The Amazing Teachings of Jesus: Forgive

[sayak83]

The Amazing Teachings of Jesus:

Forgive

What if we forgave everyone that ever hurt us?
What if we lived like that daily?

It's a pretty common teaching everywhere, long before Jesus.

1. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.

2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.

3. "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.

4. "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those who do not harbor such thoughts still their hatred.

5. Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.

-Dhammapada

 

[Windwalker]

that said, forgiveness is the easy part. The thing is to never forget. Forgive, by all means, but never forget why you had to forgive.

Hmm, interesting thought. That's a nice twist on the old saying. I would take that to mean, never forget the ego and its needs, and why forgiveness thwarts its face that seeks to dominate the conversation. Never forget the need to not give the ego its self-facing, narcissistic needs as you seek to rise above it. Like that?

 

[Satans_Serrated_Edge]

Has nothing to do with letting people abuse you or continuing in abusive situations.

Of course it does.

If you forgive everyone for everything why shouldn't they continue to use you or transgress against you? People can and will.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Of course it does.

If you forgive everyone for everything why shouldn't they continue to use you or transgress against you? People can and will.

Forgiveness is basically not dwelling on past hurts with contempt and harboring grudges. It doesn't mean you allow people to abuse you. You can forgive someone and no longer have a relationship with them. It's like if somekne is being mentally or physically abusive towards you, you can recognize that that person is a victim themselves and most likely hurting too and so forgive them on that basis but also end the abuse by no longer being in denial of it and ending the relationship.

 

[ExVasterist]

Best way to counter this argument and though I do agree that we should try to forgive people regardless of the wrong they did, it honestly doesn't matter when you think about Deities Judging us for our actions & words.

God/Jesus are apparently infinite in forgiveness, compassion, mercy, and love. But then that is all proven wrong when you think of Hell, a realm of eternal suffering, anguish, pain, sorrow, and absolute negativity.
I wouldn't even send Hitler to Hell, nothing any of us do could equate to an ETERNITY of horrific suffering, pain, and sorrow.

The philosophy of Forgiveness from Jesus makes sense on a mental level, cause the more you hate someone, you're just causing yourself more grief, more suffering, and for many they'll use drugs to escape that suffering. But ultimately when you think of Hell, that doesn't in any shape or form sound like forgiveness, it sounds like pure vengeance and no crime that we commit, no matter how numerous, even if we someone managed to break every law according to man & god and did each of them a million times over, that still wouldn't fit the punishment of Hell.
MAYBE for 100 years or 500 at the absolute most, but Eternity? That is countless eons (eons = millions of years) of never ending torture.

If God/Jesus is a ACTUALLY serious about Forgiving, then Hell wouldn't exist. And personally, I refuse to believe that a Deity that is suppose to be our father, that loves us with all his heart, and wishes us to be the best that we can strive to be, would send us to a realm of eternal horrific torture & all around evil for not being sorry they stole bread to survive.
That doesn't define a Good God, that defines an Evil Hypocritical & Egotistical God.

And the ultimate bull of a quote from Jesus "I never knew you, depart from me, evil-doers" that's him saying that to people who believed in him & accepted him as their lord & savior, and he is suppose to have the same omniscience as God - For him to actually say that makes him a liar & a deceiver, even the bible CLEARLY states that Jesus knows everything that his father knows, and if both his statement & that bit about him are true, then he is a liar.
Personally, most of what the bible says honestly sounds like complete rubbish - only man can be inconsistent & contradict itself that damn much, especially when its suppose to be God's own words and he is suppose to be "Perfect" along with his son, Jesus, it makes absolutely no sense for a Deity to not notice the numerous contradictions in this "Holy Word".

The book may have been INSPIRED by God, but it clearly was not written by God, and most of it just feels wrong to be considered "the good book".

Ultimately, your opinion of what Jesus preached. If he really meant it and truly will forgive everyone that has ever been, ever was, and ever will be, then Hell doesn't exist. If Hell does however exist, then honestly he was lying.
You can't truly forgive someone then torture them for the rest of their life because of the very thing you forgave them for. If you do truly forgive them, then you'll live & let live. Torturing them says the exact opposite. Actions speak louder than Words, this also applies to God & Jesus.

 

[Hildeburh]

The Amazing Teachings of Jesus:

Forgive

What if we forgave everyone that ever hurt us?
What if we lived like that daily?

Pity the Christian church doesn't follow it's own teachings, we may have had less war, murder, torture, misogyny, child abuse and decimation of native cultures.

 

[Windwalker]

Pity the Christian church doesn't follow it's own teachings, we may have had less war, murder, torture, misogyny, child abuse and decimation of native cultures.

Pity the Christian church doesn't have more Christians in it.

 

[Buddha Dharma]

What if we forgave everyone that ever hurt us?

I do

What if we lived like that daily?

I do

 

[Buddha Dharma]

I've mentioned this in another thread OP...

One of the areas where Christianity and Buddhism arguably agree is about human base nature being unideal, and that evil in the world is ultimately no one individual or group's 'entire' fault.

Not only have I done the typical things I might accuse someone else of doing (IE: steal), but I am capable of doing them yet. I have no superior nature to anyone as an unenlightened human being. None of us do.

We all generate negative karma, or if you prefer- bad actions, out of what my worldview calls 'beginningless' greed, anger, and ignorance.

These things took root in us before we even formed cognitive consciousness. Our parents were conditioning us to be greedy and grasping in various areas. This goes back to a common condition running through human nature- that the animal nature of humans is in ignorance of various kinds.

I could not say I am superior to anyone in disposition, or when it comes to potential for evil. Therefore, I should try to forgive you and understand why you might have done something to hurt me- if you ever did so.

If it comes from an uncommonly bad disposition that one hurts others repeatedly- how personal can we truthfully call it?


On a related note: Buddhists also traditionally repent for any bad karma we may have done, through use of the 'gatha of repentance'. We hope that by this and chanting the Four Immeasurables we might cease doing these things. This is also somewhat similar to Christianity- even if not for entirely the same theological reasons.

 

[Hildeburh]

Pity the Christian church doesn't have more Christians in it.

LOL and Amen!