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sophion
Guest
Should you only forgive those who asks for it?
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Alberti_Devoveo
Guest
You should forgive everyone, regardless of their request or lack thereof.
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sophion
Guest
next question…
does your god forgive everyone, regardless of their request or lack thereof?
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Lochias
Guest
God will always offer that forgiveness, yes. Not everyone chooses to accept and act on that forgiveness, though.
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sophion
Guest
how do you know that? are you god?
anyway whether or not a person accepted it, if he was forgiven then he is forgiven. right?
forgiveness is something that is released. not something that is handed from one person to another.
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Ohana
Guest
Well this is a very personal answer, but no.
I forgive those who have injured me in some way because I do not want to hold onto resentments. It is so freeing to let go of resentment, bitterness etc. I have found that as a result, God allows me to see my own contribution to the problem more clearly, so I also have ethe opportunity to eventually, forgive myself. Sometimes this process is painful when old memories flow, but worthwhile. I am just glad to not carry around the burden anymore.
I forgive those who have injured me in some way because I do not want to hold onto resentments. It is so freeing to let go of resentment, bitterness etc. I have found that as a result, God allows me to see my own contribution to the problem more clearly, so I also have ethe opportunity to eventually, forgive myself. Sometimes this process is painful when old memories flow, but worthwhile. I am just glad to not carry around the burden anymore.
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Pitcharan
Guest
God’s forgiveness and man’s are quite different. By forgiving, God cancels our punishment in hell and there is no inner healing of Himself. We have no authority to cancel another’s punishment due for their sins; we merely shed our own bitterness and allow our inner hurt to be healed. When we forgive, we fulfil the precondition to receive God’s forgiveness which is absolution.
The term ‘forgive’ will assume a different meaning according to the stage we have reached in our salvation journey. I was able to identify FOUR distinct stages (not water-tight compartments but overlapping). These are the salvation stages I identified:
I - Change of heart and absolution of sins
II - Aversion for evil and dying to vice
III - Attraction for good and growing in virtue
IV - Total surrender and perfection in virtue.
Depending on which stage a person has reached, the term ‘Forgive’ means:
I: quickly recover from a hurt nursing no grudge
II: not detest the doer of a detestable deed
III: not deny love to an enemy in dire need
IV: save dying enemy at the cost of own life.
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The_Bucket
Guest
We can freely forgive others and God freely forgives us. But whether we accept God’s forgiveness is another matter. He will not simply release us from our transgressions and our state of sin if we do not ask for it. Why? Because that would be overriding our free will and He would never do that.
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Angelsflight
Guest
Having had issues with forgiving certain people in my past that have harmed me, i do believe its in our best interest to forgive all, without question.
However, forgiving does not always mean forgetting…sometimes to best protect ourselves from future harm, not forgetting when someone has wronged you may also sometimes be wise.
However, forgiving does not always mean forgetting…sometimes to best protect ourselves from future harm, not forgetting when someone has wronged you may also sometimes be wise.
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FaithInTheSon
Guest
Our Lord is specific about forgiveness and judgment of others.
You must forgive to be forgiven
You must not judge to avoid judgment.
I forgive every last person on this planet for anything they ever did to me. Whether or not they ask for it as well.
I have no enemies other than Satan, and no master other than the Lord.
This is how we were taught to be. Many do not agree, but that is their loss.
I try to repent for every time I don’t live by the code. Judging and unforgiveness, regardless of being asked for it, contradict the code we try to live by given by our Lord.
You must forgive to be forgiven
You must not judge to avoid judgment.
I forgive every last person on this planet for anything they ever did to me. Whether or not they ask for it as well.
I have no enemies other than Satan, and no master other than the Lord.
This is how we were taught to be. Many do not agree, but that is their loss.
I try to repent for every time I don’t live by the code. Judging and unforgiveness, regardless of being asked for it, contradict the code we try to live by given by our Lord.
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FaithInTheSon
Guest
Good advice.
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Angelsflight
Guest
The only question I have is:
Why would I still go to hell if I am in mortal sin if I pray and ask God for forgiveness today, but die on the way to confession tomorrow? I have been told many times on this forum that my prayer to God alone will not save me, even if I am truly sorry. Only confession would save me.
Your thoughts?
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sophion
Guest
you mean god forgives people and still burns them in hell?
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Lochias
Guest
I can’t know with certainty who has embraced the forgiveness of God or not, but we’ve been given to know by the deposit of Faith in the Church that there are people who choose Heaven, and people who choose Hell. Really, you’re asking a question that is very broad in scope. Break it down this way: If someone chooses to embrace God’s forgiveness, would that not logically mean that the person would endeavor to act in a way that would not grieve or hurt God in the future? That is embracing God’s forgiveness…our actions, to my mind, always speak louder than our words.
See above. A person must act on that forgiveness if they want to accept it, not merely nod their head and keep going with whatever it was they were doing. We don’t expect that from friends and family…would would we think that God would expect any less?
That statement is just semantics. It it true that we forgive others no matter what they may have done or are doing…but if the other person chooses not to ACT on that forgiveness, the relationship typically dies. See? There is both giving and receiving forgiveness, an act on both sides, and both sides must act if the relationship is to continue.
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Lochias
Guest
This is a lack of knowledge speaking. God does not burn anyone in Hell…people choose Hell for themselves. Spending Eternity with a God that someone refuses to love would be a greater torture than Hell itself; Hell is the only place left for such a soul to go.
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sophion
Guest
that is a lack of knowledge. nobody chooses to get tortured. except maybe of the mentally insane.
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Lochias
Guest
We cannot know the depths of God’s mercy. Intent and action all play a part, methinks. God knows we fall as sinners, and if we are truly sorry for our sins, I think God will take that into account.
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Angelsflight
Guest
I hope you are right…I am always paranoid when I am in mortal sin and not able to confess right away…I do hope that a sincere prayer could help.
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R_C
Guest
Actually, people chose this all the time.
People reject goodness all the time in exchange for anxiety, despair, and vicious circles of disordered cravings that sometimes end in very sorrowful events and can even lead to death. We have addictions of all kinds, one of the top being addiction to pornography.
Why do people chose this, rather than following a different path that leads to harmony and peace that is both external and internal? It is a mystery of the human mind.
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Lochias
Guest
And those people need mental help, yes? Likewise, people who are in dire need of spiritual help need the prayer and sacrifice of Christians around the world to help them overcome spiritual illness. The Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the power of the other Sacraments are also medicine and strength for all souls.
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