Forgiveness, Sin and Redemption

[Pleroma]

Not sure why I am not allowed to post in the Ask an Apologist forum but any ways I like to say that of all the religions which I have studied there is no religion which gives so much importance to forgiveness other than Christianity, something which I very much like about Christianity.

I am not a Christian but a revere Christian friend of mine had hurt me very badly and she did asked for forgiveness and I said that if you truly confess to me then god will forgive you but the bitterness in my heart has not ended even after two years. Will the bitterness and the pain in my heart go away if I forgive her? How you as Christians forgive a person?

Even though I hold a different concept of sin compared to the Catholics no god draws me near to his feet other than Christ, especially in this painful times.

 

[vames]

Forgiveness is the starting point, but overcoming bitterness can sometimes take longer. Ask yourself why is the cause of that bitterness - perhaps the effects of what your friend did (if she made you lose something - time, self-respect, trust in other people), perhaps you think she doesn’t know how much she hurt you, perhaps you don’t believe that she was sincere when she apologized to you. Either way, you are free to leave these feelings behind; since the past cannot be undone, you are causing yourself useless pain by dwelling on the past.

Christians have a great quote to meditate on: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”. Jesus really meant it; if we think a bit, we’ll see that it applies literally to other people who hurt us. You don’t have to invent excuses for anyone so as to be able to forgive them; this is the reality, very few people hurt others with full intent and perfect clarity of mind. And even if this is the case, asking for forgiveness means that they are sorry, even when they can’t undo the harm and even when they don’t fully understand how much harm they have done.

Pope Francis says: “Are you angry with someone? Pray for that person. That is what Christian love is”. Praying for people who have wronged us can always help us to overcome our bitterness. If you’re not a Christian, the equivalent of praying for these people is wishing them good - wishing them to become better, to grow up, to derive their happiness from doing good to others. This, in turn, helps us to see them in a better light, as persons who are exactly as fallible as ourselves and exactly as capable to evolve as ourselves: this is the meaning of the well-known “how many times must I forgive my brother? I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times”.

 

[Pleroma]

Thank you vames.

Forgiveness is the starting point, but overcoming bitterness can sometimes take longer.

Either way, you are free to leave these feelings behind; since the past cannot be undone, you are causing yourself useless pain by dwelling on the past.

Yes the spiritual poison of bitterness had deep rooted in my heart.

Ask yourself why is the cause of that bitterness - perhaps the effects of what your friend did (if she made you lose something - time, self-respect, trust in other people), perhaps you think she doesn’t know how much she hurt you, perhaps you don’t believe that she was sincere when she apologized to you.

Yes, that was the reason, she didn’t recognized how she had hurt me but the poor girl did said that “If I had to say something which I didn’t said, please forgive me for that also”.

Christians have a great quote to meditate on: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”. Jesus really meant it; if we think a bit, we’ll see that it applies literally to other people who hurt us. You don’t have to invent excuses for anyone so as to be able to forgive them; this is the reality, very few people hurt others with full intent and perfect clarity of mind. And even if this is the case, asking for forgiveness means that they are sorry, even when they can’t undo the harm and even when they don’t fully understand how much harm they have done.

According to us the root of all sin is ignorance of the Father, what men need is not forgiveness but the knowledge of the Father. A spiritual person who knows the Father by nature cannot sin. Perhaps it is hard to expect all people to have the spiritual nature in this age I guess.

Pope Francis says: “Are you angry with someone? Pray for that person. That is what Christian love is”. Praying for people who have wronged us can always help us to overcome our bitterness. If you’re not a Christian, the equivalent of praying for these people is wishing them good - wishing them to become better, to grow up, to derive their happiness from doing good to others. This, in turn, helps us to see them in a better light, as persons who are exactly as fallible as ourselves and exactly as capable to evolve as ourselves: this is the meaning of the well-known “how many times must I forgive my brother? I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times”.

I will again pray for her. Thanks!