Thanks for the excerpt. It certainly clarifies the problems with giving out forgivness too easily.

Forgiveness is a gift freely given, not earned.

I sort-of agree. But it reminds me of cases where especially pious people have forgiven their attackers without any expression of regret by the attackers. I don't understand that - from a purely human perspective. I mean, I can point to lines in religious texts which describe the actions, and I can recall stories of people who were eventually moved by such forgivenss to change their lives, but it seems to me that too often such forgiveness is comparable to inattentive parents who let their kids grow up without supervision. It seems to me that it can often be destructive as far as helping to build a civil society. That's why I think it's best that forgiveness result from a meeting of the minds between the two parties - not be freely given, but not earned as a reward either.

Thanks again.

Cheers,
Scott.