How to Forgive a Murderer

And Those Who Commit Lesser Crimes

Righteous Judgment

Despite warning us against judging each other, Word actually tells us to judge each other but with righteous judgment. For our nonbelievers, consider this a paradigm for the conscience of Life.

For Word taught us what righteousness really is when he told John that they were to “fulfill all righteousness”—by making the lesser more important than the greater, having John baptize him.

Prior to this, righteousness was determined by obeying a moral standard.

But judging people by how much love they show or deny opens our eyes to what is most important. For long before a person commits murder, they judge others morally, instead of righteously asking themselves, where is their love, where is mine?

And more than likely, long before the murder, the person was also judged morally by others, instead of being taught how to love others unconditionally.

Everyone feels forgiveness in their heart the moment they start making others more important without being against themselves—empowering us to forgive each other, making murder much less likely.

We make ourselves the lesser by making another the greater and forgiving them. We are not the greater looking down and forgiving them. Thus, another makes themselves the lesser by making us the greater and forgiving us. The power to forgive does not come from making oneself the greater. Humbling ourselves gives us such power in our heart.

Although Word was naturally the greater and John the lesser, he humbled himself by making himself the lesser and giving John the power to symbolically forgive him. That is where it had to start in the heart. In turn, John made himself the lesser by making Word the greater and symbolically forgiving him through baptism.

Although we are all equal in Name’s eyes, we each fulfill all righteousness every time we humble ourselves and either forgive another or receive forgiveness from another making us the greater.

Anyone who believes that righteousness comes from obeying a moral standard cannot forgive from the heart, for they would have to make themselves the lesser for a person they see as morally unrighteous. Instead, they see themselves as the morally greater and that takes away the power in their heart.

Anyone who believes that righteousness comes from loving all others unconditionally from the heart makes those who cannot forgive from the heart more important. This way they can forgive them, hoping they receive the forgiveness and humble themselves.

Two Stages of Righteousness

Paul said that we are righteous by the faith of Word, but also said that it does not come by obeying a moral standard, the law. Paul taught an imputed righteousness for believers who are building their foundation of faith.

John, however, said that when we do the works of righteousness we are righteous like Word. John taught how to fulfill all righteousness — be righteous like Word by doing what Word did to fulfill all righteousness. The works of righteousness are to humble ourselves and judge ourselves and others with righteous judgment. This is unconditional love, agapé.

Agapé Singularity

Agapé creates a powerful singularity between all of us in Name, but is available to each of us only when we use it to make others more important and not be against our position in it. Consider it like a current running a circular course. No one can stop it but neither can anyone partake of it without making themselves the lesser. For this allows others to access it through them without having to forgive them for making themselves the greater. Making ourselves the greater is an attempt to deny the agapé singularity between all of us.

The agapé singularity can be used to love those of us blinded to their position in it, blinded due to either making themselves more important or being against themselves when they made others more important. By loving them in their position in it, not their blindness, we do not become blind to the singularity ourselves.

By using the agapé singularity to love those who are suffering, we help them bear the burden by restoring their awareness of the singularity if they have lost it. But if they lost it due to unforgiveness, for example, for those who think they are enjoying their lives in the face of their suffering, they are using a limited agapé. Working as a sub-singularity for our groups alone, limited agapé always uses an inverse action that prevents us from loving those who do not love us, turning us into haters when thought to be necessary. The current cannot be stopped, but it can be experienced negatively.

The Agapé Singularity of Righteousness

Limited agapé works with believing that righteousness comes from a moral standard. We lose awareness of our position in the agapé singularity of righteousness, as well as the positions of those we judge unrighteously. Again, we are unable to humble ourselves and make one who has committed murder or any lesser crime more important—so we can use our position in the power of Word’s agapé singularity to forgive them. Of course, we are also unaware that they are not using righteous judgment either and are also blind to our agapé singularity. As a result, we actually need to see them suffer to keep our hearts blinded by our moral standards, turning us into greater and greater haters. But even the blind can forgive and receive forgiveness, turning them into greater and greater lovers.

With righteous judgment and humility, we can forgive them from our heart, which gives them a chance to humble themselves and regain awareness of their position in Word’s agapé singularity of righteousness.

Suggested reading:

The Eyes of Democracy (Introduction and Index of Articles)