{"id":3121,"date":"2014-01-03T03:12:44","date_gmt":"2014-01-02T21:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intelligent-torvalds.74-208-171-134.plesk.page\/?p=3121"},"modified":"2024-01-02T09:01:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T15:01:02","slug":"torture-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/?p=3121","title":{"rendered":"Torture, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture<\/i> (\u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2, a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2)[1]<\/sup><\/a> him until he repaid all he owed<\/a>.\u00a0 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive<\/i> (\u1f00\u03c6\u1fc6\u03c4\u03b5, a form of \u1f00\u03c6\u03af\u03b7\u03bc\u03b9)[2]<\/sup><\/a> your brother from your heart<\/a><\/i>.[3]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 It seems here that Jesus stated rather matter-of-factly that his Father would turn the unforgiving over to torturers.\u00a0 He did not say that God would torture them Himself but implied that others would do it for Him.\u00a0 Perhaps I was too hasty dismissing Jonathan Edward\u2019s claim that God is the superlative torturer.<\/a><\/p>\n

This metaphor\u2014the kingdom of heaven is like<\/b> a king who wanted to settle accounts <\/i>(\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd, a form of \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2)[4]<\/sup><\/a> with his slaves<\/i>[5]<\/sup><\/a>\u2014was given in answer to Peter\u2019s question, Lord, how many times must I forgive <\/i>(\u1f00\u03c6\u03ae\u03c3\u03c9, a form of \u1f00\u03c6\u03af\u03b7\u03bc\u03b9) my brother who sins against me?<\/i>[6]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0<\/i>The settling of these accounts is very reminiscent<\/a> of, I tell you<\/i>, Jesus said, that on the day of judgment<\/i>, people will give an account<\/i> (\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd) for every worthless word<\/i> (\u03c0\u1fb6\u03bd[7]<\/sup><\/a> \u03c1\u1fc6\u03bc\u03b1[8]<\/sup><\/a> \u1f00\u03c1\u03b3\u1f78\u03bd[9]<\/sup><\/a>) they speak<\/i> (\u03bb\u03b1\u03bb\u03ae\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd, a form of \u03bb\u03b1\u03bb\u03ad\u03c9<\/a>).[10]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

A man who owed ten thousand talents was brought to<\/i> the king.[11]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 When he was not able to repay it, the<\/a> lord ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed<\/a>, and repayment to be made<\/i>.[12]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I suggested<\/a> that the only account<\/i> that matters at a moment like this is, God, be merciful<\/i> to me, sinner that I am!<\/i>[13]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 That is essentially the account this slave gave.\u00a0 He did not try to dispute the debt.\u00a0 He threw himself to the ground before him, saying<\/a>,<\/i> \u201cBe patient<\/i> (\u03bc\u03b1\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03b8\u03cd\u03bc\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03bd, a form of \u03bc\u03b1\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03c9)[14]<\/sup><\/a> with me, and I will repay you everything.\u201d<\/i>[15]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Love is patient<\/a><\/i> (\u03bc\u03b1\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u1fd6, another form of \u03bc\u03b1\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03c9),[16]<\/sup><\/a> so, The lord had compassion on that slave and released<\/i> (\u1f00\u03c0\u03ad\u03bb\u03c5\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd, a form of \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03cd\u03c9)[17]<\/sup><\/a> him, and forgave <\/i>(\u1f00\u03c6\u1fc6\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd, a form of \u1f00\u03c6\u03af\u03b7\u03bc\u03b9) him the debt<\/i>.[18]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I can\u2019t help but connect \u1f00\u03c0\u03ad\u03bb\u03c5\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd (a form of \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03cd\u03c9) here with \u03bb\u03cd\u03c9[19]<\/sup><\/a> in, I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven<\/a>, and whatever you release<\/i> (\u03bb\u03cd\u03c3\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5, a form of \u03bb\u03cd\u03c9) on earth will have been released<\/i> (\u03bb\u03b5\u03bb\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b1, a form of \u03bb\u03cd\u03c9) in heaven<\/i>.[20]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 It causes me to suspect that Jesus has his thumb on the scale<\/a> of binding<\/i> and releasing<\/i> in favor of releasing<\/i>, and that this metaphor is also aimed back at that statement.<\/p>\n

After he went out<\/i>, the metaphor about the kingdom of heaven continued, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins<\/i>.[21]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The fellow slave asked for the same patience, but the first slave threw him in prison until<\/a> he repaid the debt<\/i>.[22]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, \u201cEvil slave! I forgave <\/i>(\u1f00\u03c6\u1fc6\u03ba\u03b1, a form of \u1f00\u03c6\u03af\u03b7\u03bc\u03b9) you all that debt because you begged me! \u00a0Should you not have shown mercy <\/i>(\u1f10\u03bb\u03b5\u1fc6\u03c3\u03b1\u03b9, a form of \u1f10\u03bb\u03b5\u03ad\u03c9)[23]<\/sup><\/a> to your fellow slave, just as I<\/a> showed it <\/i>(\u1f20\u03bb\u03ad\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1, a form of \u1f10\u03bb\u03b5\u03ad\u03c9) to you?\u201d<\/i>[24]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

That brings me back to the beginning of this essay: And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture<\/i> (\u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2, a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2) him until he repaid all he owed<\/a>.\u00a0 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive<\/i> (\u1f00\u03c6\u1fc6\u03c4\u03b5, a form of \u1f00\u03c6\u03af\u03b7\u03bc\u03b9) your brother from your heart<\/i>.[25]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 So it seems that debt<\/i> in the metaphor is equivalent to sins<\/i> in the kingdom of heaven.<\/p>\n

If I accept Edward\u2019s contention<\/a> that Jesus\u2019 heavenly Father is the superlative torturer, then this metaphor seems to describe how one might expiate his own sins by becoming God\u2019s victim, by satisfying some portion of the Father\u2019s desire to torture someone for some unspecified period of time.\u00a0 That interpretation would make this a unique passage in all the New Testament to say the least.\u00a0 And it doesn\u2019t offer much guidance why this \u201cTorturer\u201d would let some off easy.\u00a0 Why should any escape the torture he so desired to give them by forgiving sins, the very currency that justified the \u201cTorturer\u2019s\u201d torture?\u00a0 In fact, why would this \u201cTorturer\u201d ever forgive anyone\u2019s sins at all, or encourage such forgiveness?<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if I consider that a man who could not pay a debt before being handed over to daily torture is unlikely to raise the funds after he is so preoccupied, then I might consider that\u2014So also my heavenly Father will do to you<\/i>\u2014means that the unforgiving will never get out of the prison<\/i> into which He confines them.\u00a0 That sounds like Christians, the forgiven, who do not forgive others will go to hell.<\/p>\n

Most Christians I know have rules against that.\u00a0 In fact, I suspect that most Christians I know would not consider themselves to be great sinners who were forgiven much and were called by God to forgive lesser sinners than themselves.\u00a0 I think most would consider themselves to be more like the second slave, relatively good people who deserve to be forgiven for their relatively few sins but are not forgiven, rather they are persecuted by greater sinners than they are and long for the day when God will rise up and send their persecutors to hell.<\/p>\n

This is one of the first times I\u2019ve used the\u00a0term Christian<\/i> in these essays.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if the Christians I know would be willing to accept me as a Christian<\/i> if they read these essays.\u00a0 Frankly, if Christian<\/i> has come to mean something other than little Christ<\/i>, a repentant sinner following Jesus into the righteousness of love<\/a>, I\u2019m not sure I would fight very hard over the word.\u00a0 It can go the way of charity<\/a><\/i> and temperance<\/a><\/i> for all I care.\u00a0 For all I know more people would repent of their sinfulness and follow Jesus into the righteousness of love if they didn\u2019t have to become Christians<\/i> to do it.\u00a0 But fundamentalist Christians are my people by birth.<\/p>\n

I still feel embarrassment and shame that the word Christian<\/i> is practically synonymous with unforgiving<\/i>.\u00a0 Still, I can\u2019t say that the Holy Spirit has brought this metaphor to my mind to remind me to forgive others.\u00a0 My daily prayer asking the Lord to forgive us as we ourselves have forgiven<\/a><\/i>[26]<\/sup><\/a> others has been sufficient for that.\u00a0 The only time this metaphor comes to mind is when my Christian friends use their rules or reasons to attempt to persuade me that I am too forgiving.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think I respond to this metaphor in fear of hell or torture.\u00a0 I think I recognize that I am not an Apostle.\u00a0 I don\u2019t present the Gospel with the signs of an apostle<\/i>\u2026by signs and wonders and powerful deeds<\/i>.[27]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Except for the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and the willingness to forgive others that the Lord can force into, and wrench out of, this repentant sinner my Gospel presentation is idle talk<\/i>; and the kingdom of God is demonstrated not in idle talk but with power<\/i>.[28]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Still, this metaphor includes a category of lesser sinners<\/i>.\u00a0 Is this my error?\u00a0 I have assumed that\u2014I know that nothing good lives in me<\/a>, that is, in my flesh<\/i>[29]<\/sup><\/a>\u2014applied to Paul. \u00a0Not all Christians do<\/a>.\u00a0 For I want to do the good<\/i>, Paul continued, but I cannot do it<\/i>.[30]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 That certainly applied to me, and I reasoned backward that\u2014nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh<\/i>\u2014also applied to me.\u00a0 But beyond that I have assumed that it applied to all sinners.\u00a0 I am completely dependent on God\u2019s mercy and grace, no question about it.\u00a0 But are there others who are not so dependent?<\/p>\n

Are there Christians who are lesser sinners<\/i>?\u00a0 Christians who are mostly righteous by their own innate goodness and\/or their own obedience to the law?\u00a0 Christians who require less forgiveness, less of the fruit of God\u2019s Spirit, less grace and less mercy than I require because of their own righteousness?\u00a0 I don\u2019t see that in Scripture, but does that mean it isn\u2019t there?\u00a0 Or is it due to my own blindness because I am such a great sinner?\u00a0 Are the things that concern me in these essays just nitpicking persecution of the good Christians who are more righteous than I am?\u00a0 Or are the good Christians<\/i> in error when they assume that\u2014nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh<\/i>\u2014could not have applied to Saul after he was called by Jesus as the Apostle Paul?\u00a0 Do they overestimate their own righteousness when they assume that\u2014nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh<\/i>\u2014could not possibly apply to them as the redeemed of the Lord?<\/p>\n

As a repentant great sinner I have no objective place to stand to answer those questions. \u00a0I need to approach it differently.<\/p>\n

In Matthew\u2019s Gospel account I read, Meanwhile the boat, already far from land, was taking a beating<\/i> (\u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03c9)[31]<\/sup><\/a> from the waves because the wind was against it<\/i>.[32]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Here, \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03c9, the root word of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2 (\u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2, torture<\/i>, is a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2), expressed the conflict of a contrary wind.\u00a0 And in Mark\u2019s Gospel account Jesus saw his disciples straining<\/i> (\u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2, a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03c9) at the oars, because the wind was against them<\/i>.[33]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Here \u201ctorture\u201d is the strain of rowing against a contrary wind.<\/p>\n

As I considered these things I saw the film \u201cAdore<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 It became a thought experiment in forgiveness.\u00a0 I will be spoiling the film for anyone who things it spoiled by knowing its plot.<\/p>\n

Lil and Roz were best friends since childhood.\u00a0 They grew up and had sons, Ian and Tom, also best friends.\u00a0 One day, lying on the beach together, watching their grown sons surf, they marveled, \u201cDid we do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re beautiful,\u201d Roz said while Lil nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re like young gods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian was first to make a play for Roz.\u00a0 She tried to restrain herself, but what mortal woman can resist the amorous advances of a young god?\u00a0 When Tom saw what his mother was up to, he made a spiteful play for Lil.\u00a0 Lil held out a scene longer than Roz but eventually she, too, fell prey to another young god.\u00a0 And so far, even as a Christian, I can follow this tale.\u00a0 Though she may withstand the charms of a thousand mere mortals, the young god will not be denied apart from the \u1f10\u03b3\u03ba\u03c1\u03ac\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1<\/a> of the Holy Spirit<\/p>\n

When Tom came home one morning after being out all night, Roz asked, \u201cHey, where have you been?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Lil\u2019s, doing to her what Ian\u2019s been doing to you,\u201d her impertinent son replied.<\/p>\n

Roz slapped him and went off to confront Lil.\u00a0 I could hear the contrary wind howling and see the storm clouds brewing.\u00a0 Obviously this film intended to recount the tragic tale of a friendship ripped apart by fateful indiscretions.\u00a0\u00a0 But, no.\u00a0 As lifelong friends and repentant sinners Roz and Lil forgave each other instead.\u00a0 And I call them repentant sinners<\/i> because they both acknowledged that they were wrong and that it could never happen again.\u00a0 While a repentant sinner may find it relatively easy to forgive another for the very same sin she is guilty of, it is a more difficult matter for Christians.<\/p>\n

Lil was a widow and Tom was a young single man, but they had sex before they were married.\u00a0 That is sexual immorality according to most contemporary Christians.\u00a0 (It was marriage according to some of their ancestors.)\u00a0 Ian was a young single man but Roz was married.\u00a0 That is adultery.\u00a0 A Christian cannot forgive sexual immorality or adultery unless the sinner repents in a more formal way, demonstrates some sorrow over sin, and promises to take appropriate steps not to repeat that sin.\u00a0 Looking into one another\u2019s eyes and seeing into another\u2019s heart may be good enough for repentant sinners, but Christians have rules to maintain.<\/p>\n

Roz and Lil couldn\u2019t stop sinning.\u00a0 They decided they didn\u2019t have to.\u00a0 They decided to enjoy the time they had, knowing full well their young gods would get bored with them eventually.\u00a0 One might say, For the joy set out for<\/i> them they endured the cross<\/i> of being rejected for younger, prettier women, disregarding its shame<\/i>\u2026[34]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 So Roz and Lil forgave each other for their lack of \u1f10\u03b3\u03ba\u03c1\u03ac\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 (translated, self-control<\/i>).<\/p>\n

This forgiveness is a bit more difficult even for repentant sinners.\u00a0 Others may question, even the sinners themselves may question, whether they are repentant sinners at all or simply unrepentant sinners.\u00a0 I\u2019ll continue to accept them as repentant sinners since they were resolved to accept the painful consequence of their sin. \u00a0What Roz and Lil discovered was not so much a change in the state of their repentance as an inability to quit their sin.<\/p>\n

Forgiving continual, repetitive sin may be the most difficult of all for Christians.\u00a0 Rules are flouted flagrantly.\u00a0 Any demonstration of repentance seems dishonest at best.\u00a0 But continual, repetitive sin is what Peter referred to when he asked, Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? \u00a0As many as seven times?<\/i>[35]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0Not seven times, I tell you<\/i>, Jesus answered, but seventy-seven times!<\/i>[36]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The note<\/a> in the NET reads: \u201cOr \u2018seventy times seven,\u2019 i.e., an unlimited number of times\u2026\u201d \u00a0Discovering one\u2019s own inability to quit sin is a watershed moment for Christians.<\/p>\n

It is that time when we may understand, and join in with, Paul, saying, Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves<\/a> but in God who raises the dead<\/i>.[37]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 It is that time when we either learn to rely on the credited righteousness of God, the fruit of his Spirit, or we turn from Christ to take cold showers, think about baseball, or whatever other strategy we might come up with to establish our own righteousness, develop our own virtue, and maintain our own pride.<\/p>\n

Roz and Lil were oblivious to all of this.\u00a0 Neither studied Paul\u2019s letters.\u00a0 No one knowledgeable in the Scriptures came forward to teach them.\u00a0 But they loved one another and they forgave one another.\u00a0 Ian and Tom were also best friends.\u00a0 Their story is not told in as great of detail but apparently they loved one another and forgave one another, too.\u00a0 All four settled into their new life for a time.<\/p>\n

\"fig.<\/a>

fig. 1<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

Sunning themselves on the floating dock Roz and Lil swam to as children became the visual metaphor for peace and tranquility in the film (fig.1<\/em>).\u00a0 It is a beautiful counter-image to the contrary-wind-straining-at-the-oars image Jesus promised those who refused to forgive one another.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not suggesting that forgiveness alone facilitated this idyllic equilibrium.\u00a0 The two couples had shared a meal that functioned as a wedding feast in their microcosm.\u00a0 Ian stood after dinner.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d Roz asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo your room,\u201d Ian said as he walked away.\u00a0 It was an awkward moment.\u00a0 Roz had been publicly summoned to attend to the amorous desires of her young god.\u00a0 It was an expression of Ian\u2019s desire to be sure, but it was also a command no less than David\u2019s summons of Bathsheba.\u00a0 Lil knew it was no way for her son to speak to her best friend.\u00a0 Tom knew it was no way for his best friend to speak to his mother.\u00a0 But Tom also understood what was at stake.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee you at yours,\u201d Tom announced to Lil, and left the women alone to decide their next move. \u00a0They were free within the constraints of their joy and pleasure to accept or reject the boys\u2019 assertions of rights over them.\u00a0 Young gods they might be, but they were not kings.\u00a0 It may seem like blackmail to some, but the women had the same joy and pleasure to offer.\u00a0 They could have called their sons\u2019 bluffs and waited them out at the dinner table to negotiate more favorable terms.\u00a0 Apparently they surrendered to their lovers\u2019 demands unconditionally.<\/p>\n

From then on it was clear.\u00a0 Though Roz was Tom\u2019s mother, she was also Ian\u2019s woman.\u00a0 Though Lil was Ian\u2019s mother, she was also Tom\u2019s woman.\u00a0 Though Tom was Roz\u2019s son, he was also Lil\u2019s man.\u00a0 And though Ian was Lil\u2019s son, he was also Roz\u2019s man.\u00a0 Yet Roz and Lil were still less than wives.\u00a0 For they were still mothers and grandmothers-in-waiting who fully expected their sons to discard them for younger more fertile women.\u00a0 The women not only relinquished the honor due them as mothers, but the fidelity due them as wives.\u00a0 Clearly, they gave the most for these idyllic moments of peace and tranquility.<\/p>\n

Tom was first to break the peace.\u00a0 He journeyed to Sydney to direct a musical.\u00a0 Lil knew that he was enchanted by Mary, his leading lady, even before he did.\u00a0 She could hear it in his voice on the phone.\u00a0 When Tom returned Lil sadly backed away to give way to Mary.\u00a0 Roz, whether devoted to Lil or conscience-stricken herself, cut Ian off and sent him out to find a young woman of his own.\u00a0 Both women promised to be good mothers-in-law, pillars of the community and grandmothers.<\/p>\n

Roz\u2019s uncharacteristic moral absoluteness seemed like an unjust and foreign law to Ian, like conquest and enslavement by an alien king.\u00a0 He was content to remain faithful to his lover.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t understand why he should be punished for Tom\u2019s sin. \u00a0He took up with Hannah at Tom\u2019s wedding to spite Roz.\u00a0 He returned to Roz later that night.\u00a0 He banged on her locked door, but she wouldn\u2019t let him in.\u00a0 Hannah, however, was devoted to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s great,\u201d Ian said of Hannah.\u00a0 \u201cShe couldn\u2019t be nicer.\u00a0 I just\u2026You know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Tom replied.\u00a0 He not only understood how Ian yearned for Roz, it was apparent he shared that yearning for Lil.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty soon I\u2019m going to have to give her the elbow,\u201d\u00a0Ian said of Hannah.\u00a0 But Hannah was pregnant.<\/p>\n

Years passed before the next scene: Roz and Tom and Mary and their daughter scampered down to the beach with Lil and Ian and Hannah and their daughter.\u00a0 The two little girls seemed to be on their way to becoming best friends.\u00a0 Apparently Roz and Lil and Ian and Tom had forgiven one another again, and reached a new idyllic equilibrium, that included Hannah and Mary and their daughters.\u00a0 But it didn\u2019t last.<\/p>\n

Ian discovered Tom and Lil that night and realized they had carried on a secret affair.\u00a0 Though Ian had apparently resigned himself to Roz\u2019s alien law he was clearly not a poet<\/a> of it, but an actor<\/a>, a hypocrite.\u00a0 Angrily, resentfully, he blew the whistle on Tom and Lil in front of Hannah and Mary, and all the details of their pasts came to light.\u00a0 Hannah was hurt and confused, but seemed to want to understand.\u00a0 Mary, the actor, the hypocrite<\/a><\/em> who seduced Tom as he attempted to be faithful to Lil, would have none of it.\u00a0 She woke her daughter and left that night, encouraging Hannah and her daughter to leave with them.<\/p>\n

In the end Roz and Ian, Lil and Tom were together again on the floating dock, though it was not so idyllic as before (fig. 2<\/em>).\u00a0 Mary and Hannah and their daughters were missing.\u00a0 It was not hard to imagine angry waves beating against their little ships, as they strained at the oars against a contrary wind.\u00a0 Mary could blame her circumstances on Tom\u2019s and Lil\u2019s sin.\u00a0 Hannah could blame Ian and Roz.\u00a0 But would they ever see that it was their own unforgiving hearts that had abandoned them to torment?<\/p>\n

\"fig.<\/a>

fig. 2<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

Roz had made room for Hannah and her daughter in her heart (as the filmmakers made room for them on the floating dock).\u00a0 Ian was clearly a one woman man.\u00a0 Admittedly, forgiveness might have come harder for Mary.\u00a0 Lil had no self-control.\u00a0 Tom gave no evidence that his harem would be complete with only two women.\u00a0 But even Mary could do worse than to live among such forgiving repentant sinners.\u00a0 Still, I don\u2019t think the filmmakers intended to produce a treatise on forgiveness.<\/p>\n

That was the mood I was in and the subject of my meditation when I saw it.\u00a0 If \u201cAdore\u201d had some point beyond being an interesting, provocative movie I suppose it was a feminist cautionary tale.\u00a0 Roz and Lil would have created less havoc in their sons\u2019 lives if they had simply become lesbian lovers rather than expressing their love for each other by proxy, through their sons.\u00a0 It’s not hard to see why \u201cAdore\u201d wasn’t a fan favorite among Christians.\u00a0 This is the kind of film that makes Christians feel like Lot, living among the people of Sodom, day after day, that righteous man was tormented<\/i> (\u1f10\u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03ac\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03b5\u03bd, a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03c9) in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard<\/i>\u2026[38]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

And I don\u2019t mean to suggest that Lot (or Christians for that matter) should unilaterally forgive people to escape such torment.\u00a0 We forgive repentant sinners because God has forgiven us.\u00a0 Apparently, there were no repentant sinners in Sodom for Lot to forgive.\u00a0 The inhabitants of Sodom were descendants of Canaan.\u00a0 <\/a>The origin of the Canaanites for better or worse is traced back to Noah\u2019s curse.<\/p>\n

Noah drank wine and exposed himself in a drunken stupor<\/i>.\u00a0 His son Ham saw his father\u2019s nakedness and told his two brothers<\/i>.[39]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Apparently Ham\u2019s attitude was more judgmental and derogatory than mere reportage.\u00a0 When Noah awoke from his drunken stupor he learned what his youngest son had done to him<\/i>.[40]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 So he cursed Ham\u2019s son, Cursed be Canaan!\u00a0 The lowest of slaves he will be to his brothers<\/i>.[41]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I’ve heard it preached that Noah was such a holy prophet God was honor-bound to fulfill even his curse.\u00a0 This interpretation made some sense when I believed that Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord<\/i>[42]<\/sup><\/a> because Noah was a godly man; he was blameless among his contemporaries.\u00a0 He walked with God<\/i>.[43]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 As I began to believe that God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden<\/i>,[44]<\/sup><\/a> I began to believe that Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord<\/i> because the Lord chose to have mercy on him.\u00a0 It followed naturally that Noah was a godly man<\/i>, and was blameless among his contemporaries<\/i>, <\/i>and walked with God<\/i> because he found favor in the sight of the Lord,<\/i> because the Lord chose to have mercy on him.<\/p>\n

Even a prophet, a herald of righteousness<\/i>,[45]<\/sup><\/a> like Noah could have a bad hangover one morning, slip the leash, so to speak, of the Holy Spirit\u2019s \u1f10\u03b3\u03ba\u03c1\u03ac\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 (translated, self-control<\/i>) and say something foolish.\u00a0 Despite the enormity of its impact tracked over many generations I don\u2019t think Noah\u2019s curse had any more or less power than any other grandfather\u2019s hateful words to his grandson.<\/p>\n

\"fig.<\/a>

fig. 3<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

Though he died about forty-one years before Sodom was destroyed (fig. 3<\/em>), he lived long enough to see what Canaan\u2019s descendants became.\u00a0 [Addendum: January 14, 2019 I may have been a bit too uncritical here of the dates in the Masoretic text.\u00a0 See: Were the Pyramids Built Before the Flood?<\/a>]\u00a0 The Bible doesn\u2019t say whether Noah regretted that curse or spent his last three centuries or so trying to justify it.\u00a0 But it seems to me, even as a Christian, that it would be better\u00a0to forgive my son\u2019s offense, even unilaterally, than to curse my grandson for it.<\/p>\n

As I consider how difficult it is for Christians to forgive anyone for anything, it becomes easier to understand why Jesus threatened us with torture.\u00a0 I hope others can forgive me for refusing to see Matthew 18:35 as a proof-text for Jonathan Edward\u2019s claim that God is the superlative torturer.<\/p>\n

\n
Torture, Part 3<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to My Reasons and My Reason, Part 3<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 10<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 6<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 15<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to The Children of Promise, Part 1<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n

<\/a>[3]<\/sup> Matthew 18:34, 35 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[5]<\/sup> Matthew 18:23 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[6]<\/sup> Matthew 18:21 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[10]<\/sup> Matthew 12:36 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[11]<\/sup> Matthew 18:24b (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[12]<\/sup> Matthew 18:25 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[13]<\/sup> Luke 18:13b (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[15]<\/sup> Matthew 18:26 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[16]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 13:4a (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[18]<\/sup> Matthew 18:27 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[20]<\/sup> Matthew 18:18 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[21]<\/sup> Matthew 18:28a (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[22]<\/sup> Matthew 18:30 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[24]<\/sup> Matthew 18:32, 33 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[25]<\/sup> Matthew 18:34, 35 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[26]<\/sup> Matthew 6:12 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[27]<\/sup> 2 Corinthians 12:12 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[28]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 4:20 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[29]<\/sup> Romans 7:18a (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[30]<\/sup> Romans 7:18b (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[32]<\/sup> Matthew 14:24 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[33]<\/sup> Mark 6:48a (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[34]<\/sup> An impertinent paraphrase of Hebrews 12:2 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[35]<\/sup> Matthew 18:21 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[36]<\/sup> Matthew 18:22 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[37]<\/sup> 2 Corinthians 1:9 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[38]<\/sup> 2 Peter 2:8 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[39]<\/sup> Genesis 9:22 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[40]<\/sup> Genesis 9:24 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[41]<\/sup> Genesis 9:25 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[42]<\/sup> Genesis 6:8 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[43]<\/sup> Genesis 6:9 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[44]<\/sup> Romans 9:18 (NET)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>[45]<\/sup> 2 Peter 2:5 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture (\u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2, a form of \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2)[1] him until he repaid all he owed.\u00a0 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2719,2223],"tags":[2213,2209,679,2217,2221,2222,2218,2219,2220,273,2215,2129,2214,2210,2205,2216,2204,2206,2207,2208,108,2211,2212,1089,2203,3508,882,1332],"class_list":["post-3121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-section-three","category-torture","tag-1-corinthians-420","tag-1-coritnhians-134","tag-2-corinthians-19","tag-2-peter-28","tag-genesis-68","tag-genesis-69","tag-genesis-922","tag-genesis-924","tag-genesis-925","tag-luke-1813","tag-mark-648","tag-matthew-1236","tag-matthew-1424","tag-matthew-1818","tag-matthew-1821","tag-matthew-1822","tag-matthew-1823","tag-matthew-1824","tag-matthew-1825","tag-matthew-1826","tag-matthew-1827","tag-matthew-1828","tag-matthew-1830","tag-matthew-1832-33","tag-matthew-1834-35","tag-movies-adore","tag-romans-718","tag-romans-918"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3121"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22460,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions\/22460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}