The recent atrocious killings at the Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvannia is the kind of horrid experience one wants to push out of his or her mind and wish never happened. The justification of such an act is unfathomable. How it could happen in the first place seems unbelievable.
Different people struggle with different emotions and feelings when such incidents occur.
“How could I ever possibly forgive that murderer,” a woman asked me yesterday.
In thinking through an answer, it was clear in my mind that the murders were dark evil and need never be forgiven. But the man used by the evil thoughts had to be seen in a different light.
The old saying “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” applies here.
If we were to hold every crime against every criminal forever, and never forgive them, this world would become a hopeless place to live. How could anyone ever be saved? I reasoned.
If we never forgave anyone, we would never be giving wrongdoers room for repentance, for reform and change for the better. If enough of this type of unforgiving attitude circulated in public thought, eventually everyone would be held hostage by some crime they committed, whether small or large.
To improve society, we have to allow for reform.
I don’t believe this means letting jailed criminals loose on the streets before they’ve reformed. But it is an important attitude society needs to possess to work for improvement amongst its citizens.
In light of the rash of random killings at schools, I pray that our society lose its fascination with violence and killing.
As a parent, it troubles me that millions of teenagers spend thousands of hours immersed in violent video games that have them killing characters over and over again on the plasma screen. Defenders of the practice claim its all in play. But is it?
How can children, and adults, purposely and intentionally plot to murder, even though in games, and not have the mentality of purposeful and mindless killing affect their larger view of life? Is this part of what we’re seeing today in the form of random and irrational killings? Not that any murder is rational.
If we adopted an attitude of hard-core vengeance and unrelenting hatred toward the random killers, we might easily miss the larger issue of “What should we be doing to prevent these outbursts from happening in the first place?”
Jesus taught us to love our enemies. His instruction didn’t mean ignore their attacks and be abused by them. It meant we needed to love the hate and anger right out of them.
The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour in truth through flood-tides of Love. Science and Health, p. 201. Mary Baker Eddy
The public’s thought at large today is filled with too much anger and hate. I pray for an outpouring of love amongst parents and children, adults and peers, to reduce mindless hate and create citizens who love and respect each other’s life and existence.
When taught to love one another, the suggestion of hurting another doesn’t enter the realm of mental possibility. Could this be the ultimate protection and prevention program for random killings?
But we have to forgive before we can love.
I could not agree more!
We are all in need of forgiveness for some sin, ranging from an act of unkindness or petty trespass, up to major crimes against humanity. We are all in need of forgiveness, which comes with the destruction of sin.
In addition to his instruction to love our enemies, Jesus made two other important statements that apply to circumstances such as these: “Let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone.”; and, “First remove the beam from thine own eye before removing the mote from thy brother’s eye.”
This man in PA lost an infant son 9 years ago and never found that spiritual love, a love which I rely on every day, which would heal his pain. Mrs. Eddy tell us in Science and Health that, “The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood. Each fulfilling the other’s need.” Applied to this case it means that each of us who has a higher perspective should be spiritually guiding that man away from his darkness and towards the light and love that are God.
I count on that guidance daily from God, the Christ, Mrs. Eddy, Evan, and others. It is our duty to see God’s ideal expressed by that man in PA, not a tortured molester/murderer. He will be held accountable for his acts, but that does not change his spiritual perfection and his progress in expressing it.
As I grow and shed off sinful thoughts and actions I am forgiven. To be unforgiving and vengeful against one idea of God is to render ourselves unfit for growth and forgiveness. The seeming magnitude of the crime only alerts us to work that much more diligently. It’s all the same process, like climing a hill. Guide those below you as you are guided by those above. Forgive so that you can be forgiven.
Evan – I don’t often comment on your Blog but I read it daily. I greatly appreciate your insights and guidance.
Seeds of thoughts bearing fruit of suffering which now extends to families of both the victums and the perpetrator. Remarkably, the amish family speak of Love and forgiveness already. Spiritual Preparation goes a long way in dealing with the crisis that come and go in our lives.
Here is a good article that has the actual facts about this shooting – it also points out that the majority of recent school shootings are about attacking young woman and girls – something we should certainly be aware of when we pray…
Here is the Monitor link:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1004/p01s01-usgn.html?s=hns
Wow John. Some powerful ideas you’ve written. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this post Evan. I have linked to it on my blog along with your chat on bullying in school on spirituality.com.
I’ll share a favorite quote about forgiveness from Desmond Tutu, “There is no future without forgiveness.”