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Paulo da Silva Neto Sobrinho |
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After all, does
God forgive?
(Part 1)
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“His Love
endures
forever.” (Psalm
136)
Introduction
In the lectures
we delivered,
sometimes, we
made a point in
asking the
audience: “Does
God forgive?”,
only to see how
people would
react when faced
with such
curious inquiry.
Invariably the
majority would
say yes; we
would claim he
didn’t, waiting
a little in
order to measure
their reaction
(pure mischief,
a friend would
say, but with
lots of love.
lol), then we’d
explain why we
thought this
way.
Only after a
long time we
arrived at the
conclusion that
God never
forgives, for He
is “unoffendable”,
using this word,
not yet found in
the dictionary,
but used
elsewhere by
philosophers and
bible scholars.
Indeed, for God
to be offended
it’d be
necessary to
have a being
that would match
Him in elevation
and power, which
does not exist,
as we know.
Furthermore He’d
need to be
offended by
something we did
to Him; but,
obviously, such
word does not
exist in the
divine’s
vocabulary,
which by the
way, does not
unite with
unconditional
love; since that
“God’s love
endures forever”
(Psalm 136), an
affirmation that
is repeatedly
recited by
Hebrews, in the
great
thanksgiving
litany during
Easter.
On the other
hand, from the
people who said
yes to the ones
who didn’t
understand our
explanation,
they haven’t yet
realized the
infinite love
that God
nourishes for
each one of His
creatures, in a
way that He sees
them as children
who “do not
know what they
are doing”
(Luke 26, 34),
using this
expression by
Jesus.
Don’t be
surprised, dear
reader, us
claiming we
found biblical
support to
justify our
belief that God
does not forgive
and there’s no
reason why He
should:
Job 35, 6-8:
“If you sin, how
does that affect
Him? If your
sins are many,
what does that
do to Him? If
you are
righteous, what
do you give to
Him or what does
He receive from
your hand?
Your wickedness
only affects
humans like
yourself,
and your
righteousness
only other
people.”
We believe that
Job was utterly
right, for our
actions, either
good or bad,
only affect us,
never God.
Furthermore, it
is opportune to
remind that it
is our neighbor
that we offend,
and he will give
his forgiveness
and not God, who
has nothing to
do with this
issue. However,
that does not
mean that we
haven’t broken
the Law of Love,
with which, even
if it takes a
few centuries,
we ought to
harmonize.
How to see
forgiveness
In order to
understand how
we, usually, see
divine
forgiveness we
need to make a
small
comparison.
Perhaps the
example might
not be the best
but, of lack
thereof, at the
moment, we
present it:
Raoul, a
pharmacist from
the little town
of Blue Lake,
concerned about
the news he’d
received, wakes
up, a little
sleepy, after a
sleepless night.
His problem was:
How to get the
money to
renovate the
place, he was
offered to move
the pharmacy to
(much better
than the last
one), in order
to adapt it to
legal
requirements.
At breakfast,
when talking to
his wife, she
suggested, as a
viable
alternative, he
took a bank
loan. It was
something he had
thought of, but
was afraid to
bring up fearing
his wife
wouldn’t give
him support.
Resolute, he
goes to the bank
manager, saying
the he needed a
certain amount
that, even
though wasn’t
very much, he’d
need at least
six months to
pay off. As he
enjoyed credit,
there was no
problem getting
the loan. Some
time goes by,
and Raoul now
had his pharmacy
better located
and sales were
going very well;
however he still
couldn’t get the
money to pay the
bank, as he used
the money to pay
his wife’
medical bills
due to an
illness, which
she had now
recovered from.
The payments
were overdue and
he hadn’t even
gone to the bank
out of
embarrassment
for not being
able to fulfill
the agreement.
So, with him
hiding behind
his
embarrassment,
three months go
by after due
date, when he
receives a
letter from the
bank asking him
to regularize
the situation.
As there was no
way out, feeling
kind of bad, he
went to the bank
manager. The
manager put him
in ‘the corner’,
and he, finding
the last bit of
courage told the
manager: “Mate,
you know me very
well, you know
perfectly well
that I never
fell back on my
payments; but it
was because of
an unplanned
event that I
wasn’t able to
pay my debt;
however, I’d
like you to,
because of my
good record with
this
institution,
forgive my debt
altogether”.
The manager
almost fell over
his chair when
he heard such
preposterous
request, and as
he wasn’t able
to help him, he
suggested he
paid the amount,
with legal
interests, in
monthly
installments he
was able to
afford. He
would, then, be
able to assist
him.
Raoul mentally
worked out the
figures and told
the manager he
would be able to
pay a certain
amount monthly,
which was agreed
upon, without
any problems. In
fact, our friend
Raoul was able
to fulfill this
new agreement
and pay the
whole amount he
owed the bank.
What people
want, when
referring to
God, is exactly
what Raoul asked
the manager,
which is, to
simply forgive
the debt. Well,
the manager
could never do
it, for he would
have to do the
same with every
client and then,
no more banks…
In what concerns
God, this fact
would be, at
least, a
“farewell” to
the law of cause
and effect
(Justice). But,
as the manager
knew his debtor
well, he made
him the offer to
pay it off over
a period of time
and according to
his means. That
for Raoul was
his lifeline.
In the same way,
“God will never
forgive us” for
the faults which
we have
committed
against the Law
of Love; but
somehow will
give us the
opportunity to
harmonize with
it in small
“installments”.
So, if you want
to recognize
that God
forgives, it is
only possible if
we understand
this forgiveness
as Him giving us
new
opportunities to
pay off our
debts.
This is a
warning for
those who want
the “heavens”
for free, for
they will have
unpleasant
surprises when
they return to
their spiritual
home.
The point of
view of
Spiritualism
In Spiritualism
we hold as the
truth the “Law
of Cause and
Effect” (which
we consider the
utmost principle
of justice), to
which, as we
know, makes up
the row of
fundamental
principles that
“demand” from
the offender the
reparation of
all his deeds
when breaking
the Law of Love.
In the
reparation,
divine mercy
provides a
chance to “pay”
with love, doing
Good to others,
or “suffer” the
evil done,
aiming, in this
case, to give us
better
conditions to
evaluate the
extension and
the consequences
of our actions
in order not to
repeat them in
the future.
In the
Spiritualistic
Magazine,
June, 1859, we
find something
rather
interesting. It
has to do with a
report about a
séance done on
the 25th
of March in the
Spiritualistic
Society of
Paris, in which
several
questions were
asked to the
Spirit Andre
Luiz. Among them
we highlight
this one: “Do
White people
sometimes
reincarnate as
Black people?”
Here’s the
answer:
Yes,
when, for
instance, a
slave lord
abuses a slave,
he may ask for
himself, for
expiation
purposes, to
live in the body
of a black
person in order
to suffer, in
his turn, all
the harm he’d
done and,
through this,
move forward and
be granted God’s
forgiveness.
(KARDEC, 1993e,
page 163.)
From that, it
becomes clear
that “God’s
forgiveness” is
only granted
when the
detractor is
willing to
repair the evil
he has caused;
however, this is
rather symbolic,
for it is the
divine law that
is broken and
not God’s per
se.
In The Gospel
According to
Spiritualism,
on chapter V –
blessed the
afflicted, an
excerpt of
Kardec’
commentary about
the causes of
our afflictions:
“Human law
addresses
certain flaws
and punishes
them. The
convicted is
able to, then,
acknowledge the
fact that he is
suffering the
consequences for
what he’s done.
But the law is
not able to
punish all the
faults; it
reaches
specially those
which have
caused harm to
society and not
those that cause
harm only to the
ones who commit
them. God,
however, wants
all His
creatures to
progress and,
thus, does not
leave any
deviation
unpunished.
There are no
faults, as mild
as they may
seem, no
transgressions
of His law, that
don’t lead to
forceful and
unavoidable
consequences,
more or less
deplorable.”
(our highlight)
(this article
will resume in
our next issue).
Bibliographical
references:
BRAGA, K. F.
Alvorada de
Bênçãos.
2012.
KARDEC, A.
Revista Espírita
1859.
Araras, SP: IDE,
1993e.
KARDEC, A. O
Céu e o Inferno.
Rio de Janeiro:
FEB, 2007d.
KARDEC, A. O
Evangelho
segundo o
Espiritismo.
Rio de Janeiro:
FEB, 2007c.
XAVIER, F. C. e
VIEIRA,W. O
Espírito da
Verdade. Rio
de Janeiro: FEB,
2006.
REDAÇÃO MOMENTO
ESPÍRITA. Nem
castigo, nem
perdão.
http://www.momento.com.br,
acesso em
20.06.2012, às
14:10.
GREGÓRIO, S. B.
Bem-aventurados
os
misericordiosos
in;
http://www.ceismael.com.br/artigo/bem-aventurados-misericordiosos.htm,
acesso em
20.06.2012, às
14:17.
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