locked from Father Abel & Dietrich & Father Tres & Duchess & Cain

[declaim]

[ It takes Esther a while before she figures out how to word this properly. ]

Let's say someone you knew and trusted for a very long time betrayed you. They lied manipulated killed people attempted to did some awful things. Some people would even say because of those actions, this person's soul is..."beyond repair

Comments

[wishgazer]

The first thing you should ask is why they are doing it. Who knows- for them it's not a sin, that they do it because they believe it's for the common, or greater, good.

Find out their motivation first, before passing judgment. And if they want to repent, if they wish to repent... Wishes are absolute.

[declaim]

But if innocent people are harmed by their actions, then it really is wrong.

...How is a wish "absolute"?

[wishgazer]

Ask why they are doing it in the first place.

People's mouths and minds may lie, but wishes come from the heart- they show wants, needs, everything. Wishes do not lie.

[declaim]

And if their answer leaves you even more confused than before?

Do all wishes come from the heart? Even fleeting ones, silly ones and selfish ones?

[blacksheepgirl]

Regardless of whether you forgive them or not, it will change nothing. People cannot change.

[declaim]

[ She is surprised by this. ]

No, people can change. They do change.

[blacksheepgirl]

They lie and pretend to make you think they have changed. But on the inside they will always be the same dirty creature they were when they chose to betray you.

[declaim]

Are you only talking about traitors, or people who have done bad things in general?

[iamnotatunaroll]

...I guess that depends on what they did.

[declaim]

Well, what sort of thing -- or things, if there is more than one -- do you believe are unforgivable?

[iamnotatunaroll]

Doesn't matter. What matters is what the person trying to forgive them thinks is unforgivable. It's going to depend on the person.

[hamonatrix]

Forgiveness is a gift. However, trust, especially once it has been broken, must be earned. There's no harm in caution.

[declaim]

I definitely agree with that; caution is always a good thing to have.

[hamonatrix]

I may be taking things a bit out of context, but the saying, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" comes to mind.

I suppose I've been dealing with similar ghosts from my own past.

[declaim]

Something similar? You mean wondering if you should forgive and trust someone once more?

[lovelyscientist]

I...would like to think so. But...it's probably not so. Even if you say you forgive, it's not the same as it was before, is it?

[declaim]

May I ask, what makes you say that? Why can't it be the same as it was before?

[lovelyscientist]

The memory of what happened will always be there. Even if you pretend it isn't, it is.

[declaim]

[...]

Sort of like...a stain.