Forgiveness

[keifer]

Where I'm at right now, I'd tear his throat out. And I have no issues with killing a rapist either or those that pray upon the weak.

I will never say that person is OK. He believes it's OK to give that drug to people without telling them. He does not consider what he does wrong giving people amnesia without telling them and have the person do whatever he wants because it makes his job easier and I have no rights as a patient to know what's going on or what they are doing to me.

 

[shell]

Forgiving someone doesn't mean you are saying what they did was OK. I know not everyone on this forum is religious, but I'm going to use a scriptural example here to explain my point -

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shell said: ↑ The only person we have to forgive is ourselves

Is not true. If we want the Lord to forgive us, then we have to find it within ourselves to forgive those who have hurt us. We are required to forgive everyone, if we want to be forgiven. Does that mean we take responsibility for their wrong-doing? No. Does that mean we are saying what they did was OK? No. Forgiveness is simply an opportunity to let go of the past and move forward - it is a chance for people (ourselves and others) to progress, and change, and HEAL and become better people.

Well, lucky for me I don't believe in the lord, or I would never be forgiven!

I thought quoting scripture at people on this forum wasn't acceptable, maybe I was mistaken?

 

[Nebulustrix]

@shell - I'm sorry, I was not trying to be offensive. From the site rules:

DO respect opinion diversity and member/s rights to equality, ethnicity & cultural beliefs.
DO cite referenced material and attach empirical evidence if challenging existing knowledge. (One study is not empirical)

I've underlined the parts that pertain to my decision to use scripture. There is no rule that says this is not acceptable. The only thing I did wrong, according to this, was to not cite exactly where my quotes came from, but I was going out of my memory, and wasn't actually looking these up. I also thought it would be less forward to those who are not religious if I just quoted generally and didn't give exact references.

Since I directly quoted your statement and very directly said "this is wrong", I can understand your balking at my "evidence". Especially since you don't believe it to be a trustworthy source, and I'm sorry if my directness upset you.

I'm not trying to force it down anybody's throat, just stating my personal belief/opinion based on my background and "cultural belief" as a Christian. Scripture is tied deeply into what I personally believe about forgiveness, which is why I added the caveat that this may not apply to those who are not Christian and who don't accept scripture as truth.

For me - scripture references are just as empirical as scientific studies. I rely on both for evidence in forming my opinions. So, according to a source that I personally trust as reliable and true, forgiving others is a requirement if we want to be forgiven. Since this is not a source that you trust as true, it is perfectly acceptable for you to disagree, and I can understand that. It's much the same as someone in a scientific field not trusting a source that they believe to be biased and wanting to get their information from a different source before deciding on any conclusive findings.

In the case of "forgiveness", probably the best place to turn to determine whether it is most helpful to forgive others or only ourselves would be psychological studies done on the topic, and I'm not really certain how many of those there are out there... I'm sure there must be some, but I've never gone to scientific studies for this particular topic. I'm curious enough now though to start looking some up, though! :) Maybe I'll find something interesting!

Anyway - I just want to make it clear that I'm not trying to force my opinion/religion on anyone. I just can't discuss something like forgiveness without relying on scripture at least a little, because it is my main source for what I believe on the topic. If you find that use of scripture offensive, I am very sorry - but I can't change who I am as a Christian. I will state what I believe, and I hope you can recognize that it is nothing more than that - my belief. You are welcome to disagree with it and my source, but your disagreement won't change what I personally believe.

 

[shell]

I

@shell - I'm sorry, I was not trying to be offensive. From the site rules: DO respect opinion diversity and member/s rights to equality, ethnicity & cultural beliefs. DO cite referenced material and attach empirical evidence if challenging existing knowledge. (One study is not empirical) I've underlined the parts that pertain to my decision to use scripture. There is no rule that says this is not acceptable. The only thing I did wrong, according to this, was to not cite exactly where my quotes came from, but I was going out of my memory, and wasn't actually looking these up. I also thought it would be less forward to those who are not religious if I just quoted generally and didn't give exact references. Since I directly quoted your statement and very directly said "this is wrong", I can understand your balking at my "evidence". Especially since you don't believe it to be a trustworthy source, and I'm sorry if my directness upset you.

Thank you for you apology, certainly I felt my cultural beliefs were not respected when it was expressly quoted, and then told that my opinion was not true, I felt invalidated.

Many of us that were abused as a young child felt abandoned by god, and to quote in reference to my belief, was hugely triggering.

While I am sure that is not your intention, when we don't honour others rights to their cultural beliefs that is what can happen. I was never questioning your right to that belief, just how were directing your belief.

As for needing to forgive my parents, I don't need to, perhaps because I never blamed them, I just blamed me.