Posted on 04/30/2006 10:19:15 AM PDT by jmc1969
Michael Berg has come to terms with his son's murderer. But to most Americans that man is still enemy No.1, writes Martin Daly in New York.
In the darkness, when the pain becomes too great, Michael Berg pulls out a chair for the man who decapitated his son and talks to him about compassion and forgiveness.
Michael Berg has cried publicly many times for his dead son but he has forgiven Zarqawi, considered by the Americans to be the premier threat to peace in Iraq, but who remains free despite a $US25 million ($33 million) bounty on his head, and the huge numbers of personnel and technological resources being used to track him down.
In offering forgiveness to a man who this week told the world he planned to continue killing, Berg has had to go down dark, complex paths and has had to come to terms with an horrendous loss that has become public property.
(Excerpt) Read more at smh.com.au ...
That is exactly the metal state you SHOULD be in, if you have a killing on the agenda.
The most proficient and successful "killers", never got angry at Charlie or the NVA. It was a simple Alpha dog competition for the right survive and to piss on the trees.
Anger can be a dangerous distraction and judgment damaging influence...
Semper Fi
Instead, he says to Zarqawi that if he had been non-violent, he "would have been marching with him to the sea, or would have been with him on the Freedom Train, because I think what al-Qaeda, what the Iraqi people, what the Palestinian people want, and what the people in the Middle East want, is just what every other human being wants: self-determination and freedom from abuse."
Cindy, we've found someone who shows even more contempt for his dead son than you show for yours.
Disgusting, but this guy isn't the first to go for the gold by stepping over their dead child.
If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
==================================
Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Acts 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Wow! You're right.
In the AAR that I posted, we were able to ID Michael Berg, but I did not know who Jihad Cindy was at the time.
The public marketing of quisling grief.
On the other hand, we don't want control of congress to pass to the Dhimmicrats. Vote for the RINO in the general election.
And he was a public school teacher.
"...He was a fun afficianado, and had killed a man at seventeen who was trying to rob the gas station where he worked..."
What is a fun afficianado? How does it relate to his shooting and killing the robber as a teenager and subsequently becoming a Vietnam-era sniper and steel executive? It's possible I'm obtuse and just not following your meaning!
~ Blue Jays ~
I guess a lot of it depends on the definition of 'forgiveness'.
Christ offered it to all men, but not all men accept it. In the Last Judgment, these men will not avoid the punishment they have earned. And Christ, Himself, will be the one who pronounces the sentence upon them.
OK, thanks, that clarification makes it much clearer. I thought you were saying your friend was generally a lighthearted kind of person, aside from the stressful things he had experienced in his life.
~ Blue Jays ~
You're welecome. Sorry, it was my screwup.
Campaign slogan: If he thinks it's okay to murder his own son, what will he okay for yours...
Where does the man ask for forgiveness?
Luke 23:40But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." 42Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[a]"
I'm not sure exactly what you are asking, but you seem to be implying that the thief was forgiven even though he never asked to be forgiven. Therefore, God (or whomever) can forgive a murdering Muslim even thought he doesn't ask for forgivenenss. Is this your arguement? I can certainly answer, but I want to make sure I answer what you are asking. For now, I'll assume this is your assertion and go ahead and answer. If I have not understood your question you can object and I'll try again.
In Matthew 28 we are told how Jesus was mocked and reviled, not unlike many treat Him today. In 28:44 we are told that the robbers who were crucified with Him 'also reviled Him in the same way.' Yet in Luke 23 we see one of the robbers suddenly sided with Jesus, declared his own guilt and confessed that Jesus had done nothing wrong. What's going on? At some point during the crucifixion, the robber was regenerated and given the gift of faith, his understanding was opened and he recognized the truth about what was going on and was made able to confess the truth about Christ and himself. In other words, the thief came to faith, he was converted. One of the results of faith is justification, the forgiveness of sin. This is an example of justification by faith, justification includes forgiveness.
The thief did the work of the Father which is this "...that you believe in Him whom He [the Father] sent." John 6:28.
The thief on the cross demonstrates salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone. Lest any man should boast. To those of you who are certain that this is wrong and that you must supply works of righteousness which God will graciously accept, I point you to Matthew 7:21-23, and remind you that the will of the Father in Heaven is stated in John 6:28.
If a murdering Muslim confesses his guilt, as the thief did, and repents of his rejection of Jesus, as the thief did, and does the work that the Father gives us to do, as the thief did, then the Muslim will be forgiven (and of course he will no longer be a Muslim). Otherwise he will die in his sins.
So your saying its implied that he asked for forgiveness, not explicit?
"So your saying its implied that he asked for forgiveness, not explicit?"
Not quite, I'm saying that he was justified by faith, like all who believe, and that part of justification is the forgiveness of sin. See Romans 4:3-8. Note that forgiveness, the covering of sin and the none imputation of sin are discussed within the context of Abraham being accounted as righteous because he believed God. The forgiveness of sin is part of the justification that happens when we believe. This is how the thief was saved and why Jesus told him he [the theif] would be with Him in paradise. This is the Gospel.
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