Very good look at forgiveness, mercy and justice here. Too often I think we humans like to segregate things and put them into tidy boxes. Forgiveness goes in one, mercy in another, justice goes over there. When we do that … well … then the art and grace of forgiveness loses all of its teeth. It becomes just a word, like a balloon with no helium … sort of flat and lying about on the ground. We can use it, it might accomplish something … but it won't really fly.

Thanks for this …

If we belive there is that of God in everyone , we have to forgive , because not to forgive would mean hurting that of God within the person.

Yes we should forgive Bush, forgiving bush is different from excusing Bush, Forgiving Bush implies he did somenthing wrong, that he needs to be pardonded for.

so its really radical to forgive Bush since he didnt' think he did anything wrong, to be forgiven for.

Surveys were done when Bush began the second Iraq War, a war that we all knew (or should have known) was based on false pretenses and faked intelligence. I was just so sad when I read that Christians were more likely to support the war than atheists. The Sermon on the Mount and all of Jesus' teachings were really clear that it's our job to be on the side of the suffering and to be ready to lift up the cross. I'm worried a lot less about George Bush than I am with those who have met the Living Christ but still support war.

I know I'm sounding absolutist but we were warned that it's a narrow path. I myself stumble off it *all the time* but the point is to get back on. We mustn't dwell in personal recriminations, but forgive ourselves, forgive our fellow journeyers, reclaim Christ's message, pick up that cross and find our way back to that path. Whenever I see one of these forgiveness exercises, I think of Matthew 7, where Jesus is warning us not to judge and to quit worrying over the imperfections in our brother's eye. I don't know George Bush except through the media. He's mostly a cartoon figure. That makes him an easy target to condemn, to praise, to forgive, etc. If you add in hints that Jesus drops in the Good Samaritan tale and the ever mysterious render-unto-Caesar bit, I think he's telling us to stop worrying about the powerful we don't know so we can focus on our flesh-and-blood neighbors, the people that we meet when we're walking down our street. How can we witness to Jesus' radical message and in our broken ways be used to point people back to that path?