Song of Prayer - chapt 2 part two, Forgiveness to Destroy.
The Nature of Forgiveness to Destroy: Soo Kim read a passage describing "Forgiveness to Destroy" as having many forms, serving as a weapon of the world of form, with the goal of separating and making unequal what God created as equal. This form of forgiveness can appear as a better person condescending to a baser one with an attitude of gracious lordliness, which is far from love. Jevon Perra summarized this as the ego seeing difference, while the Holy Spirit sees sameness, where one person recognizes another's "badness" but lets it slide from a perceived superior position.
Connection to Religious Practices: The discussion connected the concept of "Forgiveness to Destroy" to the practice of confession in Catholicism, which Jevon Perra suggested can be engaged on a high level by realizing the ego's actions are not one's own. Jevon Perra noted that the challenge is when individuals associate themselves with their negative actions, implying "I did the bad thing so I am bad". Soo Kim agreed with Jevon Perra's point that one can recognize the practice as part of a game, regardless of what others may be implying.
Generalizing Judgments and Seeking Sameness: Jevon Perra shared how past negative experiences led them to generalize hurt over groups like "church people" or "Catholics," and confirmed that holding an idea that anything outside of them is bad creates separation and suffering. The core assignment is sincerely finding the things that are the same between them and the "offender".
Individual vs. Institutional Blame: Soo Kim noted their tendency to focus on the institution or "the whole day" rather than the individual when assigning blame. Jevon Perra agreed that there is ultimately no "they" or institution that can hurt someone unless a person representing that institution does or says something, and the work must focus on recognizing sameness in the person.
Innocence and Human Dynamic: Jevon Perra used the example of their dog, Kobe, who sees only best friends and brings out the best in others, illustrating how the Holy Spirit only sees itself. They suggested preparing for the human dynamic by recognizing one’s own suffering and ways of dealing with the ego, which often leads to enrolling in organizations that make others bad so one can be in the "good" one. Jevon Perra concluded that judging is like the natural "fruit" of people, and everyone is making up their reality.
Grace and Forgiving the Offender: Jevon Perra asserted that people growing painful judgments are "stuck" unless they receive "grace from God" or the Holy Spirit helps them. They suggested having grace because the offender is "just a judgment growing thing" and is doing the same thing as the observer, allowing them to see the innocence of the true self.
Worship Music and Recontextualization: Jevon Perra noted that seeing others as innocent makes experiences like going to mass or listening to worship music less painful than before. They can now recontextualize worship as a positive reaching out to adore the creator, without associating it with the belief in something outside of themself that needs to save them.
Internal Conflict Over Principle: Soo Kim expressed difficulty in feeling what they want to do because they are used to thinking in terms of principles, such as honoring their mother and father by attending mass, which conflicts with their principle of standing for truth. Jevon Perra clarified that one can still adhere to broader principles, like choosing sameness over difference.
Protecting Beliefs and Suffering: Soo Kim described feeling the need to put on a "protective layer" in church to avoid being infected by the "poppycck" and reinforced the belief that the church enforces separation. Jevon Perra challenged this by asking who is making them suffer when they protect their separate identity and right idea of God.
The Illusion of Institutions: Jevon Perra and Soo Kim discussed the difficulty of not generalizing the church as "them" when the message is scripted and enforced, but Jevon Perra maintained that there is no "they" or system, only the self. Jevon Perra argued that suffering from external ideas, like people dying in Somalia, is one's own internal suffering from the idea, and feeling bad does not help.
Forgiveness as Seeing Innocence: Jevon Perra concluded that forgiveness is not about saying "I forgive you, you're still a piece of s\*\\*\*, but I'm gonna let it slide," but rather forgiving someone because they are innocent. The feeling of offense relies on the context being true—that the other person is an outsider doing irreparable bad—which leads to suffering, and "Forgiveness to Destroy" gives an excuse to destroy instead of love.
