JustAsking
Sexy Member
Italian,I don't know whether you're a Christian or not (I get the impression you're a former Christian), and that's beside the point, but just because a person is a Christian does not mean they have to forgive everything. It's looks good on paper and in thought--and it probably is the right thing to do--but how many Christians do you think could forgive someone who killed their child, husband, wife, partner, etc? Some cannot even forgive for some lesser things. When it comes to murder, I would think even some of the well known evangelists would have a hard time with it. And the problem that I see happening here and when this topic came up before is that many people are anti death penalty when they are on the outside looking in.
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This is a very good point. I think most people who have had loved ones murdered would respond pretty much as you say. They would be angry, irrational, and probably unwilling to forgive. That is just human nature.
However, the fact that it is human nature does not mean it is right. Almost everything Jesus advocated was pretty much countercultural and very much against human nature. The kind of life Jesus requests of us in terms of unquestioning self-sacrifice is a burden that is almost too much for any of us to bear. The fact that it is difficult does not change the essence of that message. Jesus' message was so countercultural and so much against human nature that they nailed him to a tree.
So the fact that any one of us would be bent on revenge if our child were murdered has nothing to do with how Jesus would want us to respond. As for the proper response, Jesus would have us put our energy into creating a world where children are not murdered, rather than exacting revenge on any individual murderer.