Czernobog
Gold Member
- Thread starter
- #41
Yeah...a mistake made more than once isn't a mistake; it's a choice. I didn't suggest that no one ever deserves forgiveness; at least that wasn't my intention. However, just as it is true that some deserve forgiveness, and a new start, some...don't. And before you ask who gets to make that determination...I do. Just as I pointed out in my OP. I, and I alone, get to choose the direction, and extent of my morality, and I, and I alone, accept the consequences of that morality. And don't misunderstand. I'm not saying that I get to make that determination for everyone. I'm saying I et to make that determination for me. I get to decide who has wronged me, who I will forgive, and who I will not.Do you believe that forgiveness is more conducive to correcting preventing and understanding causes of problems or conflicts, rather than taking a retributive approach with negative focus or energy?You are both wrong.Not necessarily. I have a great deal of respect for retributive actions.
First of all there is a practicality problem of not forgiving people. People make mistakes. We can't kill everyone who makes a mistake. They can't be punished forever. Eventually everyone must move on.
But most importantly forgiveness is something we do for ourselves because it is unhealthy if we don't. The human mind cannot live in conflict. And because you can't go back in time to fix it, the only way to reconcile the conflict is forgiveness.
Confession is even more important.
Now, keep in mind, we're talking about morality here, not legality. If you wrong me, and I decided you made a choice, and do not deserve forgiveness, but, in fact, deserve retribution, I feel perfectly justified, morally - depending on the severity of the wrong - shooting you in the face. However, that does absolutely nothing to change the legality (or probable illegality, in this case) of the action, and I will have to deal with that.