A Victorian’s Religious Beliefs

FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness means relief to an offender from the displeasure of the offended. It does not secure relief from the just punishment of sin, but for a wronged man to truly and spiritually to remember that wrong no more.

In seeking forgiveness – if the offender does not intend to cease from offending then his repentance is not true. In that case, no wronged being can effectively forgive him, as the offender’s mind is not yet prepared to effectively receive forgiveness. Incomplete repentance and forgiveness never brings the offender peace because he continues to offend, never allowing the Forgiver to forget, as he continues offending proves that the repentance is not true. But Human, and Divine Nature is always willing to forgive. Therefore, then the offender’s repentance is true, and permanent, forgiveness allows the process to begin for forgetting the offence, and of removing the punishment.

The Forgiver forgets much sooner than the offender because the offender of man and God is the cause of the trouble, and punishment. Therefore, punishment clings long to the offender. But with forgiveness, and its sweet relief, during man’s existence in this world and the next, his sorrows will weaken, and end, and be forgotten. Like a small wound, which soon heals. So the sorrows for the lesser sins are soon forgotten. But man’s sorrows for any cruel and heartless past evil deeds and sins are slow to paw away, and are not soon forgotten either in this world, or the world to come.

We thus see – the inevitable and just effects or punishment of his lesser and greater offences or sins. Forgiveness – establishes peace between the offender and the offended, and between man and God. And helps to remove bitterness from the offender’s punishment, to begin within him a new life and process that will finally, in a higher world, end in his remembering his sins and sorrows no more, and forever!

This – the true view of the science of Forgiveness, agrees with every know fact of Human Existence, and with Bible history and teaching, and with the eternal laws of Cause and Effect, which rewards every man according to his evil and good works.

George Burgess – June 1899