If I say that Elie should forgive the Nazis, I would get complaints from people who think it would be wrong to forgive such heinous, ruthless acts. If I say he should not, I would still get complaints from people who say it would be wrong not to and you are just harboring angry feelings from the past. You could kind of say it is a double-edged sword. If he forgives, then he lets down all the victims and he gives up everything people everywhere have fought against and he is no longer an advocate for his people. If he does not forgive, in a sense he is no better than the rest. Elie should not forgive. The Nazis do not deserve forgiveness. After everything that they put millions of Jews and countless others through, they are not deserving of one man's kindness and compassion. They do not deserve to be forgiven by a man who lost his whole family, most of his childhood, and his dignity because one person wanted a "superior race."
14 comments:
Good job Natasha. I didn't really see it from your point of view. I just thought that it would be easier for him if he were to forgive the Nazis. I like how you said "You could kind of say it is a double-sided sword" that is very true. Good job on this!
Awesome post, I never saw the "double edged sword" thing, but your'e right.
I agree with you when you said it was a "double-sided sword". There are sides that he should but for what they did to him, I don't believe that they should get forgiveness for ruining someone's life like that. Good Job on your post.
Great post! I completely agree with you. He shouldn't forgive the Nazis after everything they did to him pulling him out of his home, killing people in his family, and just ruining his childhood, that is just unforgivable. Very good post way to state your own opinion and not just follow everyone else.
Okay. Yes, the Nazis did a horrible thing. But what would God want? What does the bible say? Elie should forgive the Nazis. If he forgave them he could go on with his life with no regret because he would know on the inside that he did the right thing, even though the Nazis did the wrong thing. He would be the bigger, more mature person to just forgive them. I respect your opinion. I just don't agree with it.
I agree that there are pros and cons to both sides of forgiveness. But like Shelby said, i think it would be easier to forgive instead of keeping all that anger inside. It is interesting how you list all the reasons that he should and should not forgive, then choose that he shouldn't forgive. Either way, the process of forgiveness would take alot of time and effort for A Jew who went through the Holocaust.
i agree with Elizabeth. There is some pros and cons of each. But Taylor mentions what would God want you to do? I'm not bashing your writing, because i know that is what you will think since you simply said it in your post. I am just saying i do not agree with you.
Your right to forgive the nazis or not to forgive them is like a double-edged sword i completely agree. i think though that people should do what they believe and not what their peers believe. Sure if he forgave he would feel like he let the jews that had died down and yet if he dont he isnt better than the rest. i believe though that everyone deserves a second chance. Though how do we know that some of the jews that died forgive the nazis or not... we dont, we cant judge others and tell what they are saying if you understand what i am saying.
I some what agree with your post. There was one awesome illustration you put in my head. When you used the phrase, its like a double-edged sword. That was a great illustration. I respect your opinion, but in my opinion overtime forgivness is the only medication to happiness.
I do not see how forgiving some one stops them from being an advocate for their type of people. You can forgive some one, but that does not mean that you have to like them in the end. Forgiving some one is cutting the strings lose on a hurtful time in your life. It is not you becoming best friends with some one that hurt you really bad. He can stand up for his people by telling his story and having other people undersatnd what he went through. I do like the part where you say it is like a double-edged sword.
Elizabeth, the only reason that I said he should not forgive is because I had to pick a solid forgive or not forgive. I just went with what I felt strongest about.
Tay to be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure what God would want and I don't know what the Bible says. And not to sound rude, but I'm not worried about what the Bible says, I'm just responding to what the topic was and that was my opinion.
This was a very strong post. I like how you pointed out that no matter what you chose people would disagree with it. That is how I felt when I was the only one in my class to chose to "not forgive". You make a good point with both sides. You are especially right about the Nazis not being worthy of one mans forgivness.
Natasha, I respect your opinion and think that you have a very well written and straight forward post, but I simpy do not agree with you. You're right to say that the Natzis do not deserve foregiveness. But the Jews should still forgive them. Not for the sake of the Natzis but rather for themselves. Harboring that much hate is never healthy. Forgiveness is the right path to take. It is not the easiest, nor is it the one most traveled, but it is the right one, the moral one, and the one that leads to peace. And, as a Christian it is my duty to say that maybe you should worry about what the Bible says. Have you ever read it? If you do you will find that it is full of hope, love, sound advice, and many other wonderful things, and maybe you will understand why so many of us said that forgiveness is the right way to go. When God's Son Jesus Christ died on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice to pay for our sins one of the last things he said was "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do". He asked God to forgive the people that tortured, spat upon, beat, and stried to killed Him even though he was innocent of all crimes. It is because of God's instructions given to us in the Bible that I believe that forgiveness should always be given, no matter what happens. I'm not trying to offend you so please do not take it that way. I just feel very strongly about this. I know that this is a free country and that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, and believe me about three years ago I probably would have said the same things you did. I didn't believe. Yeah, sure, I had heard about God and Jesus, my parents were Christians though they didn't always act like it, my friends were Christians, I had been raised going to church for most of my life, but it just did not seem real to me. It seemed like Christians were just a bunch of pushy, overly cautious, overly controlling, judgmental people bent on makeing me feel angry and guilty. Then I finally gave up trying to fight it and stopped looking at the world through angery, distrusting eyes and decided to see what all the fuss was about. I started to read the bible again and it started makeing since to me. I know it sounds cheesy but I saw the light. I started to get more active in my church youth group, I actually listened to the preacher preach instead of ignoreing him and doodleing on the back of the bulletin. This past summer I accepted Jesus into my heart as my Lord and Savior, and he forgave me of my sins. I cannot tell you how awesome that feels. Its like I've been stummbleing around blind all these years and now my eyes have been suddenly opened. Like I've been carrying a heavy weight all my life and my back was about to break, but He took that weight from me and helped me to my feet. I know I have strayed a long way from the topic of our blog, but I just thought that this might help you see why my friends and I think the way we do. Jesus told us to love everyone, even our enemies, and to forgive not only those who love us, but also those who wrong us as well. Thank you for reading. Please don't take offence. You are entitled to your opinion just as I am entitled to mine. God Bless.
Post a Comment