Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Luke 17:3 "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 17:3 "Pay attention and always be on guard [looking out for one another]! If your brother sins and disregards God's precepts, solemnly warn him; and if he repents and changes, forgive him. |
Bible Question:
Good answer Angel, brief and to the point. I feel somewhat guilty... me being an athiest and basically using you guys as researchers. I understand my form of justice, and please don't be offended, but the justice in the bible, so far, does not make sense. You have explained it's view well. It appears that I must disagree with the bible. Let me explain my justice, just so you will know where I am coming from. I believe that revenge is administrating justice for personal enjoyment. Only an evil person would enjoy hurting another, physically or psycologically. On the other hand, a person has to use retaliation to a guide a person to justice. What is the difference? When you spank a child and insist on remorse, when the child expresses remorse, they must be lovingly forgiven. You guide the child in 2 ways as a result. you punish for bad behavior and you reward them when they see it correctly. Society must operate in the same way. If on the other hand, your 2 year old comes over and kicks you in the knee and says "i'm sorry". You say, "you are forgiven". Then he kicks you in the knee again and says hes sorry. lol. Children are born uncivilized. If dicipline is not used, you will be rewarding bad behavior and you will get more of it. People learn limits as they age, but not the same limits. Your next door neighbor may think its just fine to park his non working car in his front yard on jacks. Would it be inapropriate to shun a fellow employee for touching people inapropriatly? 7 times in one day? As long as he expresses remorse each time? Mormons believe that they can not even hit someone if they are rapeing their wife. It is a good thing that there are those who are not mormons, to make it a safe world for them. They live in tight groups, they have to, they are not living in a way that works in many situations. |
Bible Answer: Hi, Pete2! It is interesting that a confessed atheist has such tag (Peter being one of the Lord's Apostles)... as far as feeling guilty, don't--we are not called to minister to some people while rejecting others! I understand your stand on justice... I do have some views on it: Though we have not achieve perfection, society has, for the most part, attempted to control violence by applying a "cause and effect" rule of thumb: "if you do this, you are answerable to that..." The anology of the child has two flaws: 1) A child has the attention span and retention ability of a child: they are not fully conscious human being. (That is why when a child touches something that makes noice or breaks or when a child(ren) are waaaay quiet and the adult shows up out of the blue checking the child's behavior the child is in awe--the mind of the child must be raising the question: how did he or she know?) 2) Seldom are we to find a person, including a child, perpetrating the same offense over and over and over on the same individual(s) while asking to be forgiven. There are quite many exceptions--we can teach children to behave in an immoral or destructive manner (have you witness those parents who dress up their babes in the latest adult styles, or those who teach them the latest dirty dances?) and this is the learning curve which they in turn will use on themselves, their peers, their parents, and, eventually, their offspring. But let's go back to the child that just committed himself or herself to disobeying a command... when the child is reprimanded what is the child's first response--crying isn't it? And even after some correction (oral, physical) does not the child extend the arms to be picked-up and cradled?--isn't the child seeking the reassurance of the parent's love? (This is one of God's built in mechanisms--it helps the bonding porcess so that the parent forgives the child and the child is nurtured in a loving environment!) I do not know how familiar you are with the Bible but Jesus' teachings on justice is that we, those who believe in God, are to dispense greater justice than those who do not believe in God--we are to emulate our Heavenly Father who dispenses love and mercy onto all His Children and His creatures (for we are all created in His image and likeness--even those who choose not to believe and humble themselves to His authority). Let me turn your world around for just a bit: marooned on an island, would you rather spend the rest of your life with someone who subscribes to Jesus' commandments and justice or to someone who subscribes to "survival of the fittest" philosophy? God made this world for our enjoyment, He has given us commandments and regulations to maximize our abilities and enjoyment... we have chosen not to live in the greatness and aflunce of our Divine Benefactor! God Bless! Angel |