A tough question about forgiveness.

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acaciatheatre.com/acaciascripts_hidingplace.pdf

I don’t know if you are familiar with Corrie Ten Bloom who was a prisoner during the holocaust. She lost most of her family during WWII at the hands of the Nazis including her beloved sister Betsy. This is part of a script that was written detailing the events that happened after she was liberated. She became a public speaker talking about the forgiveness she now feels after her ordeal. It was life-changing, but unexpectedly she faced Lt.Metzler, her very prison guard during one of these public events. She really was challenged to face her very guard. If you go to the library you probably can read more of her biography.

Forgiveness is truly possible with the grace and mercy of God’s help.
 
stbruno said:
acaciatheatre.com/acaciascripts_hidingplace.pdf

I don’t know if you are familiar with Corrie Ten Bloom who was a prisoner during the holocaust. She lost most of her family during WWII at the hands of the Nazis including her beloved sister Betsy.
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Yes, stbruno, I have read her book, The Hiding Place, and have a copy of the movie by the same name. At the end of that movie there’s a short clip of Corrie speaking. She was one of the most gentle and joyful people, and she was a testament to the value of forgiving others for harms they did to you.

I guess the question becomes, “What about harm done to others?” Do we have any right to forgive in such a circumstance? Is there ever a time when it is inappropriate to extend forgiveness?

Jesus taught his disciples to turn the other cheek, and I agree that is the goal. What has puzzled me is this: do we have any right to turn someone else’s cheek?

It’s a real puzzle. I can see both sides of the argument. Perhaps more than two sides.
 
Do we even have the right to forgive someone for the harm they’ve done to others? In the case of Demajanjuk, for example, there are 29,000 people who died. Can we forgive in their names, or is that presumptuous beyond belief? Could this be an instance where forgiveness is almost evil?
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I think turning the other cheek is a fine philosophy. However, it doesn’t mean that people should not be punished, just that we should not act out in violent reaction. His deeds were something that can only be explained by Milgram’s famous experiment, but at the same time the choices were still his. In any case, the people he killed certainly don’t have the option to turn the other cheek, do they?
 
liquidpele said:
I think turning the other cheek is a fine philosophy. However, it doesn’t mean that people should not be punished, just that we should not act out in violent reaction. His deeds were something that can only be explained by Milgram’s famous experiment, but at the same time the choices were still his. In any case, the people he killed certainly don’t have the option to turn the other cheek, do they?
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In other words he was responsible for what he did and punishes himself. 🙂
 
tonyrey said:
In other words he was responsible for what he did and punishes himself. 🙂
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What an ideal world that would be… I would imagine that true remorse and forgiveness would replace the need for punishment altogether… sigh. Well, back to real life where we have to enforce consequences.
 
liquidpele said:
What an ideal world that would be… I would imagine that true remorse and forgiveness would replace the need for punishment altogether… sigh. Well, back to real life where we have to enforce consequences.
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Certainly in this world but, being an agnostic, you cannot rule out the possibility of karma, i.e. that we all get what we deserve.
 
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