Resentment and Forgiveness

Orthodox Information Center ^ | 28 Feb 2003 | Hieromonk Damascene

[Kolokotronis]

"Both K. and I, BTW served in the military. I don't think either of us saw it as being anything we are ashamed of, or as a transgression of God's law."

An undeserved compliment. I was never in the military. I did other things, but I certainly share, from my own experience, your sentiments and observations.

[Agrarian]

"I was never in the military."

Sorry, my mistake. Must be mixing you up with someone else's story... But it's good that you agree with me!

[Kolokotronis]

I think Agrarian's point about 'amartia' is "on the mark"! You can see how very different the Orthodox mindset, its phronema, is from that of the West in something as basic as what "sin" means.

[k omalley]

Amartia sounds like "hamartia" which if I am not mistaken is a Hebrew word and it means the same thing--missing the mark.

But isn't life one big missing of the mark? Don't even our best efforts usually miss the mark?

[Kolokotronis]

"Amartia sounds like "hamartia" which if I am not mistaken is a Hebrew word and it means the same thing--missing the mark."

Probably the same word. I suspect the Jews stole it from the Greeks, like the Japanese took kimono from us! :)

" But isn't life one big missing of the mark? Don't even our best efforts usually miss the mark?"

You know, in practice and reality, it probably is. But we are called to "be like God" and so we have to try. That's why the sayings and writings of our holy monastics, the real spiritual athletes, the Olympians of theosis, are so cherished by us. By undertaking an active prayer life, receiving the sacraments and practicing at least some of the monastic ascesis in our lives "in the world", like the Jesus Prayer, we can, with God's grace, advance somewhat towards our goal.

[k omalley]

"By undertaking an active prayer life, receiving the sacraments, and practicing at least some of the monastic ascesis in our lives, 'in the world,' like the Jesus Prayer, we can by God's grace, advance somewhat towards our goal."

I wish I had done more of that when my daughters were growing up. I trust in God's grace and love for us to make our efforts and even our mistakes into something good.

[Agrarian]

"I trust in God's grace and love for us to make our efforts and even our mistakes into something good."

I believe that this is exactly what happens -- God loves us (and our children) and cares about us more than we care about ourselves (or our children and other loved ones.) He just wants us to actively turn toward Him.

[Agrarian]

In biblical Greek, there are what are known as "breathing marks" before many initial vowels. For many centuries Greeks have ignored these breathing marks, and simply pronounce the word. Western scholars of Greek, for whom Greek is a dead, not a living, language, prounce Greek the way they think ancient Greek was pronounced (of course no one knows!) The word is written as 'amartia (with that little apostrophe). Anyway, modern-day Greeks will pronounce that word as "amartia," (and will write it without the apostrophe, since breathing marks have been dropped in modern Greek orthography. Westerners, for whom Greek is still the old dead language, will pronounce and write the term as "harmartia," since they translate the breathing mark using an "h."

I found this regarding the Hebrew, and I assume it is probably true: "The Hebrew equivalent of 'hamartia' is 'chata'."

Now, I very much would predict that if you study it, the fullness of the concept of "amartia" is probably Hebrew at its basic root, and "amartia" was probably the Greek word selected to carry the concept, probably by the translators of the Septuagint Old Testament, long before the birth of Christ.

A concern for missing the mark of perfection with relation to God and morals doesn't strike me as a pagan Greek philosophical concern, but I may be wrong.

Orthodoxy has been described as Hebrew concepts conveyed and expanded with the Greek language -- probably the most powerful language in the world for conveying Christian theology. Part of Christ's coming 2000 years ago "in the fullness of time" was that Greek at that point was the common language of the Roman empire. The language played a huge role in the flowering of Christianity, both in the sense of missionary work, but also in the ability to express with precision the faith that Christ had given to his apostles.

[k omalley]

You two gentlemen are just a wealth of wonderful information!

[Kolokotronis]

" I trust in God's grace and love for us to make our efforts and even our mistakes into something good." But we have to keep trying, no matter what. Once upon a time, a brother came to Abba Sisoes, one of the Desert Fathers, saying:

'I have fallen, Abba; what shall I do?' The old main said to him, 'Get up again.' The brother said, 'I have gotten up again, but again have I fallen.' The old man said, 'Get up again and again.' So the brother asked, 'How many times?' The old man replied, 'Until you are taken up either in virtue or in sin. For a man presents himself to judgment in that state in which he is found.'

[kosta50]

I think there is a such a thing as righteous anger

+Paul reminds us that none of us is righteous. Sin cannot be corrected with sin. If we do what our nature demands it is sin. We can hate the sin but not the sinner. Forgiveness is a commandment, which should come from our hearts.

We live in a fallen world where conflict is imposed upon us but others or by our own pride and arrogance. We find ourselves outraged or pushed to do things that are inherently wrong -- and we do it as a greater or lesser evil but evil nonetheless.

[k2blader]

What makes me most angry is when I see people who claim to be Christians slandering and viciously attacking other people who are quite obviously Christian themselves (e.g. Alan Keyes).

Such actions demonstrate no love for the Church. And if there is no love for the Church, how can there be love for Christ?

It is a struggle for me when I see this kind of thing...

[kosta50]

It is a struggle for me when I see this kind of thing...

Do you wish them well or do you wish them ill? Do you think you are better than they are? Do you think they are sinners and we are not? Do you not wish that they find the right path and find love for their neighbor, and that you find forgiveness in your heart? Or do you want vengeance? Isn't vengeance God's?