tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941511792519558253.post3700654579149144434..comments2024-02-18T10:34:05.638-08:00Comments on Sparks and Stubble: Christ Enjoins Not Impossibilities But PerfectionFather Seamushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03594411809451337049noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941511792519558253.post-21221476187644389452014-02-26T06:35:35.386-08:002014-02-26T06:35:35.386-08:00Hmmm... I agree that fear is often the reason for...Hmmm... I agree that fear is often the reason for retaliation, but I do not think it is exclusively so. Sometimes hatred and vindictiveness, the desire to make another person "pay" for the wrong they have done are at root. Sometimes it also seems that expediency and ambition are a motive - when another person has obstructed our will. <br />So I think I would say that the absence of fear is a precondition, but not a guarantee that one will find the strength to forgive.Father Seamushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03594411809451337049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3941511792519558253.post-69718060168232736602014-02-25T19:01:55.649-08:002014-02-25T19:01:55.649-08:00But why do we want to retaliate when someone has h...But why do we want to retaliate when someone has hurt us? Why do we want to make sure we don't get hurt in the first place (thereby making all those harsh laws)? Because we are afraid. Isn't that what hatred amounts to? We fear getting hurt by someone who should love us, or we fear being made a fool, or we fear the unknown (like the beliefs of a religion we don't understand). David, Stephen and Paul could love and forgive their enemies because they didn't fear them. This, too, comes from God: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul ..." (Mt. 10:28).Cheryl Ruffinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15808011523753175563noreply@blogger.com