Zarathustra, loving the analogy to “Crime and Punishment”. I do get the sense that many of us are longing for that kind of repentance for our past sins, even collective sins, and perhaps even many of those in the ruling elite class. Yet our worldly urge is to project that need onto others or justify our fundamentally unjustifiable transgressions as necessary deeds in the face of some vaguely defined threat or “evil”.
digging, I like this sentiment from Paul:
2Corinithians7 wrote: 8Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Obviously, the concept of longing for and seeking repentance/atonement is found all throughout the Bible, as is the concept (and reality) of avoiding/rejecting those things and reaping the consequences. As for war, famine, disease, earthquakes and floods, we unfortunately get plenty of that too…
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