Forgiving a Rapist: Does Jesus call us to forgive even something this terrible?

Rebecca St. James




On the road, one of the harshest realities I came face to face with was the large number of girls whose lives have been devastated by rape. Two or three young girls have shared parts of their painful stories with me.

One commonly asked question among the girls I’ve talked to is, “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” Increasingly difficult are the cases where shortly after the assault a girl discovers she is pregnant. Imagine a Christian girl in this situation. She is embarrassed and scared. Abortion isn’t an option, but thoughts of it plague her. Every time she thinks about the baby, she remembers what happened. She feels anger toward the baby as well as toward those who hurt her.

As I thought about this situation, I realized that the baby doesn’t choose to come into the world in that way; he is a victim, too. I remembered that Jesus once felt abandoned too, as he called out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) And as Jesus hung on the cross, God also felt pain and loss. In times of trial in our lives, we all need to know that God can relate to our pain and that God really does work in all things for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

I can’t begin to imagine these girls’ anguish, but I do know that in any situation we can either turn toward God or turn away from him. The girls I spoke to chose to turn toward God. If they had chosen to hold on to their pain, continue to blame God, and not forgive the people who hurt them, they would have been inwardly destroyed.

We don’t know why certain things happen to us in life, but we do know that we can trust God. Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:14-15 just blow me away: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Forgive all the sins of others? God says, “Yes.” Talking behind our back? Yes. Lying? Yes. Stealing? Yes. Rape? Yes, even rape.

Every day in our relationships, we must choose whether or not we will forgive. We decide if we will let the circumstances of life make us bitter or better. We really hurt God when we won’t forgive others. Maybe part of the reason our unforgiving spirit is so offensive to God is that it shows how much we underestimate his power. It is only God’s power that allows us to forgive—we just can’t do it on our own.

http://www.divdel.com/blogs/2016/04/forgiving-a-rapist-does-jesus-call-us-to-forgive-even-something-this-terrible/

If you are a Christian, you are expected to forgive everything.

Flexherbal:
If you are a Christian, you are expected to forgive everything.

Of course. And even if you don't forgive, The perpetrator can easily ask Jesus himself for forgiveness.

Idrismusty97:
Of course. And even if you don't forgive, The perpetrator can easily ask Jesus himself for forgiveness.

I cant

If you really know what you deserve when you weren't saved, you wouldn't have asked this.

U mean?

promise101:
If you really know what you deserve when you weren't saved, you wouldn't have asked this.

It might not be easy let's be real. Even if she forgives, she'll live with d pain and have bitterness against men.

Christianity is only concerned abt its own part (d forgiveness part). So what happens to d psychological scar left permanently in her mind.

To me its better to forgive by ur own free will and not in d name of Jesus religion bcus Jesus religion has no consideration for the emotional trauma caused by d rape dat may even last forever.

Unless she is amazingly loved by men around her or she's able to let out her anger on same rapists to her satisfaction. That's why I believe human miracle to some extent than Jesus miracle

Op you are mixing it up,there are different kinds of offence,social,civil and criminal offences.When someone offends you,the bible said we should forgive,so that we can also be forgiven (Mat 18:23-35).But if the offence is a civil or especially criminal offence like rape,theft,armed robbery,murder etc it must be punished by the state in the court of law, and the offender,in a fair trial will be punished according to the law of the land.
If the criminal offence is committed against you,you are to report to the Police, so that the law will take its course.But you must find a place in your heart to forgive the person,that doesn't mean the rapist or whoever wouldn't still face the wrath of the law.
You see Op,in the spiritual realm sin is sin,no matter the weight(Transgression of the law of God,and it deserves to be punished.So if you have sinned before against God,you must forgive others if you want to be forgiven,it doesn't matter how "small" your sins are.
Thanks,happy new week.

Christianity is spiritual, only those who walk in the spirit can be true Christians. If you are not a true Christian, you can't forgive and you can't love truly. Imagine this: You are to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and PRAY FOR those who persecute you. Mtt.5:44.
This means that if someone persecutes us, it's not enough to let the person go, but to pray for him. If one hates us, it's not enough to avoid or ignore such person, but to do good to such person.
When we have this kind of love that comes in union with Christ, it will be easier to forgive others. The life of Jesus surprises me. When he was crucified, in anguish, he did not curse those who crucified him, instead he prayed for them and forgave them. We should do the same. "Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing".

RadicallyBlunt:
It might not be easy let's be real. Even if she forgives, she'll live with d pain and have bitterness against men.

Christianity is only concerned abt its own part (d forgiveness part). So what happens to d psychological scar left permanently in her mind.

To me its better to forgive by ur own free will and not in d name of Jesus religion bcus Jesus religion has no consideration for the emotional trauma caused by d rape dat may even last forever.

Unless she is amazingly loved by men around her or she's able to let out her anger on same rapists to her satisfaction. That's why I believe human miracle to some extent than Jesus miracle

When genuine forgiveness takes place, Jesus heals without leaving a scar. That's the mystery of Christ that outsiders don't understand. Like you said, it is very difficult, but that's when you want to do it yourself. Hand over and let Christ come in.

Peritus:
Christianity is spiritual, only those who walk in the spirit can be true Christians. If you are not a true Christian, you can't forgive and you can't love truly. Imagine this: You are to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and PRAY FOR those who persecute you. Mtt.5:44.
This means that if someone persecutes us, it's not enough to let the person go, but to pray for him. If one hates us, it's not enough to avoid or ignore such person, but to do good to such person.
When we have this kind of love that comes in union with Christ, it will be easier to forgive others. The life of Jesus surprises me. When he was crucified, in anguish, he did not curse those who crucified him, instead he prayed for them and forgave them. We should do the same. "Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing".

My dear this message is stupidity and it seems as weakness to the unbelieving person. But they don't realise that it's a stronger and higher person who can do this.