Why have Americans become so un- forgiving of each other?

[ssg_B]

Did we forget God’s teaching? Lk 6:37 judging others, “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven”.

Eph 4:32 [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgivin you in Christ.

Mt 7;1 - 7:5 "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge , so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother,s eye.:console:

 

[kalt]

Did we forget God’s teaching? Lk 6:37 judging others, “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven”.

Eph 4:32 [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgivin you in Christ.

Mt 7;1 - 7:5 "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge , so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother,s eye.:console:

Is it the just the swing back from the overly permissive 70’s?

Zero tolerance is big these days.

 

[mark_a]

Did we forget God’s teaching? Lk 6:37 judging others, “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven”.

Eph 4:32 [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgivin you in Christ.

Mt 7;1 - 7:5 "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge , so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother,s eye.:console:

In my opinion, the selfishness in which we raise our 2.2 kids is to blame.

 

[Lilyflower]

Did we forget God’s teaching? Lk 6:37 judging others, “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven”.

Eph 4:32 [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgivin you in Christ.

Mt 7;1 - 7:5 "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge , so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother,s eye.:console:

That applies also to Europeans and in particular British.

Here we are encouraged to report our erring brothers and sisters to the Magistirium and State Apparatus if we are aware they have ‘sinned’. I agree whole-heartedly with the sentiment of Mt 7 that the measure we give is the measure we shall receive

 

[A_dollars_worth]

Did we forget God’s teaching?

Something the pastor said in Mass today made me think this very question.

The 2nd Reading was Acts 1. At… “1:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?””… it struck me when used in his homily as well.

Christ had been with them for 40 days after Rising and I can only imagine what He told them, but the question asked in 1:6, like Peter’s denial before the crucifixion I think shows how thick we (humanity) are to fully grasp what is obvious to God. Thomas doubted the others and Peter and James debated the others eventually on Jewsih tradition like circumcision and teh diatery laws.

I think of Luther’s break with the Church just as America was open to the world which many people of such mind moved to and influenced. I wonder if the ‘freedom of religion’ idea has has an unintended consequence of moving people away from religion in all but name if we can just make it up as we go.

So yea, maybe we have forgotten as a nation.

 

[Tsuwano]

It is not just that Americans are unforgiving of each other, they are much less communicative with each other in so many different ways. I left the States in 1987 to work in Japan and in the 21 years I’ve been away it seems to me that Americans have become less tolerant, angrier, and much less polite than they used to be. I often return home to visit my extended family and last summer, as I visited a supermarket with my wife, I was struck by how little people smiled or even nodded at one another. I told my aunt that I wasn’t sure I liked Americans anymore. They just did not seem to be happy. I was depressed about the entire situation because Americans, at least here in Japan, are thought of as kind, generous and extremely helpful to visitors. I’ll never forget an experience I had when I first returned to the States after being away for two years. As I went through customs in Dallas the customs official examined my passport and asked me how long I had been out of the country. When I told her, she did something that thoroughly suprised me. She reached out, patted me on the hand and said “Honey, welcome home.” That’s the America I remember and hope to see again.

 

[strngrnrth]

I haven’t noticed any lack of courtesy or etiquette per se, but I have noticed that people are far less able to communicate clearly, far less creative and fun in their speech, far less aware of words, and far less able to take part in real conversation, with metaphors, analogies, epigrams and allusions, than even eight or nine years ago, and the difference between the late 70’s/early 80’s and now is enough to make a chatterbox like me break down and cry.

 

[Jimmy_B]

Here are my thoughts -

Judge others, without being judged; that is what people want today.

I believe that this problem is caused by a lack of humility and a desire by some to behave as they wish, without anyone correcting them.

Many today, are self-centered and they want everyone to agree with them on their terms. Some misuse the “don’t judge others’ comment, not because they have a problem with “judging” others but because, they don’t want you to judge them, when they are engaged in bad or disagreeable behavior.

Some people need to be judged and corrected. The “don’t judge others” comment has turned into a tool, misused by some today, to win, or end arguments. Often times, it is a comment, which is intended to insult and when misused, it is condescending and hypocritical. Some use this comment to divert attention away from themselves and their own negative behavior.

Judging

• There is - “Final Judgment”, which is reserved for God alone
• There is - “Falsely judging” others
• There is - “Wrongly judging” others
• There is - “Hypocritical judgment” of others
• There is - Judging others to identify and avoid sin and the occasion of sin
• There is - Judging others, in order to identify a problem and offer a solution
• There is - Judging others and situations for the purpose of a threat assessment
• There is - Judging others, involved in the educational and training process
• There is - Judging others, in the context of the Criminal Justice System
• There is - Judging, involved in a selection process
• There is - Judging, involved in a background and security clearance process
  And so on…and so on…

Not all “judging” is wrong and in some cases, “judging” someone is absolutely necessary in order to identify and correct negative behavior. I believe that relativism and widely accepted immoral behavior goes unchecked today, because people are afraid to “judge”. We could all use a little corrective “judging” but unfortunately for many; their egos will not allow it.

“Judging of others”, Guilty as charged……

Peace

 

[Tsuwano]

I agree with you Jimmy, and of course, the person we should judge first and foremost is ourself. I believe Jesus told us to first remove the beam from our own eye so that we may then help remove the splinter from our brother’s eye. I think he is telling us that we indeed do have both a right and a responsibility to judge and offer correction to others, but only after we have passed judgement on ourselves.

 

[Scottgun]

Without a concrete example, I don’t think I can sign on to the characterization that Americans are unforgiving.

 

[PBP]

I think people who have a hard time forgiving have never had an experience of mercy themselves. This is why confession is so liberating.

 

[Lev23]

Here are my thoughts -

I believe that this problem is caused by a lack of humility and a desire by some to behave as they wish, without anyone correcting them.

This is a good point. And what doesn’t help is the fact that most of todays rock, pop, and hip-hop music is based on no mercy. Some might call me old-timer on this. But I’m only 33 years old, I’ve seen what it has done to my life in the past. And I see what it is doing to some adults, and woefully, to alot of youth.

The last year the anthem for young girls has been the song “Girlfriend”. Boiling it down the lyrics are about kicking your fellow neighbor down by taking her boyfriend and cliaming yourself #1 with an attitude.

But this attitude is portrayed on all kinds of products and media, waiting for all to devour. Most of it is viewable to children.

 

[Lev23]

Something the pastor said in Mass today made me think this very question.

The 2nd Reading was Acts 1. At… “1:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?””… it struck me when used in his homily as well.

Christ had been with them for 40 days after Rising and I can only imagine what He told them, but the question asked in 1:6, like Peter’s denial before the crucifixion I think shows how thick we (humanity) are to fully grasp what is obvious to God. .

FYI, the question St.Peter asked our Lord in Acts 1:6 was not a thick-headed question. Im sure the Lord taught from the scriptures ( Luke 24:27,32,44,45 ) when he spoke about the Kingdom of God. That is why Peter was awesome at using scriptures of prophecy on the scene at any moment, like quoting the prophet Joel at Pentecost.

The only thing the Lord did not speak to them of for 40 days is when God will restore the Kingdom to Israel. Jesus never rebuked him for the question, and never corrected him on his belief that the Kingdom will be restored in Israel. He just said what he told them all along, that the timing is Gods secret and he only knows.