A non-nano post

I know I normally wouldn't go into religion on a writing blog, but I kind of want to get this out.

Something I never understood about faith in general is why so many churches preach hate.  I have been fortunate to grow up in a church that teaches love, and to find a similar one when I got to college.  But what irritates me is why some churches try to work the meaning of God's word to fit their own fears.
They wouldn't say it like that, of course.  They would probably say they dislike something because God dislikes something.  But that gets into the question that has been going on for a while now ("a while now" meaning "since Plato's time;" yes, he did do some dialogues on it): is something good or bad because of God's opinion on it, or does God form an opinion because something is good or bad?  Is something good because it is favored, or favored because it is good?

That gets, very indirectly, into the second part of a tangent.

I have noticed that in more than one system's writings that a big part of following the faith is doing good stuff - serving your faith in whatever form it presents itself, and showing love to all.  In at least two religious writings (the Bible and the Daodejing, and probably others as well), there is the extra stipulation that you should do good stuff, but do not be obvious about it.  Give what is yours in moderation, and not what you have an excess of.  The scripture that was preached on in church this morning was the story of the widow who gave two coppers to her Synagogue, which was basically all she had, and Jesus favored her more than the super-rich guys who gave in a whole lot because they had a whole lot.
That is not to say that you should not give what you have an excess of.  You're probably not going to use it anyway, so why not give it?  But also give something that you do not have a lot of - money, time, or something else - and do not expect it to be returned.  Do not tout yourself as a good person because you gave away something you had a lot of.  Do not tout yourself as a good person at all.
Just give what you can, and God will notice.

Why, then, is there so much hate in faith?  Many times it is said that you need to love, serve, and give, and you will be favored.
That is the bit I try to live by, and that is the bit I hope is the thread in more churches than just my own.