tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920507061982445623.post2094078144194067504..comments2019-01-29T16:34:54.398-08:00Comments on Death Pastor: “A Rose by Any Other Name?” Yes. But calling one a tulip doesn’t make the thorns go away – Why I think we’ve cornered the market on Forgiveness.Wm. Darius Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00343705324859085642noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920507061982445623.post-954131725845296942014-08-28T15:32:42.026-07:002014-08-28T15:32:42.026-07:00I think two distinctions need to be made (at least...I think two distinctions need to be made (at least more clearly, since I failed to articulate them sufficiently above) as we are discussing forgiveness. <br /><br />First, as with the many passages in Isaiah, not all of which are directly Messianic, of course, there is a distinction to be made as to whether we are discussing God's forgiveness of human beings, or the forgiveness we exercise (however rarely) in emulation of the depth and breadth of that (which I would call "real" or "true") forgiveness--a forgiveness that entirely removes any potential for restitution, shame, or other remedy on the part of those forgiven. <br /><br />Likewise, the second distinction I had tried to make clear might seem a matter of splitting hairs, but especially among Christians I find that we wrangle about "the concept of forgiveness" with discussions of its limitations, its qualifications, its prerequisites (usually wanting to withhold forgiveness until there is a demonstration of repentance), or any number of other factors. But I want to be more careful about defining forgiveness itself, not just assigning it as a philosophical category under which a variety of other practices might be comprised.<br /><br />I hold that the actual implementation of a forgiveness that echoes that which was provided through the sacrifices of Jesus Christ is certainly rare enough among Christians. But it is not only inadvisable among those without a faith-relationship with God through Christ, it is patently impossible without the indwelling presence and assistance of the Holy Spirit. <br /><br />I understand fully the liabilities of holding such a position, since it is often perceived as an assumption of "cultural superiority." Speaking the truth in love can easily fall to temptations on either side of the equation (lovingly avoiding difficult truths or presenting the truth in the absence of a loving concern for its hearers). I may have erred on that second count since, admittedly, the phrase "cornered the market" is too clever by half to be accurately communicative. <br /><br />Still, if I were to allow that what is practiced elsewhere is actually forgiveness, then the best I could do to reframe that unique extension of self-sacrificial mercy I see in Christ would be to qualify it as "the kind" or "the type" or "the extent" of the forgiveness made possible by Christ and through the Holy Spirit. <br /><br />I think that where we disagree is in whether something less than that can accurately be labeled as forgiveness, but it may be a matter of whether we can lovingly speak the truth (or truthfully express our love) through something less than a distinctly defined vocabulary, at least so far as "forgiveness" is concerned.<br /><br />Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment, especially as we consider the difficult pairing of both "unity" among the body of Christ and "diplomacy" in communicating (even "the scandal of particularity") to those at odds with the claims of Jesus Christ.Wm. Darius Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00343705324859085642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2920507061982445623.post-13453939113873370472014-08-28T14:38:47.644-07:002014-08-28T14:38:47.644-07:00"Come now, let us reason together," says..."Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18.<br /><br />How could God have said that through Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus was born if there was no true forgiveness available until Jesus' death and resurrection?<br /><br />I maintain that while ultimately forgiveness finds it's fulfillment in the person of Jesus and his atoning work on the cross, we assume a cultural superiority that is detrimental in relationships if we assume that we have cornered the market on the concept of forgiveness. <br /><br />Good discussion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com