confused..?

Question

somehow i don't understand how if a young girl get's raped she has to find it in herself to forgive him for it before she can be let into heaven while all he has to do is ask for forgiveness and he's forgiven. maybe it's because i'm young or i'm not sure what it is. but if someone could give me some reasonable answer's it would help. and please don't post anything rude.

Answer 1

God forgives all sin that is why. If we take forgiveness for granted God will punish us. God only forgives if they SIN NO MORE.Only if the rapist turns from the way he was will he be forgiven completely. God shows mercy and grace to all.

Answer 2

Forgiveness is the way of the Lord, and i would think to hold on to those bitter memories of a rape is some how keeping it alive and would not benefit a person, but destroy, it is no easy task to forgive some one who raped you, but you can forgive but never forget, the forgiving part is so you can move forward, it's not to let them off the hook....of what they did was wrong, it is apart of the self healing within you....you were not given a choice this happened to you, you did not warrant it, so the most important thing now would be to work on yourself healing, and forgiveness is apart of that in order to move forward from this head space of hate, bitterness, hurt, etc....i wish you peace, and be kind to yourself.

Answer 3

We have to understand something about forgiveness|


It simply means that you disavow any claim that you have against him|

It makes eminent sense| For if you are holding a grudge and are indulging in revenge fantasies, you are still bound to him, and hence he can keep hurting you|

But if you forgive, the bond is broken, and then you can begin to heal.


However, you forgiving him does not let him off the hook|

He still has a terrible penalty to pay before God|

Even if he is forgiven, he is likely to experience years of terrible suffering, by God's dispensation, for what he did|


God always *always* sees justice done in the end|




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Answer 4

All sins can be forgiven( the decision on this is God's of course, not ours)
It is a great relief to forgive and let go of the burden that one holds by not forgiven.

Answer 5

Why would a rape victim need to forgive other than to get past it. Forgiveness doesn't mean she has to accept it, or understand it. They would just have to forgive it so it wouldn't destroy them. Asking for forgiveness from God is not so easy as you say. I would not want to be a rapist on Judgment day.

Answer 6

I am thankful, that you exhibit the trust to ask : "and please don't
post anything rude". It shows that your interest in having a concerned and sincere answer is as sincerely concerned as your question.
First of all, and this is only my opinion : I do not believe there is a heaven where people go only if they ask forgiveness after having performed a heinous act against another. And as for God, if there should be One, he'd be a very unfair God to forgive the perpetrator of the violation, and not the unfortunate young girl who's been violated.
I am Buddhist - I am not a theist - but I do believe in Karma.
Karma is a force in our universe which relentlessly seeks to maintain a balance of/in all things existing. It also means that an action causes a reaction.
A man, any man ho commits rape accumulates bad Karma for himself . . he'll not go to a heaven or hell, but his criminal deed will have a reaction upon himself, even if he is not caught by the law, while he is in this world. This plane of being, we know as Life. And THAT, he will have to work on for the rest of his life to atone it, for NO ONE escapes the reaction of our deeds.
The poor girl, that you believe will be punished by "God" and not enter the kingdom of heaven because she may be very hurt and resentful she's had to go through the personal hell at the hands of an opportunistic violator, is FURTHER PUNISHING herself by thinking that way.
After a rape, it is ONLY NATURAL, to feel rage, resentment and incredible hurt at the unfairness of the violation. It is not for you to believe their is a need to forgive the perpetrator in order for you to be forgiven. After all, just think . . what has the poor girl done, except having been so unfortunate as to have been violated - humiliated physically and emotionally?
Would you expect such a poor victim to immediately forgive? I'd say NO! Because what violence has occurred will have to be processed out of the system through time. That'd be the natural way of healing oneself. (IF) she is fortunate to go through the healing process, and progress to be well, she may herself, from her own accord, be able, willing to forgive. And that will stand as a plus for her.
As for the violator - he does not get off easily at all - he either comes to term, and suffers inside for the harm he's inflicted to another and attempt to rectify it in some way, after the horrible fact - or, his violation will stand in time, unchanged, against his eternal soul. Unless he is sociopathic by nature and has no soul or conscience at all, his soul, conscience will bear the weight of what he's done, so that he'll feel it most uncomfortably for the rest of his existence.
See, his terrible action will have brought on, a terrible reaction.
And that can not be simply erased. In one way or another his action will bring onto him a very bad effect.
I hope my answer has helped you.

Answer 7

My friend, all that God tells us to do is not for Him. It is for us.

He tells us to forgive those who hurt us, not just for them, but for ourselves. If we dont forgive, we cannot move on. We become more bitter and angry and hurt and God does not want this for us, because He loves us.

The person who hurts a child will have to answer to Him, and this is what He says about it: "“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea". - Matthew 18:6

I hope this answers you - that you forgive so that YOU can let it go, and this is what Jesus wants for you. Trust me, He will deal with the person who hurts others - His vengeance is greater than ours.

Answer 8

Forgiving the offender has more to do with her obtaining peace within herself than letting the offender off the hook.

If she really trusts God, and believes that God will avenge her, she can even come to the point where she pities him.

Answer 9

According to traditional Christian teachings, the forgiveness of others is amongst the spiritual duties of the Christian believer. God is generally considered to be the original source of all forgiveness, which is made possible through the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus, and is freely available to the repentant believer. As a response to God's forgiveness, the Christian believer is in turn expected to learn how to forgive others; some would teach that the forgiveness of others is a necessary part of receiving forgiveness ourselves. Very important the person who is forgiven is not necessarily released from any obligation to make material or financial amends.
Key Biblical texts on the subject of forgiveness include (here quoted from the New International Version):

The Lord's Prayer - "Forgive us our [debts], as we forgive our [debtors]" (some versions have sin instead of debts, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer uses trespasses instead of debts)
"Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (or seventy times seven).'" (Matthew 18:21-22)
This introduces the most relevant parable, that of the Unmerciful Servant, which concludes: "In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:34-35)
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." (Mark 11:25)
This can be taken to imply that the exercise of forgiveness is part of that repentance through which the believer has access to the forgiveness of God.
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34. Uttered by Jesus Christ as he was put to death.
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)
For some of the principal Christian teachings regarding the forgiveness of sins by God,

Answer 10

Forgiveness, turn the other cheek. Any of those thoughts are taught by those who have never been there.
I can't imagine how it feels.
But I do know this...I am the product of such and am confused also.
Maybe it's time you changed your beliefs?