I've never really understood the forgiveness thing.
How about if it were called self-forgiveness in the form of a brief ritual that involves muttering a few words to the ceiling fan with eyes closed and head bowed, and the matter were settled with no need to apologize to ones victim if one chooses not to? Does the motivation seem more clear now?
It's a get out of immorality jail free card. It's forgiveness on demand. I don't recall anybody ever reporting that they asked for forgiveness and were turned down. If I did, I would assume that I was dealing with a person so wracked with guilt that he was unwilling to forgive himself.
In 12-step programs, which are often religious in their tenor, one is asked to make amends to those he has harmed. But not in this system. There is no need to seek forgiveness from one's victim, or even to apologize. In fact, how often have we heard the equivalent of, "God forgives him" implying that only that matters, and you should also forgive unless you think that you are better than God or want to challenge His judgment.
I like this:
"Let's say somebody goes around and rapes and murders somebody, and after they're done, they get saved. What's the punishment for them? This is the problem with Christian religion. It establishes unrealistic and irrational and immoral criteria by which to live. And then it creates a loophole so that you don't ever have to be responsible for those actions. Christianity is not a moral system. It is an immoral system. Because it specifically says that there aren't necessarily consequences that you have to pay because of a loophole. And what is the loophole? It has nothing to do with how good you are or how morally you act. It has to do with whether you are willing to be a sycophant to an idea. And if you are, then there is an exception by which you no longer have to suffer a penalty for this." - Matt Dillahunty
