samedi 27 juin 2015

What does "forgiveness" mean?

Several family members of the people who were murdered in church in Charleston have publicly stated -- even facing him in court -- that they "forgive" the racist killer Dylann Roof. What can this mean? "Forgive" can't possibly mean "I think it's all right that you murdered my husband or wife or child," or "I understand you thought you were doing good, so it's okay," or "I don't like what you did but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it." I think of "forgiveness" as something you might grant for an infraction that is comprehensible, as in "I forgive you for stealing my money because I know how much you needed it" or "I forgive you for causing the accident that killed my child because I know you didn't intend to hurt anyone." At the simplest level "forgiveness" might just mean "I'm not going to expend my energy trying to get even with you for what you did." But how can anybody forgive deliberate, intentional murder of a loved one for the most evil of motives?

Discuss.


via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1KhTxYE

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