Men, Women, and God: A Discussion of Sex Questions from the Christian Point of ViewGray, A. Herbert (Arthur Herbert)
Religion
Men, Women, and God: A Discussion of Sex Questions from the Christian Point of View
Gray, A. Herbert (Arthur Herbert)
Sexual ethics -- Early 20th century
And why should I not boldly say the same thing--exactly the same thing--
about a woman? It is certainly true. No one seriously believes that
the redeeming grace of God, which is sufficient for all other sins,
fails before this one. No one who has understood Christ doubts that He
can make a new woman, and a pure and noble woman, out of one who has
stumbled. And yet curiously society has never learnt to forgive women.
A man is allowed to forget the things which are behind. Generally a
woman is compelled to remember them till the very end. I shall never
forget being once at a meeting of men in New York where a very great
American woman spoke to us all on this subject. She pointed out to us
that society had never learnt to control the evils of this part of life
because it had never learnt to adopt the method of Jesus, which was
frank and full forgiveness. We have been afraid. We have thought it
would be socially disastrous. But Jesus had no hesitation in His voice
when He said to a penitent Magdalene, "Neither do I condemn thee, go
and sin no more." Of course she sinned no more. There is in all the
universe no constraining force like that combination of forgiveness and
trust.
I am sure we cannot make our standard too high. I am sure we need to
guard against all compromise in thought with its august demands. But I
am equally sure we need to learn to forgive generously if we are ever
to help those who have stumbled. Forgiving sinners does not mean
condoning sin, else could there never be any divine forgiveness. What
it does mean is loving the persons concerned. Till we learn to exercise
that divine art, we do but shut the doors of hope against sinners and
push them farther down.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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