Selective memory...
Here's the deal: if any of you have things that are interesting to write about, please do. There's no rule that says you have to comment on what is up there, especially if it takes a while to read, like this one or the one before. I was gonna lead off with something provocative like facial hair at BYU or homosexual marriages, but instead I think I'll start with something I heard on NPR this morning.
Someone was talking about (Jewish Thinker) Elie Wisel and his theological obsession with remembering. For him, salvation lies in our ability to remember. Now I don't know all the specifics behind his reasoning besides he was a holocaust survivor, but the idea sounds good to me. I mean, the BoM is all about remembering the past and the same goes for a good portion of the rituals we do in the temple and otherwise.
In response this commentator from Yale divinity school, Miroslav Volf, said something along these lines: Memory can be a shield and a sword. In other words, memory can be dangerous. Volf says that people remember similar things in different ways, and use those remembrances as motivation for less-than-noble causes. Just look at fascism in the 20s and 30s.
This led me to another thought. Really, christianity requires us to do a lot of forgetting as well. The trite way to say it is that we are required to "forgive and forget." Shouldn't we magnamiously erase from our memories the wrongs others have done to us "seventy times seven"?
So what determines what we should remember and what we should forget? So I ask this, how and what should we remember? How and what should we forget?
posted by Chris @ 6/21/2004 05:44:00 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
This is a balance between forgiveness (not forgetting) and judgement. Not all judgements are wrong. Consider a case: a known sex offender lives in your neighborhood. How far will you overlook (forget) your neighbor's past in consideration of your family's interaction with the individual? Will you ignore the past? Would you trust the neighbor with the care of your children, if only for a moment? Would you let the neighbor near them? The answer is a resounding no for me.
On the other hand, what will you do to allow the individual an opportunity to repent and change? Doing so is the necessary Christian thing to do. This raises legal issues, such as sex-offender watch lists.
The Lord forgets nothing. Otherwise, he would not be omniscient. He does, however, leave the opportunity to start anew and do the right thing. This does not pass without a probationary period in which the individual must prove one’s self. I feel it is irresponsible of us to simply forget every bad thing done to us, but it is wrong to exclude someone from the benefits of a reformed life.