Interesting people on forgiveness

In the news yesterday, a new development in the latest stage of the ever running death camp trials. Here, a website with details about the trials of some who organized the death camps under Adolf Hitler. In a new development, a long standing escapee from the 'Nazi Hunters', John Demjanjuk, apparently a Polish guard at the 'Sobibor' camps, has been charged with 27,900
counts of 'accessory to murder'.

Charges were filed at a state court in Munich.

The German prosecutors demonstrate a mania similar to that of their German predecessors. Twenty seven thousand nine hundred counts? He alone assisted, physically and personally, John Demanjuk, on each count, when his own personal intervention or refusal could have saved all the victims, each one?

The German nation is dumping its sins on a scapegoat, and hauling the goat up hill for slaughter. ( He's a guilty scapegoat, according to evidence that's apparently surfaced, but all the same).

I have met some Holocaust survivors ( when I was living in France, where quite a few of them are). Two, I knew well. In respect of the Polish who stood letting the holocaust happen, who did not assist, the survivors invariably advocate gentility and compassion. The Polish, though nearer to the camps than other nations, are less guilty than a number. Poles seen assisting a Jew in any shape or form were to be shot on sight, by decree.

The survivors don't have an 'us and them' ( ingroup-outgroup) mentality; they talk about man's inhumanity to man.

Here, a University study, forgiveness and resiliance, the Holocaust survivors.

"By studying the life experiences of older adults who endured the Holocaust, survived the atrocities perpetuated by one group upon another—and were able to triumph over adversity—we learn about the concepts of forgiveness and resilience," Greene said.

"The insights gleaned from interviewing this unique group of survivors can morally and spiritually equip individual communities and the country as a whole to deal with critical events facing the United States in today's uncertain world."

Here, the narrative.

Of course, there was a difference between doing nothing and saying 'Well, I've got my children to consider', and assisting at Sobibor and Bergen Belsen and other camps ( an act avoided by most of the oppressed Poles who felt the weight of their shame.)

Here, Eva Kor, Holocaust survivor, speaks of forgiving the Auschwitz Nazis. 'Forgiving Dr. Mengele' is the title of her story. A beautiful person, with full experience. Here, her heartbreaking story. Her heart is the work of Christ. She understands the God of the Hebrew bible and responds with dignity and strength, shaming her persecutors, as did so many of those who died under the Holocaust regime. Here, more information on her. This lady is not saying these people she forgives were not what they were; she recognises the extent of their sin and that they desperately need forgiveness ( or needed it), whether they admit(ed) it or not.

Here is Sally Klein O'Connor, 'Forgive them', with her point of view.

Forgiveness of people who set themselves as our enemies defies satan, and leaves him with nothing, which is all he is worth. He can't stand it. He hates it as much as genuine personal praise to God.

There is some objection to Eva 'making amnesty declarations' and ' issuing forgiveness decrees', while otherwise people feel she can get on with what she feels she needs to do. It's entirely true that while the bible requires us to personally forgive our enemies, whatever, we don't have the right to put decrees on anyone else, or forgive ( or unforgive) on anyone else's behalf. The fact that Eva's 'forgiving on everyone's behalf' though, which is endearing , should be seen with interest and compassion. She's removed power over her from one of the most dreadful persecutors the world has ever seen, and objections should be overlooked in her case, surely. She is not attention seeking, she is not in denial. She was one of the children at the front of the procession leaving Auschwitz at the liberation, and can point to her very young face.

Which incidentally still shows a smile for the joy of life at the liberation.

Jesus said, 'Unless you become like one of these, ( children) you will not enter the Kingdom of God.' He is talking about love and forgiveness.

He also said 'If you do not forgive others, your Heavenly Father will not forgive you.' And 'Love one another as I have loved you.' Everyone's sins put Jesus on the cross.

Here, pictures of the children at Auschwitz, some who were at the liberation, and others who did not make it.

'Forgiving Dr Mengele' trailer below.




(Ignore comments beneath the videos on the youtube comments boxes. You don't have to go there to see videos here.)
In the first video, you see the second child in the photographs taken on admissal to Mengele's part of Auschwitz, ( there is a photo showing the girls' head in a scarf on the right of three pictures.) The child's features bear quite a striking resemblance to Eva Moses Kor's adult features. The fact that Eva survived and these photos were maintained by officers ( an officer?) rather than destroyed, might bear the resemblance out. The child seems to be showing a remarkable attitude of compassion towards those photographing her.

The Lord Jesus clearly commands that on seeing an individual being victimized, such as the Holocaust victims were, you should not stand there and do nothing.

Jesus said: ' When you did it not for the least of these, you did it not for me.'

This bible commandment is found as early on as Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Throughout the Old Testament you seethe compassionate heart of God.

Finding animals to slaughter who'd represent and carry the nations sins was over the moment Jesus gave up his breath, shouted 'It is finished!' and died. The holy sacrifice rites of the Old Testament ( the Hebrew bible) were never intended to give the world a scapegoat mentality. The killing of the sacrificial lamb at Passover symbolized the coming Messiah, the lamb of God, taking the penalty for our sin through his death. The temple sacrifices were holy and sacred for this reason. So are the 'three days' constantly referred to in the OT (Hebrew bible). Jesus rose from the dead 'on the third day'.

"The effort to bring Demjanjuk to justice sends a very powerful message that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrator," said the top Nazi-hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Efraim Zuroff, who described the charges as "an important step forward."

The Messiah said we must accept that we are helpless as sinners, repent of our sins, and accept that he has completely paid the price for our sins. And we must refuse to judge and punish others; we must refuse to want them to suffer. All others. There is no sub clause. Whatever the sin committed against us, we must forgive, we must let it go.

We leave all judgment to the Judgment seat of Christ.

As we do this Yahweh calls us children of God.

We rise above the heathen. He helps us.

Forgiveness is the love of God manifest in this world.

'For so greatly did God love the world that He gave His only Son, that every one who trusts in Him may not perish but may have the Life of Ages.'

Forgiveness of others, forms part of the faith God always wanted from us; it shows our unconditional love for Him and our respect for his creation in the beginning. The faith he wants was the faith of the patriarchs, of Job, of the persecuted prophets, it was the faith of Daniel, it was the faith of those who walked in the flames while the Lord walked with them. It's nothing to do with 'contract faith' between God and man; 'contract faith' is not what God wants. He never wanted 'contract faith', He loved us too much.
Forgiveness of others is about unconditional love for God in return for His unconditional love for us. That's what He wants.

*****Are those who died in the holocaust all in heaven, given the acts committed against them? Is being asked over and over, on the web. See Jesus' story of the poor beggar outside the gates, who died after a life of extreme hardship, and was taken up by the angels. He was no scholar, was he.

19 Jesus said, "There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man's table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 22 Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham. 24 "The rich man shouted, 'Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.' 25 "But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. ...... "

C.S. Lewis opines that if a person has never had the chance to hear the gospel of Christ, and dies prematurely, perhaps in childhood, then his or her response to the Holy Spirit, (specifically, a heart's demonstration of acceptance of a love for the Holy Spirit of God, Jesus' Spirit) is taken as that individual's response to God's call to accept Christ. This makes sense to me. By the same Jesus that C.S. Lewis studied, this will be especially the case for children who emanate the Lord's heart in their circumstances.

Here, the story of a Holocaust surivor's 'dramatic journey to the Messiah.' He is calling himself a 'Messianic Jew' which simply means the same thing as 'Christian', Messiah is translated 'Christ'. Many people prefer to use the Hebrew texts. This is great, just as no one should separate themselves from the true Church of Christ, which is one body. ( That's Jesus.)

If the Holocaust survivors can forgive their enemies, so can any of us in the present day.

There is one quote, from a survivor, on exiting Auschwitz: 'Our hearts are still beating in our bodies, but we will never feel the joy of life again'. The emotion Elie Weisel elicits is instant sympathy and compassion. (ignore ad on top right of this video). More here. A thing very beautiful about the gentleness of the survivors, and it is steadfast, is their simple sincerity and frankness at all times.

A number of people tragically passed away just before the liberation, their minds and bodies couldn't cope with the shock.

This lady survivor's choice of quote, here: 'Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber or sleep.'

'The one watches Israel will His vigil keep,
In the burning sunlight, or in the darkness deep.
Constantly beside you, you need not fear atall,
He is never weary, and He will not let you fall.'

******

Hillsong's 'Yahweh' song, 'We look to Yahweh' is only just out, and it looks as if it'll be a while before Sydney are easy about it being loose on the web. Here, the Wiki.

We'll have to wait to have it again here, for however long it takes to go back up on the web with their permission. Not long. It has been in the Churches for a while. People who loved it are free to get it for themselves.

Jesus' suffering for our sakes was first and foremost about taking the punishment for everyone's sins. And he asks us to receive this, and forgive others. It was also about our healing, which he achieved there, on the cross. He did not have to it. But 'he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.' (Here, Hillsong's 'Shout to the Lord.' song.)

It is more than obvious to anyone that people who commit acts such as Mengele's, on discovery, should be put away for life, where they can harm no other person. They can work out their repentance there. There's nothing stopping them doing that. Here, the Wiki on Mengele.

Eva's statements show she probably had a very proactive forgiveness attitude towards Mengele while she was in his captivity. She seems to have been very vocal about it, and feisty with it. Probably.

'Even to this day I am amazed,' she says, 'that he did not kill me'.

Perhaps Mengele did have some idea of how desperately he needed forgiveness.

Report after report of survivors who've been contained in such circumstances ( and Auschwitz is perhaps the most extreme example) shows evidence of this kind of development. Eva, in her childish manner, responded to Mengele's unspeakable mistreatment of her with an attitude known as 'grace', which she seems to have demonstrated very expressively, very dynamically.

He let her live, apparently.

It seems as if the children had some kind of (unspoken?) forgiveness attitude shared between them, while they were there. Perhaps they made a pact between them of some kind.

It is perhaps no coincidence that on the liberation of Auschwitz, Eva Mozes ( Now Eva Mozes Kor) was heading up the little procession of child survivors. Perhaps no coincidence that they followed her out, with their lives.

I find it sad that some people should want to judge and condescend at Eva rather than try to understand her story.

Here, a review of the documentary.

"For a film about death-camp survivors "Forgiving Dr. Mengele" is surprisingly uplifting and, at times, even lighthearted. Ms. Kor, a stout little sparkplug of a woman with energy to burn, charges around Terre Haute in a red-white-and-blue pantsuit, selling houses, giving speeches at schools and museums, and cheerfully reminding her interviewer that "there's more to life than Auschwitz."

Whether or not you agree with her decision to forgive her torturers, it's impossible not to be moved by her fierce capacity for life."

Letters that got forgotten

I had a quick look at this blog people; what do you think? 'Holocaust victims accuse'.

Eichmann (click), an SS officer, World War II, held strong Zionist sympathies at the outset of his career. A number of officers ( the smaller number, there were a few) were part Jewish- Hans Frank, for example, a lawyer responsible for the rounding up of Jews in Poland, and observe Reinhart Heydritch, (profile here), whom Hitler considered a possible successor, whose Jewish origin was well known; particularly vocal, ( if you can attribute that elegant descriptive to the SS more regular expression of Nazi police ideologies..... ) it is thought that he was as rabidly anti-Semitic as he was in order to ensure to ensure that his German SS superiors never fell into doubt about his party allegiance.

"The Eichmann trial had a double purpose: that of seeking justice against the beastly instincts in man and that of educating us to the nature of the wickedness of nations. As for the shadow trial which must be held against our own brethren, its sole purpose is educational. Secularism must be placed upon the prosecutor’s bench of the guilty and exposed as the mortal enemy of our people."

During the second world war, my father (SOE) worked to sabotage and counter Nazi (SS) Intelligence and Nazi operations. I came across an article about a letter sent by Jewish Warsaw ghetto inhabitants to the prominent Jews of America of the epoque who 'd declined to lobby for the European Jewish cause even though ( as the letter rightly points out) the terrible dilemma had been highlighted by the British press (and consequently the US press) early on ( before the construction of the Auschwitz camp).

Europe's Jews beg US: "Respond, at least." ( New York, 21 Jan, 1943.)

Jewish leaders have received a plea from the Warsaw ghetto dwellers, who say that they are "poised at the brink of annihilation". It says: "We notify you of the greatest crime of all times, about the murder of millions of Jews in Poland"..." Brothers, the remaining Jews in Poland live with the awareness that in the most terrible days of our history you did not come to our aid. Respond, at least, in the last days of our life."

It is a terrible indictment of American and British Jews of the epoque- and their descendants ( American Jews in particular)- who oddly enough spend a lot of time today capitalising on a 'victim status' platform that those they claim their 'predecessors' purportedly left them to maintain.
Of course the letter also indicts all people who felt content to stand uselessly by. This includes Neutral nations who refused to offer assistance and shelter.

"Dr. Nachum Goldmann, president of Zionist organizations and president of the World Jewish Congress, admitted this year in a public forum commemorating the Warsaw ghetto uprising: “We all are blameworthy, not only in the Q(c)ausative objective factors, but also in the absence of that fervent will and unbridled readiness to adapt any and all necessary measures possible in that period.” "

( But doesn't the letter put it better?)

The letter and the series of articles indicts ( by implication) Antony Eden, of the British, Roosevelt ( of course) and many others, and allows blame to fall on all people in the service of the USA . In London, on the 17th Nov 1942:...." Antony Eden, the British foreign secretary, read a lengthy declaration by the Allied governments condemning the Nazis systematic extermination of Europes Jews and giving warning that those responsible for the atrocities will face retribution after the war. The declaration is being broadcast accross Europe by the BBC and other Allied radios. " ..." Sidney Silverman, the Jewish Labour MP for Nelson and Colne, asked whether the Allied governments would consider what measures of immediate relief could be given to Europe's Jews. ' We shall do what we can,' Eden said, ' though I fear that what we can do may inevitably be slight.' "

'Inevitably.'

'Respond, at least, in the last days of our life.'

The letter from Europes' Jews sheds light on human nature. ( Unregenerate human nature, human nature without the gift of the Spirit of Christ). It doesn't matter what anyone wants to call your ethnicity; if you're suffering and you're seen as disposable, in particular conditions, the world and his wife ( most of them) will be quite happy to dispose of you, or stand by while someone does it. Simple as that. The Jewish Warsaw ghetto experience is one to observe. Here, a commentary.

Here, an awful old American film, which nonetheless reveals many aspects of the dreadful Nazi regime. Observe that it attempts to absolve America of blame for its late action, and makes out in one place, that America never believed the reports about the death camps, considering them too extraordinary to be true.

I have looked at human nature outlined by Jesus in the bible many times. He is the only historical figure who makes no mistakes at all about it. The New Testament records that at the height of his ministry on earth he rejected every self motivated accolade he received 'for he knew what was in man.'

Not everyone is capable of the type of persecution carried out by the Nazis and the like, though regretably many are. Yet it does seem that most people are capable of standing by with an 'I'm glad its not me' attitude when they see persecution in action.

Below, a Jewish Christian gives a beautiful testimony, a beautiful witnesses for Jesus the Messiah.



The guest Judaism scholar ( the opposing voice, also interviewed above) does well to raise the matter of the persecution of Jews by so called Christians of the past. He cites a certain Pope, and apparently implies that a number of Popes have been extremely abusive, ( in fact the abusive ones are well known antichrists ..so..it's is abit weak, his argument there. Those abusive Popes - and there were a number-have no socalled Christian supporters and certainly no Christian supporters; the book of Revelation thoroughly indicts Rome for its various acts). The argument he presents is a well worn classic, 'why should we respect your God when so many so called Christians don't?' and it stands up against degenerate, persecuting false Christians of the ages. It doesn't stand against the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and it won't stand up at the Judgement seat of Christ. Where, presumably the Lord will answer along the lines of....'Apostates are under Judgement. But what about you, and Me? What did I ever do to you? What did I do for you?'

Reason also suggests that the Lord's very aware that if followers of Jesus had done the evangelical job and reflected Christ they should have done, instead of allowing false Christians to keep pouring hate upon the Jews throughout the ages, (calling them "Christ killers" etc. etc.) all Israel would probably be converted by now.

The Warsaw ghetto; the remnant is rounded up for transporting to Treblinka and Auschwitz, up and running at that moment. Including the little boy and all the other children remaining.

It is well known that Hitler and his SS and their army were not Christians, this does not need explaining, obviously. ( Some propagandists try to state that they were 'Christians'.) The Nazis were extremely active against hat they called 'fundamental' Christians, those who believe the full bible who inevitably conclude that Jesus advocates humility, love, mercy, justice , grace and compassion.

Most people privately believe that Jesus is the Messiah. ( For sake, who else is? Or, who else, is he?) Yet this is not quite enough. You must risk the statement before men, as the Spirit leads, you must own him. Jesus said 'to whom much is given, much will be asked.'

After Jesus was crucified at their hands the prominent first century Jewish people persecuted the early Christians terribly, the facts are recorded.
Most of the Sanhedrin who presided over Jesus mockery of a trial never saw Jesus close up, never saw his eyes close, close enough to see whether they were the eyes of his mothers, never stopped in their anger and their scheming to see past all the pain they caused him.
They are not the only persecutors this world has seen. Far from it.

I wonder how some professed Christians will feel when trying to put forward the list of difficulties so many people presented with their 'persecuting ways' etc. etc. I think the Lord may say " Yes I told you to expect persecution and/or difficulty as a matter of course. People you complain of didn't have my Spirit. And you? Who did I entrust with the mission of showing my love, my compassion and my forgiveness ?"

And I wonder what sort of answers some people will try to give ( already have tried to give.)
(* The 'Judgement seat of Christ' which will evaluate/does evaluate our lives, is not the 'Great White throne Judgement where Christ also is depicted seated' of the book of Revelation. Everyone passes before the Judgement seat of Christ on passing on: believers in Jesus do not stand condemned before it , but Jesus will evaluate and show us our lives and the consequences of our actions.)

The British press followed the Warsaw ghetto and its fate specifically, as a sample type. There were over 700,000 inhabitants, it was vast. All were transferred to camps. The claim 'we didn't see it ' ( by those who stood by) was preposterous. The press were informed. Throughout Europe, the main roads and stations were a riot of commotion all the time.

I put up with the 'oh we didn't see it happening' style rubbish daily- in respect of what I endured for a year, beginning a couple of years ago. I won't go into detail about what I went through at that time, here. Many of the 'Wanted' notices and abuse pages that went up about me are still on the web. Perpetrators continue to shout and disclaim. Some deluded characters still tell themselves that it was nothing at all.

The Talmud specifically insists that every Jew who reads the New Testament for himself is cursed of God, and must be expelled from the Synagogue. That is exactly what the aforementioned Pope and his immediate successors and predecessors did in respect of people reading the New Testament in the Church. They forbade it. Church goers were denied access to the sacred New Testament scriptures, which were chained to the pulpit. This Talmud declaration explains one of the interviewer's statements on the video shown above, the 'May their names be praised'.... ( said about Christians- he refers evidently to false Christians); that is code speak for 'may they be cursed.'

Newcomers to the holocaust subject should be forgiven for at first doubting the extent of the Nazi atrocities towards the Jews on the 2nd world war. First, it is stupifying; second, the killing machine was extremely well organised and the extent of its ultimate capacity was efficiently hidden for some while. Those defending the authenticity of survivors stories in the beginning, unless they were comissioned reporters or SOE, risked having the "conspiraloon slur pie" flung in their faces. Nonetheless, the British press from the outset publicly concluded that plans against the Jews in Poland seemed very well organised and seemed to have long term intent.

Where have all the flowers gone?

*****
The memorial to the victims of the 7/7 bombings is unveiled in Hyde Park ( here.)

The photo above shows it in the best possible light, in a blaze of sunlight, but his is is an awful memorial, typical of the modern architecture cheat (and various Turner prize winners). It seems the artists commissioned had a quick look at Stonehenge, shoved afew steel planks into the ground as a model and rushed off to 'create'. ( Did they plan to use a few discarded train tracks?) Here, it looks grim the moment the sun's gone.

Another example here. Very grim. In the comments beneath article linked in , a variety of people express how they've taken offence at the sight of it.

This monument poignantly communicates how futile it is to expect anyone to feel that by a stain glass steel stuck into the ground any human soul can possibly be replaced, so, people feel it's achieved something?

And it's military, as if the departed are being obliged to stand to attention in a public manner, the stainless steel posts are uniform, which is off. (Some sort of spin off of the over involvement of police in the public mourning?)

Piccs here.

One million pounds for it. An utter waste of money. There's a starving world out there, and very many dying. (Many of them for want of funds from the West). None of the transparently beautiful people who died in 7/7 ( judging by their life stories) would have wanted this further display of collective madness (a product of false piety, hysteria, and sentimentalism.)

This horrible monument is not right. ( What happens when the rain and rust hits it?)

Would this monument remind you of anyone you personally knew, loved and respected? Or would you feel insulted?

What does this young girl take home with her from this memorial?

Whatever happened to the gardens that used to commemorate? A big garden feature, with a different flower garden for each one we lost in the London bombings, would have been just beautiful-with perhaps a central plaque for each, in each special garden? Or if designers really felt they had to use something evoking the train and track theme (which I would have thought people wouldn't necessarily want to see) then how about a tunnel covered with flowers running through the whole garden?

***

And what about a fountain place, where people could regularly leave their tokens of peace and affection? The birds, the doves, would gather there.

The rust, the rain, inevitable neglect over time, doesn't seem to affect birds such as swallows, sparrows, doves, robins, jays. Not in a once well planned garden. They turn up in any case, they never neglect to.

Whereas if you create an institutionalised place, all you get are blackbirds, crows and ravens. You can see this anytime, walking round a prison garden. Blackbirds, crows and ravens are the only ones that venture into such places. Ravens in particular. (Other types of birds all perch behind the fence, they don't venture in.)

The Lord's provided all the materials for us to celebrate the lives of those we care for. They are often a reminder of how he also feels. It's not hard. A garden celebrated his resurrection, and he is risen, praise God.

Love to them all.

I printed this song once before. If you don't know this one, or this singer, you should. Here she is at the Operation Ceasefire concert in Washington DC 24/9/2005.

Katie Melua's 'Blowin' in the wind' is best.

The Telegraph are an absolute spectacle, aren't they. You can just hear that editorial: "Come one girls and boys I want a full report, get down to Hyde Park and praise that monument. Praise it, treat it like the Holy Grail, praise the thing and you can't go wrong." You can just hear it, ( raise eyes ceilingwards and keep it to yourself).

Here, perhaps the most unapologetically 'military' picture of the monument yet.

I wouldn't take any notice of the press claiming they're speaking for everyone. Here, just afew comments surface. People complain that the monument is 'inappropriate', 'ugly', 'art farty' and 'waste of money that could have been spent on the living'.

Beneath the article linked at the top of the page, commenters observing the memorial state:

***

-Jason, I am grown up that's why I still remember countless British citizens, including children, being killed by the IRA and wonder why more recent victims of terrorists seem more deserving of a memorial!- Mark, South-East London

-Let the victims have a memorial by all means, just don't let it be this sort of hideously ugly rubbish; after all, we already have that pig's breakfast of a concrete sewer - sorry, memorial fountain to Diana. Why do people feel the need to spout such pretentious twaddle when discussing modern "art"?- The Gene Genie, Croydon

-How can ONE million £ be justified for this? You can build decent 15 houses for that. Someone is making a tidy profit out of this! P.S. There is a memorial plaque for a horse called Sefton that was killed as a result of the IRA mainland campaign.- Paul, London UK

-It was a tragic and horrific event but I am not sure a permanent memorial like this is needed. Should we do similar for every innocent shot or stabbed or in some other way killed through the greed, ignorance or politics of another? And I have to wonder if there is not a better way to spend £1,000,000 and remember these souls.

***

Prince Charles speaks very well, by reports. (No I am not just saying that because he's the prince :-). He seems to really identify with those bereaved by atrocious attacks.)

It does seem to be a real opportunity missed -this monument- or I wouldn't make time to comment.