[Serious] Over the top

[GrandizerII]

The argument, to remind you, was whether what Anom said was over the top. Based on what the doctrines of mainstream Christianity, no.

This is your interpretation. Mine is different. 

I think that we can and should face the fact that people are likely to behave very badly. People are selfish and unfair, and we easily find justifications for these things. 

And I think that loving people more is the best way to address this. 

Therefore, I think that acknowledging the flaws in human character does not mean someone is a misanthrope. Love (the opposite of misanthropy) doesn't have to be blind. 

This is from Buber (Jewish not Christian, but compatible):

In the eyes of him who takes his stand in love, and gazes out of it, men are cut free from their entanglement in bustling activity. Good people and evil, wise and foolish, beautiful and ugly, become successively real to him; that is, set free they step forth in their singleness, and confront him as Thou. [This is Buber's term for when we treat someone as valuable in himself, not an end to a means, infinitely unknowable and unprovably valuable.] In a wonderful way, from time to time, exclusiveness also arises -- and so he can be effective, helping, healing, educating, raising up, saving. [The exclusiveness refers to the fact that we tend to feel special obligation to our own kids, etc.] 

Note that there is no denial about the fact that many people are evil, foolish, and ugly.

When you say people do you mean all people? Or some?

Anyhow, I don't quite agree that our nature always leans towards selfish acts. We can be selfish in some contexts but remarkably altruistic in other contexts. And this is a far cry from saying that our human nature is tainted with sin.

And loving people despite their flaws (which don't sufficientily define who they are) is a good thing, loving people often also means we tend to see the good in them as well. To say that human beings are tainted with sin by nature but we should love them regardless isn't exactly flattering, and it's reasonable to say that this shows contempt for human nature (which in other words is misanthropic).