2007-09-28 03:44:03 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Forgive - YES. Forget - NO.
2007-09-28 03:47:12 · answer #1 · answered by Lisanne 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
On religious grounds, no. Because of God, yes. Religion can be legalistic and full of the devices of man but God knows what He's doing and He says to forgive. To harbor unforgiveness is to ruin your life and poison your heart and spirit.
I not only can, i have to, but not without God's help because it is antithetical to human nature. If the slight is a lie or horror of murder we still need to forgive. Forgiveness is not condoning what happened; it is the releasing of it to find peace, having a larger understanding of life and be able to press on and not be controlled for the rest of your days by what occurred. It's hard to think about, but the perpetrator must forgive himself as well, not as a license to do anything again but to come to a point of real contrition and never consider doing anything so heinous.
A total change of spirit and mind, whether it is about cheating, lying, stealing or homicide, releases a life that otherwise would remain hostage to these things. We must forgive without expecting an apology and we must apologize without expecting forgiveness.
I pray for our allies and enemies everywhere, both in our personal lives and globally and hope you will too. Evil must stop and love prevail.
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iraq, etc... should be in all our prayers.
Today, apologize if you need to and likewise forgive.
It is in my will that i request no death penalty if i am murdered. Forgiveness is a choice and the question is not can you, it is will you.
Inspired idea, this rerun thing.
2007-09-28 04:38:47 · answer #2 · answered by irisheyes 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This would be really, really difficult. The requirement on religious grounds is to forgive, and I would hope that I could do it. I don't think it would be automatic, and it may take years to get to. I would hope that I could get past it, but honestly I'm not sure if I could.
I remember reading something from Corrie Ten Boone on confronting a guard from a concentration camp she had been imprisoned in during WW II (a guard who had contributed to the death of her sister)--she was able to forgive, but believed it to be a true miracle because she had hated the man. The account struck me as very honest. In my case, it would likely take a similar miracle.
A trite "of course I'd forgive" tells me that people aren't really working through the ramifications of the question.
2007-09-28 04:16:16 · answer #3 · answered by Todd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that it is easy to say yes to this and throw in some bible quotes to back up why you HAVE to forgive the felon. To me, forgving this crime is more a process of meditation (and/or praying) until you have made peace with what happened. Maybe then you can actually forgive them, but the time and circumstances will be your creation.
As a Buddhist I believe that your interest in knowing the answer to this question is the beginning of that process. Meditate and pray on it and you will find it within yourself. This is because your true nature is that of a compassionate and enlightened being.
2007-09-28 03:55:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think anyone can truly answer this unless they've been through it. I've learned from experience that we will sometimes do things we never thought we would when we actually are in a situation and not just speculating on it.
I would like to think that I could--not necessarily on religious grounds, but because if I allow myself to dwell on and be filled with hatred for the murderer, I am giving him the power to keep on ruining my life, rather than grieving my loved one and moving on as best I can.
2007-09-28 03:50:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't most religions promote forgiveness?
On a side note....I don't think I could ever completely forgive someone who hurt or murdered a loved one, I would want an eye for an eye.
2007-09-28 03:49:47 · answer #6 · answered by reddevilbloodymary 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not religious so I don't feel obligated to forgive anyone unless I want to.
In the case of someone who had murdered one of my loved ones, I would forgive them - but only after I had removed several of their limbs with a hacksaw.
2007-09-28 03:50:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think I can forgive, but I wouldn't want that person to be up against the death penalty. I do not believe in capital punishment. But forgive someone who killed a family member? Nah, I don't think I could do that (unless it was a true accident).
2007-09-28 03:49:05 · answer #8 · answered by glitterkittyy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We're supposed to forgive. My experience with not forgiving people has been that it was me who ended up suffering the most by carrying a resentment. So I think I would have to for my own peace of mind.
2007-09-28 03:49:29 · answer #9 · answered by pufferoo 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I can. I have come to the point where I realize who the real enemy is. The person who engages in evil acts are only people that are being used by Satan. I can forgive the person and pray that they come to God so their soul can be saved.
2007-09-28 03:53:49 · answer #10 · answered by edcw0214 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even on non-religious grounds you can forgive them... but justice still must be served.
2007-09-28 03:52:25 · answer #11 · answered by Pirate AM™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋