cases in which anger can cause results which are good.

Just a small illustration from a personal example. I brought my kids and my father-in-law to a nearby playground several years ago. As we were all playing, we were speaking in Chinese (with the limited Chinese that I have). Then one black teenager walked by and looked at us and said something along the lines of "Ching chong chu", obviously making fun of us speaking Chinese. I ignored it. Then he came back and did it again. There were two teenagers goading each other to make fun of us. And they did it a third time. By this time, I was getting mad. As we were leaving the park, I calmly walked up to the kids and said (in perfect english) "I know you kids are playing around, but saying things like that isn't a good thing to do. You shouldn't talk like that to other people. Just play it cool, alright?" They didn't really say much after that, but I think they learned their lesson. So, hopefully this was one case in which anger helped to reduce racism.

[cookiesusedunderprotest]

But I can't think of why [God] should get angry. Anger is the result of strong dissatisfaction with a circumstance or outcome. It is usually the result of failed hopes or expectations. That God could be angry as a response to something he has always known about seems strange to me.

Well, this borders on a sovereign will of God versus free will of man debate, but the Bible indicates that God has emotions in response to the choices we make. Though not a perfect analogy, perhaps it would help to think of it this way: Any parent knows that at one point or another, regardless of the time, place, or circumstances, someone will commit an injustice against their child; it may not be severe, but it'll happen notetheless. Yet when it happens, a parent wouldn't be expected to be apathetic because they expected it. Rather the parent would be expected to be sympathetic toward the child and indignant toward whoever committed the injustice. In the same way, when we commit a major offense against God or another person, God is angry because of the sin that was committed, even though He knew it would happen.

[t]

Well, I don't think that anger is nesserily wrong, I know it's not a sin (at least, I can't recall anywhere in the Bible where it states that). Anger is an emotion, there's nothing wrong with having emotions. It's just that the things that usually happen because they've gotten angry that are wrong. God has emotions too, but unlike us humans, he's able to control his anger everytime he gets angry.

Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice

Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Col 3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.


Mat 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, Mat 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

This was righteous anger.

Anger in most cases is a sin. It is hard to determine at least by me when my anger would be righteous. I don't think it falls into that category often.

What we say when we aren't mad can hurt, when your mad we really say things that hurt. I don't see how it can be good for anything that would be profitable for us. The more bees with honey than salt thing.

[Corvus]

But I can't think of why [God] should get angry. Anger is the result of strong dissatisfaction with a circumstance or outcome. It is usually the result of failed hopes or expectations. That God could be angry as a response to something he has always known about seems strange to me.

Well, this borders on a sovereign will of God versus free will of man debate, but the Bible indicates that God has emotions in response to the choices we make. Though not a perfect analogy, perhaps it would help to think of it this way: Any parent knows that at one point or another, regardless of the time, place, or circumstances, someone will commit an injustice against their child; it may not be severe, but it'll happen notetheless. Yet when it happens, a parent wouldn't be expected to be apathetic because they expected it. Rather the parent would be expected to be sympathetic toward the child and indignant toward whoever committed the injustice.

Expected? I'm not entirely sure I understand. That they are expected to do something implies that it's mainly for appearances that they are doing it. If this is not what you mean, and by "expected" you mean "should naturally react", then I would say if the action to which they are reacting was entirely known, they would be resigned to its outcome. It would still be dissatisfaction with an outcome, possibly feelings of helplessness and probably thoughts of vengeful spite towards a flagrant display of indecent behaviour towards the person that harmed her child.

In the same way, when we commit a major offense against God or another person, God is angry because of the sin that was committed, even though He knew it would happen.

Er, perhaps some further clarification is needed. Or perhaps make your example clearer so I can discern the motivation of the parent for acting in the way that they do.