Forgiveness and Cause
Reader Comment: I see some benefits that this psychic mechanism called guilt can have in many circumstances. For instance, when somebody lies to somebody and realizes he did a mistake, guilt makes him realize that and tell the truth.
JJ: The benefits are very minimal and the harm from guilt is very great. The Biblical word for sin is the Greek HAMARTANO which means “to miss the mark.” In other words when the Greeks 2000 years ago shot at a target with an arrow and missed, they “sinned” [HAMARTANO] or missed the target.
Now imagine if a target shooter felt guilty when he missed the target. He may throw the bow down and not feel worthy to pick it up and try again for another month.
But when guilt is removed and common sense replaces it, he no longer curses himself for missing but tries again immediately. The person who moves forward without guilt progresses much more rapidly than one hampered by it. He may feel bad when a mistake is made but feeling bad for missing a target is much different than the unworthy feeling created by guilt which often immobilizes the individual.
Reader: What about forgiveness? Couldn’t forgiveness help us transcend the retribution morality.
JJ: Of course. The greatest benefit of forgiveness comes to the one who is the victim. If one harbors a grievance it can do harm to soul and body. On the other hand, forgiveness does not undo the results of the sin or offense.
Let us go back to our example. The offender stole the operation money from the victim and his daughter died just before she would have accepted Christ. Let us suppose the victim forgives the thief. Does it bring his daughter back to life?
No.
The forgiveness is good for his soul and body but both the victim and the offender live the rest of their lives in a world where the effect of the theft remains. The girl remains dead and the father misses her until he dies.
Forgiveness lifts a dark cloud over the soul but the effects of our actions remain.
Reader: If the effects remain, isn’t forgiveness the solution that Christ brought to the world for ending what it appears to be an infinite chain of effects, that can no longer be balanced via the retribution system? We seem to be in a vicious system, as we keep harming each other and create endless karma chains. Shouldn’t we focus more on forgiveness?
JJ: Yes, forgiveness ends the cycle of retribution but it does not negate the effects of the offense. In our example the guy’s daughter is still dead no matter how much he forgives. Forgiveness does not negate effects and the girl is not brought back to life.
Through forgiveness, however, he does not propagate additional harm by attacking the thief and creating a new round of retribution.
A lot of people have the mistaken idea that forgiveness neutralizes effects but cause and effect always plays out. There is not one exception in our billions of years of history. Forgiveness itself is a cause that produces an effect.
Reader Comment: Where I live religious people are mainly judging and acting, albeit entirely subconsciously more often than not, based on fear. They understand everything through fear, submission and retribution.
JJ: Many think this problem applies particularly to religious people but it applies to over 99% of humanity but is hidden from people through their blind spots.
For instance, doctors are controlled by the same beastly fear when they tremble at the thought of endorsing an alternative treatment for cancer, even though it may work better than radiation.
The politician is terrified at going against the mindset of his party.
People are terrified in challenging the IRS.
A journalist is terrified at writing something that goes against the mindset of his fellow workers and editors.
Common people tap into what their group thought tells them is acceptable to believe and they accept without question or critical thinking.
New Age believers have many of the same fear based and illusionary beliefs but merely use a different vocabulary.
For instance, instead of preaching an apocalyptic end they may preach a shift into the 5th dimension that will take the righteous and leave the unenlightened behind to be destroyed.
A Course in Miracles
I know this has discussed before and I tried to search for it. But someone was recently telling me about “the course” and there is a meet up group on Mondays near my house.
Don’t know too much, sure there are kernels of truth etc…but sort of beastly it seems to me…or at least how it was presented to me. Anyways…what’s the consensus on this?
JJ: A Course in Miracles [ACIM] does have some good material in it. The most important teachings guide the student toward the removal of grievances. “The truth is true and nothing else is true” is my favorite quote from it.
Even so, any writing, even mine or the Bailey writings, can become a beast of authority if teachers insist his version of the teachings be accepted or no conversation is allowed that seems to contradict or give additional enlightenment. I know many of the ACIM students seem to tap into a particularly beastly mindset that does not allow the consideration of alternative opinions.
I have been thrown off or threatened to be thrown off of discussion groups where I presented unorthodox interpretations of ACIM material.
The worst form of injustice is pretended justice. – Plato
July 10, 2013
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