Love and Forgiveness Are the Goals
Do people have to believe in God in order to practice loving and forgiving others?
No, most people can agree that love and forgiveness are good goals, regardless of whether or not they believe in God.
Do people who believe in God practice love and forgiveness more than nonbelievers do?
That does seem to be the case.
Christianity, which is based on Jesus’ teaching that love and forgiveness are the goals, teaches that those actions are based on believing that they are tied to God’s goals for us.
Do most Christians practice love and forgiveness?
Many Christians try to practice love and forgiveness, but fall short.
Are love and forgiveness taught and promoted outside of religion?
Yes, but they are mostly promoted in religions.
Our survival instincts make us selfish, unforgiving, fearful, and conditionally loving, with strings attached, expecting money, sex, or control in return.
In order to unconditionally love and forgive others, we need to act differently than we naturally “feel,” since love and forgiveness are not instinctive responses.
What promotes unconditional love and forgiveness in us?
Religion points us toward this objective.
Does religion enable these behaviors more than psychology or corporal punishment?
It seems so.
My own experience has been a mixture of attempting to believe in God and believing in love and forgiveness because these were Jesus’ objectives.
But I have also practiced love and forgiveness because they have given me happiness, peace, and joy that I didn’t have when I didn’t practice them.
As a result of practicing love and forgiveness, I developed a deeper belief in a higher power.
I came to believe that God is love and forgiveness, and that this is God’s nature, but not mine.
Without God, my human nature is only conditionally loving and conditionally forgiving.
Over time, by continually practicing unconditional love and forgiveness, I became aware that unconditional love and forgiveness are God coming through me, and not an expression of my natural hard wiring.
As my belief in God grew, my ability to love and forgive others grew.
When I have forgiven others, I have been freed from the poisons of resentment and revenge.
Love and forgiveness are the only paths that lead to happiness, peace, and joy.