“Hate” in the Bible is connected to the word, “persecute.” It assumes actively working against what God wants for the other. Like the word, “love,” I would argue “hate” has lost its meaning in our culture. Concepts like “hate” crime or “hate” speech are dealing with perception of emotions, not reality. These are not logically helpful terms, and worse, they are not helpful in the legal realm, as you find yourself legislating emotion. Then, for instance, many a psychopath would not be capable of a hate crime because they don’t have an emotionally-charged connection to their victim.

No, we need to think more deeply about what we mean by “hate.” If I disagree with someone about anything today, that person may say I am being “hateful.” If that person lashes out against me, then has he/she just committed a hateful act? Who decides what’s hateful in the first place? If you are a Christian, you can’t assume you know if someone is being hateful if you are basing it on their emotional response because God says he is the only one who really knows what is going on inside a person (Psalm 44:21). I, for one, would recommend a moratorium on using the word, “hate,” until we can consistently support a common meaning.