One thing that came to my mind as I watched this video is why this makes such a newsworthy story. Is forgiveness so uncommon that when it does happen, it turns into a featured news story?
What good would it have done for them not to forgive? I suppose that they could have profited from harsher legal action.
One thing that is sure is that the effect of those touched by the attitude of charity and forgiveness demonstrated by the Toones has a more far reaching impact for good than if this were to have been another account of tragic sorrow lost in the sea of other unforgiving grudge holders too commonly found elsewhere.
Parents an Example of Forgiveness for Layton Family
Aurora, Colorado Gunman – Movie Goer Desires Forgiveness?
Aurora, Colorado movie goer, Justin James desires forgiveness for gunman James Holmes?
In this YouTube video I took note when it said Justin’s faith tells him the killer deserves forgiveness.
“We should just forgive.” Justin said. “I mean, we don’t know what he’s going through, we don’t know why he did it.”
Just to preface my comments, it’s not my intent to judge Justin. I have no idea what internal turmoil he may be going thru from his experience.
For me, forgiveness is a personal thing. If something is tearing me up inside with anger or rage, then I can see forgiveness as a means to release and let go. Carrying emotional baggage around only hurts me in the long run and can hold me back from feeling a greater sense of freedom and peace.
Openly “forgiving” perpetrators in situations where one has not been personally harmed in any way, to me seems out of place.
I think there is a difference between the type of forgiveness that one experiences in a private way as a means of freeing themselves of a burden, and forgiveness that is touted openly as something we should do because the bible says so, or as a means to look more righteous in the public eye.
Dennis Prager makes some interesting observations in his article from 1997, “The Sin of Forgiveness”
Forgiveness by Parent of Ohio Shooting Victim
I find this article admirable. It takes something uncommon in human spirit to openly forgive as parents of Ohio school shooting victim, Demetrius Hewlin, did.
Forgiveness by Parent of Ohio Shooting Victim
There are things to learn from experiences like these. It’s always good to see a positive light in the shadow of dark events.
God bless you Phyllis Ferguson, for your cherished example in this difficult circumstance.
Forgiveness and the Amish
Forgiveness, Faith, Part of Religious Community of the Amish
This was a very impressive article to read – how the event of the Nickel mines shooting offered outsiders a glimpse into the heart of the Amish culture.
“It wasn’t the event itself that helped define them, but what happened just hours after the shooting took place when an Amish man walked into the nearby home of the shooters’ parents and said, ‘We will forgive you’”
I like the statement given by one Amishman, “Christ said ‘follow me,’ not ‘study me.’”
In the forgiving of the shooter by the Amish, we see their faith lived, not just given lip service to.
“Which brings me back to Nickel Mines. To the Amish, Nickel Mines was not an ordinary day. But it was just a day. And on that day, the Amish did what they try to do every day. They wake up and make choices that show submission to God’s will.
“The man who walked over to his neighbor’s home wasn’t going over to make some grand gesture. He was making a gesture to God that he would forgive. He hadn’t forgiven and forgotten already. But by making that statement, he was opening the door to forgiveness.
And the next day, that man, the families of the victims of the shooting, and thousands of other Amish would wake up, put on the same style of clothing they wore the day before, and make the choice to forgive.”
I find their example profound and inspiring.
Definition of Forgiveness
I just heard one of the most profound definitions for forgiveness this morning on my way to work.
“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.”
Lily Tomlin
It makes you pause and think, doesn’t it?
I love it.
I like the comments by Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D about this quote on her blog, “Mindfulness & Psychotherapy”.