Jesus Isn’t Crazy: How to Bless Those Who Curse
Jan 25th, 2008 by Micah Tillman | 8 Comments |
I’ve got a new article up over at Catapult Magazine. You can read it here.
It appears the last sentence of the article has been edited. *grin* It was shorter in my version. It ended with “turned.” The editorial process is fascinating.
I just stumbled across Catapult recently, and they seem very interesting. They’re part of a larger organization, kind of like Relevant is.
Anyway, hope you like it.
I liked your article. :)
I really liked your article. I have often remarked that Jesus’s injunction to “love thine enemies” is about the only thing in his moral philosophy which is startlingly original. I have often commented that I find it also to be clearly false. (No offense intended to Jesus, Christians, or Christianity, by the way.) You have made me rethink this view since much of what you say makes a lot of sense.
Nevertheless, I am not wholly convinced. Anger isn’t always a response born of fear (though it often is). It can also be a reaction to being grievously wronged. Should I love the man who murdered my wife as much as I loved my wife? (I’m not necessarily saying that Jesus says I should, though I do think he comes close to saying this on occasion.) Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that the man is unrepentant and is not desirous of my forgiveness. Should I forgive him anyway? I’m not an expert on Jesus’s moral philosophy so perhaps those of you who are could help me out on whether my conundrum here is legitimate or not and what he actually said (or implied) about cases like that.
Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that the man is unrepentant and is not desirous of my forgiveness. Should I forgive him anyway?
Absolutely.
Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV): Then Peter came up and said to him (Jesus), “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say you seven times, but seventy times seven.”
Colossians 3:12-14 (ESV): Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all else put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Thanks, Amanda. That accords with my own interpretation. This is virtually the only moral tenet of Jesus which contradicts my moral intuition. Neither of the quotes you gave in support necessarily have to entail this view, though.
But then there’s Matthew 5:44-45 (KJV): But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
That seems fairly explicit, though I guess it’s still up for interpretation. This would be the one moral tenet of Christianity with which I flat out disagree. And, in fact, it has never been tried as a social system. Presumably such a system would include no system of punishments for wrong-doers, even violent ones. (How can you claim to have forgiven someone when you still punish them for it? Meaningful forgiveness can only mean acting as if the transgression never happened.) Perhaps this is what Chesterton meant when he said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”
Presumably such a system would include no system of punishments for wrong-doers, even violent ones. (How can you claim to have forgiven someone when you still punish them for it? Meaningful forgiveness can only mean acting as if the transgression never happened.)
Does forgiveness mean no consequences? I really don’t know. Suppose Ted Bundy had been forgiven, does that mean he shouldn’t have been punished? We have been forgiven sure, but we are still not perfect, so perhaps we still need the consequences and punishments as a way of pointing us toward our constant need for a Savior.
:)
Henry Ward Beecher said, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note–torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.”
This makes a lot of sense to me and this is how I view forgiveness. If your interpretation is correct, then what he was really saying with “turn the other cheek” and “love thine enemies” is “defend yourself, punish those who offend you, but don’t hold hate in your heart for them.” If that’s what he meant, then I am much more inclined to agree. However, then it becomes much less interesting and radical.
I disagree with Beecher. Forgiveness is not a one time thing; usually it is a constant thing that you have to be conscious of doing. It’s like love, or praying… you may not want to, but you have to/need to. Forgiveness is an ongoing process.
You can’t forgive when you forget. In turning the other cheek and loving your enemies, you are not forgetting, but choosing forgiveness over revenge (which is the Lord’s), choosing love over hate. Why would you need to love you enemies, if you’ve forgotten why they are your enemies? Remembering seems inherent in those two statement. Remembering may be a good thing; it’s also good for the survival of the species. :)
As far as punishment, I’m grateful for a system of law and order. It makes me feel safe. And I think jail time is supposed to (whether it does or not, I don’t know) deter as well.
Anyway, I think I’m getting too philosophical (which is an arena I’m not entirely comfortable in). Philosophy is Micah’s thing. :)
Micah, very interesting. I appreciate this as one of the few times I’ve seen this command discussed on the basis that it is sane and meant to be followed. I am too used to seeing people who profess to be followers of Jesus try to wiggle out of it. It is very hard it seems. I’m going to need to give what you said a lot more thought to see how it can be applied. Thanks for the insight.