What is the rationality or purpose of "forgiveness"?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I believe forgiveness was invented to on one hand- relieve the conscious of those who stole from others and on the other hand- for those who were stolen from to forgive the thieves who stole from them. A double edged sword to clear the guilty and to teach those who were stolen from to forgive the thieves.
Ex: How the white man took the lands of the indigenous people without guilt or remorse because their religion allowed them to excuse their sins.
The indigenous people forgive them for stealing their land or for treating them badly because its the right thing to do.
This is the mindset of our existence. A lot of mind games, smoke and mirrors, gaslighting, to confuse everyone into accepting a life that is unacceptable if one were consciously aware of what is happening to them.
Therefore, Forgiveness is made up and not real, a religious invention.
A natural response to those who trespass against us would be to stand ones ground and not accept the trespass. Not fight, but to just say "no" and that should be enough if everyone is conscious and aware of one another as their equal, which is the truth on a human level. But in the game of religious and political smoke and mirrors everyone is confused by the lies.
Conversational
Level 4
July 20, 2020
1
Forgiveness is an extremely personal decision that can never be demanded or imposed by any philosophy or religion or via the counsel of therapists, family or friends.
p-nullifidian
Level 8
July 16, 2020
0
A decision to do what?
@redbai To forgive.
@p-nullifidian That's not an answer. What does that mean "to forgive". How does "forgiveness" manifest? Your responses is as if I asked what happens when someone decides to run and your response is that they run. What is running, or in this case, what is forgiving?
@redbai I am not able to answer what is most certainly a personal, subjective and individual matter. Asking what it means to forgive is like asking what it means to love. Perhaps some commonalities exist, but when applied to a specific person in our lives, each of us has our own definition of forgiveness and love--definitions that cannot be imposed by any external party or philosophy.
I think it best to think of forgiveness as "ceasing to hold resentment towards" someone. Whether one retains a memory of the original offence is, I suppose, a matter of the damage done, the offender's subsequent behavior, and one's own cognitive function. I have found, though, that such memories are difficult to retain once they are no longer being fed by resentment.
AmyTheBruce
Level 7
July 15, 2020
1
Not everything is forgivable but where possible life is better when you don't carry around a lot resentment and hate. Making peace for yourself somehow is advisable.
MarkWD
Level 7
July 15, 2020
1
“An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.“
- MLK
skado
Level 9
July 15, 2020
1
I don't and didn't consider that as an option in the meme. That implies that the only options are revenge or forgive and ignores the concept of "moving on" regardless of the circumstances.
Retribution need not be the alternative to forgiveness.
Forgiveness is simply a way of dealing with a hopeless situation
If revenge will achieve nothing, if justice is unavailable, or if the original situation was actually born of no malicious intent and life must go on, forgive so your own life is not consumed by negativity.
Forgive for your sake not theirs, but never, NEVER forget.
LenHazell53
Level 9
July 15, 2020
0
How is the hopeless situation "dealt with" by forgiveness? It's not mitigated in any way. Any harm still exists whether the forgiveness is given or not.
@redbai read the whole post before jumping down my throat, I explained, forgiveness is a coping mechanism for the forgiver, not the forgivee
@LenHazell53 Jumping down your throat? In what way is asking questions, "Jumping down your throat"?
I understood that you were talking about the forgiver and it still doesn't answer my question. But if asking you questions is so threatening that you need to strike back, don't bother. Apparently your comments are to be taken at face value and cannot be questioned. Do your bowel movements smell or are you perfect in every way?
It depends what you're forgiving for.
barjoe
Level 9
July 15, 2020
0
Why? How does forgiving change the circumstances of the event in which forgiveness is considered?
@barjoe What is it that you disagree with as I'm not sure we're using the same premise? How does forgiveness change the fact that an act was performed to harm you?
Whether or not Person A forgives Person B, Person B still performed an act that harmed Person A in some way. How is that harm mitigated if Person A tells Person B that Person A hold no ill will towards Person B because of their actions? Isn't that just an invitation to Person B to perform the act again as there appear to be no negative repercussions to the act?
@redbai. Your question
"What is the rationality or purpose of "forgiveness"?"
My Answer
"It depends what you're forgiving for."
It's that simple. Your premise is not that important to me, nor is going on and on explaining it to you. And getting into a pointless diatribe about semantics. Not interested in and endless thread to nowhere.
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