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Notes -
This isn't a question but rather a statement. But I would like to hear what you think.
So I didn’t care for Charlie Kirk, and I’m not Christian (though I think they're pretty cool in general). But the fact that Erika Kirk, his widow, stood up and forgave the man accused of murdering her husband is staggering.
In an era where public life is fueled by score-settling and astounding cruelty this feels like a rare moment of moral progress. It’s counter-cultural in a good way: mercy instead of vengeance.
Here's an article from The Guardian about it
It's especially notable when you compare this act to yesterday’s generation of right-wing Christian political leaders, who would’ve absolutely doubled down on punishment and wrath. Can you imagine, fucking, Hannity, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Falwell or Robertson forgiving someone that murdered their spouse? Yeah right.
And just to remind us of the previous era that needs to finish going the way of the dinosaurs, Trump himself openly said on stage right next to her that he hates his enemies and doesn’t care what Erika just said about what Jesus says about forgiveness.
To see Erika Kirk take the opposite stance, forgiveness, love, mercy, is unexpectedly hopeful. I am appreciating the small bit of moral progress on the Christian right here.
I see everyone cheering for this but I think it’s not ideal. The right act here is to not forgive, because the offender is not repentant, and you should only forgive if someone recognizes their wrong and wishes earnestly to change. And even then, in such a case, it is still acceptable not to forgive, because the Christian conception of judgment (as in what Christ says) is that we are judged by the judgment we pronounce and measured with the measure we mete out. If you judge correctly, you do not face the same punishment than you demand of another. Loving your enemy, which is obligatory, does not mean eroding justice; you can love your enemy and not forgive, because he isn’t repentant or because he is just too evil. Though regarding this latter thing, you are supposed to always forgive a brother, ie fellow Christians, but this is a specific class of people, not just everyone in the world, and it is still written that they must be repentant. Remember that Jesus didn’t forgive Judas. There are a lot of people that Jesus doesn’t forgive, for much “smaller” infractions per Matthew 25, and they are sent into eternal flames.
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