The Germans who did the terrible things that they did, do we know that if we were in the exact same situation as they, with the same indoctrination, we would be different? In a normal world they would likely have been normal, probably fairly decent people. That is not to say that what they did isn't as horrible as horrible can be. It is to say "there but by the grace of God go I". The human heart is capable of great wickedness, given the opportunity, because of our fallen nature.
Because God, who is perfect, is willing to forgive us (by His own Son's death whose shed blood paid for our sins), we can forgive others, no matter how terrible their sins against us are. There were those who had been in the camps, who lost love ones and had been the victims of immense cruelty, who forgave those who had harmed them, even to their faces. There are those who were forgiven who repented in tears and who lives were changed. It is possible and good to forgive, even the most unforgivable, with the help of God's Spirit, and by His grace, which is unmerited favor, knowing that He, who is absolute perfection, is willing to forgive us.
Thank you. Extremely well written. You have summed up the discussion and the ideas those of us who are less eloquent were trying to say. Perfectly expressing the power of forgiveness AND IT’S ABSOLUTE NECESSITY for the well being of the human soul.
Germany, a Christian nation, committed the most horrific acts of genocide against my people, the Jews of Europe. They murdered many members of my family. For every Ten-Boom, there were thousands of Christians who either kept quiet or actively helped the slaughter of the Jewish people. Not just in Germany, but in Denmark, France, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland (yes, even neutral Switzerland), Bulgaria, Romanian, Austria, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, England (yes, England, which sent boatloads of refugees back to the gas chambers) and America, which did the same, clamped down on immigration and refused to bomb the gas chambers or the railroads. (Of all these, only America and England have anything to say in their favor, because at least they fought the nazis).
So please, spare me your beautiful Christian lectures on forgiveness. In practice, down the centuries, Christian forgiveness is drenched in Jewish blood.
Germany, a Christian nation, committed the most horrific acts of genocide against my people, the Jews of Europe. They murdered many members of my family. For every Ten-Boom, there were thousands of Christians who either kept quiet or actively helped the slaughter of the Jewish people. Not just in Germany, but in Denmark, France, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland (yes, even neutral Switzerland), Bulgaria, Romanian, Austria, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, England (yes, England, which sent boatloads of refugees back to the gas chambers) and America, which did the same, clamped down on immigration and refused to bomb the gas chambers or the railroads. (Of all these, only America and England have anything to say in their favor, because at least they fought the nazis).
So please, spare me your beautiful Christian lectures on forgiveness. In practice, down the centuries, Christian forgiveness is drenched in Jewish blood. I have a lot of respect for my non-Jewish friends on FR, but you are way out of line.