Ann wrote:
My relatives were kind, smiling, happy and generous. They loved big get-togethers, and it was easy to be included and feel welcomed at all their parties and festivities. They did a lot of laughing, joking and singing.
But there was this "unforgiveness" about them.
By this, I take it to mean that you believe that religious people should accept people just as they are and not try to alter their behavior or lifestyles in any way. But what about a man who likes to have sex with ten-year-old girls? Would you "accept" and "forgive" this man also? What about a pickpocket who went home after every service with two or three wallets which were taken out of others' pockets? Would you "accept" and "forgive" this person also?
You have conveniently forgotten that forgiveness requires something from the one being forgiven. One cannot grant forgiveness to one who hasn't requested it. And a person cannot request forgiveness without admitting that the behavior prompting the request was wrong. "Forgiveness" which requires no admission of wrongdoing is not forgiveness, it is denial and enabling wrong behavior.
I suspect that your cousin already knew - or at least suspected - what the church would require of him if he married a pregnant bride. I also suspect that he was not the only person who was asked to request forgiveness from the congregation for some act. I take no position on whether or not the congregation should or should not have expected a public confession. That is the business of the congregation and I will not meddle.
It seems to me, though, that you are once again bringing in your avowed dislike of organized religion in general and using one incident to illustrate a point only peripherally related to it. I find this especially curious, given that you haven't told us of any personal experience in either Branson or Wasilla. You appear to be condemning the populations of two entire communities without any hard evidence at all. And that's not good. You have no personal knowledge of these towns or the people in them, unless you haven't shared it with us. And your ongoing blanket condemnation of church-going people in general irks me, despite the experiences of which you have told us. While they may justify hard feelings towards the people in that congregation, they do not justify them towards every congregation in the world.
