Religion
Related: About this forum'I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me'
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community
Forrtunately, most of them would be offended if I prayed for them.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)safeinOhio
(32,756 posts)forgiveness helps the forgiver more than the forgiven..
Sometimes it takes longer than other times. Same with hate.
Yorktown
(2,884 posts)- first, in the fact of praying. An action with no proven effect. Thinking, reflecting would be positive actions.
- hate is a useless emotion. To get rid of it is good. But to have felt it in the first place was useless.
- not to condemn is wrong. Bonhoeffer was right to condemn Nazism. Prayers should not have stopped that.
rug
(82,333 posts)Yorktown
(2,884 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Yorktown
(2,884 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Yorktown
(2,884 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Won't do a thing for comprehending them.
Yorktown
(2,884 posts)Using your comprehension powers, could you define prayer?
rug
(82,333 posts)Donald Ian Rankin
(13,598 posts)Being willing to forgive those who harm you is fine, if you choose to do it.
But it's not so admirable to refuse to condemn people who are harming other people, if their victims are asking you to condemn them.
Bonhoeffer clearly understood this, given his involvement in resistance to Nazism. But it's not clear from that quote.
rug
(82,333 posts)nil desperandum
(654 posts)This quote was more my favorite from Bonhoeffer...
It is the nature, and the advantage, of strong people that they can bring out the crucial questions and form a clear opinion about them. The weak always have to decide between alternatives that are not their own.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer