A question about forgiveness in christianity.

It seems that when it comes to forgiveness, that some say that one needs to simply forgive but it never addresses that the person who committed the wrong should ask for forgiveness from the person that they wronged.

THere are merits to forgiving. Because it will help you to move on with life, and is a way to jettison emotional baggage. And it would make sense even if half of what was written in the Bible was true. Forgiveness can be a release. On the flip side, as was addressed in a response to my earlier post people talked about corruption and how it does not get addressed because many people have this attitude that these people will get it later on.

To tie this into something more relevant to current events. Should we forgive George W. Bush for screwing up the economy? Should we forgive him for Iraq? What if he apologized, should we forgive him then? Should we forgive John Ashcroft for the Patriot Act? Should we forgive Dick Cheney for using the 2002 midterm elections as validation to do whatever he wants with tax cuts? Ever? After its over?

Like vote for ABB. But you pray and hope for Bush and others to see the right way...and you forgive them if they are too much into their egos to do so...

As a Christian, when I can not find it in my
human condition to forgive someone- I turn
it over to He who forgave me.
It requires a sacrifice of "self-ness" or the ability
to recognize my own short comings as a person,
and then a willingness to work on my faults and
leave another person's to Him.
A very wise person once told me that if I harbor
anger towards another, for a wrong I percieve
done against me, the anger hurts me, not the person
it is aimed at. This same person told me to pray for
that person to be given all that I would desire and
I would be made free.
Works every time.
Sometimes it takes a LONG time though.
In the neocon's case, may just be the rest of my life!
BHN

It probably would take that long for many to forgive the neocons.

and we don't simply forgive someone in order to make it all go away.
For temporal crimes, there should still be some attempt at justice, although revenge is not called for.

Consider Bill Pelke's story. His grandmother gave Bible lessons out of her home, and one day years ago four girls came to her door asking for lessons. They then bashed her head in, stabbed her to death and robbed the house. They were caught, and one received the death penalty. Over the years, Pelke realized his grief and anger was burning him up, and petitioned for the girl's sentence to be reduced to life in prison.

Pelke now tours the country preaching against revenge and for reconciliation. Many more stories like this can be found at Murder Victim's Families for Reconcilation and The Journey of Hope.

Consider that Pelke never thought for a minute that these girls should go scott free. They must receive justice, and they have. The point is that it is justice that is served, and when justice is at least reasonably satisfied, that is when the healing begins and forgiveness makes sense.

“Mine is a most peaceable disposition,
My wishes are: A humble cottage with a thatched roof, But
a good bed, good food, the freshest milk and butter, flowers before my window, and a few fine trees before my door; and if God wants to make my happiness complete, He will grant me the joy of seeing some six or seven of my enemies hanging from those trees.
Before their death I shall, forgive them all the wrong they did me in their lifetime. One must, it is true, forgive one’s enemies—but not before they have been hanged!”

Heinrich Heine 1797-1856
(German author)
Gedanken und Einf a lle

He needs to admit he is wrong and wherever possible make amends.

We should forigve him as far as letting off our negative energy about him if it is eating us up inside, or at least channeling it into cleaning up his mess.

in my opinion, it puts me in a position above that of another.

We are all vulerable to human defects.

One can accept or reject, but one can also recognize that they as well as others will err, more than once probably

One person is not above the other and not, imo, in the postion of "forgiving" per se, another.

One simply lets go of one's prejudice or of one's hurt, imo and attempts to establish some common ground for the sake of establishing a connection or a communication with other human beings.

I do not think that the act of "forgiving" as is described by Chrisitanity, is really the honest way to go.
It seems to me it is a condescending approach.

I can go for a real attempt to establish a communication in all honesty, but to seize upon "forgiving" another seems to me as a little condescending.

On the contrary, Jesus taught that before
you go complaining about the splinter in your
brothers eye, ya might want to do something about
the big ole honkin' log in your own!
To practice that principle requires
GREAT humility and a willingness to
confront one's own imperfections honestly.
Impossible to do if we place ourselves in
a position of being above someone else.
BHN

:shrug:

I love other human beings and am willing to extend myself to them in any way. I have never noticed a depletion of the stores on my shelves when I am willing to share with others.

'So I am perplexed as to your post.