Is Forgiveness inferior to allowing someone to suffer

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CatholicHere_Hi

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Hi everyone! 🙂

If someone commits a crime, is the act of God forgiving somebody (after repentance) just a more holy form of “letting the criminal off the hook” if they do something wrong, while the victim still suffers? Wouldn’t the more ‘just’ and ‘fair’ consequence be to let the criminal suffer until he/she has adequately atoned for what they did?
 
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There is still temporal punishment either here or in purgatory. An analogy often used is about a child who hits a ball through the neighbors window. The child can apologize and the neighbor forgives him (like God forgives us) but the window still needs to be replaced and so the child must do extra chores to pay for the replacement (chores=temporal punishment.) There are also natural consequences to sin; if I lie I can go to confession and receive absolution but I may have lost the trust of someone forever.
 
The crime is also against the state. It is there proper due to secure the rights of every citizen.
 
Be careful. You seem to be questioning Gods mercy in your thought process. Do not judge the Judge my friend. You may find yourself “on the hook” at some point.
 
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I wonder if it applies to Purgatory. Say Hitler did a perfect act of contrition right before he died. He went to purgatory. The consequences of his life still has negative effects can he get out if people on earth still suffer for his sins?
 
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We impart a temporal punishment for a temporal crime.

So the reference isn’t equivalent. As we can’t sentence someone to eternal damnation in hell, or know all things.

God simply doesn’t operate on our level when viewing crime and it’s consequence.

Even in our court, punishment IS effected by our perception of remorse and circumstance. That being with our limited ability to view sincerity and truth.

When you are all seeing, you don’t have that guesswork. You see schema man can’t even possibly understand. With the power to act on a set of rules, that again man can’t fathom.

I wouldn’t describe anyone who has been judged by God as ‘getting off the hook’. I doubt they would either.
 
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Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do after we’ve been wronged by others. We feel like they should be made to pay for what they’ve done and if we forgive them somehow they are getting away with it at our expense.

Forgiveness is a command from the Lord. What it does is greater for us than the perpetrator. Unforgiveness is bondage to us especially if the person could care less about their evil deed!

Forgiving someone doesn’t negate any legal proceeding that may still be forth coming either, it frees you from that person controlling you. You can still testify and see that they are brought to justice in an earthly court if you want. There people who are still being controlled by people who’ve been dead for many years because of unforgiveness. Because you forgive someone doesn’t negate the Eternal Judge from carrying out justice in a way we could never do ourselves.

There is a very good Christian song by Matthew West called Forgiveness
 
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