water said:
Those who don't understand? Those who don't see God's love for them?
The fact is that we you don't know (unless we harden it ourselves). The same thing that hardens one person can soften another, that is why it comes from the "heart" of a person.
By which of His words do I consider myself hardened? I don't know that; but if someone doesn't understand something, or doesn't see something what some other people consider obvious (like you consider God's love to be obvious), then this person is usually considered hardened.
Not Biblically. On the contrary, the Bible presupposes that people don't start or live with the same amount of knowledge or faith, and encourages and supports gaining understanding.
Test it?! What a sacrilege!
We've spoken about this before. But the general atmosphere, both on the side of the religious as well as on the side of the non-religious is not so rarely simply suffocating.
Some religious will brand one as a heretic and sing-seeker if one sets out to test anything posited by the religious doctrine.
On the other hand, some non-religious insist on keeping the strawman alive by claiming that religious doctrine is never to be questioned -- that this is supposedly the basis of religion: "Testing is forbidden; thinking for yourself is forbidden".
I'm not sure who is more at fault for perpetuating the idea that to test religious doctrine is a sacrilege -- whether it is the religious themselves, or the non-religious.
It probably doesn't really matter who is more at fault -- what matters is that an outside observer is discouraged to look into the matter herself.
I can only see that people who fear you might find out more than they know might discourage it, or they have the somehow gotten the idea that searching out the meaning of things is forbidden and should be discouraged (eh?). The only problem that I can imagine is when someone sets up all kinds of tests for God - like loops He should jump through to satisfy our curiosity. But that has nothing to do with someone who wishes to learn about Him.
Again and again we read how Jesus or a disciple "explains from Scripture", or see Jesus answering some learned expert who came to test Him. Not once does he evade the question or rebuke them for asking. Look at the following examples, and decide for yourself what atmosphere should be promoted:
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Galatians 6:4
Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else...
1 Thessalonians 5:21
Test everything. Hold on to the good.
1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Acts 8:29-31
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Only if I accept that I have been forgiven. Accepting that one has been forgiven is not a matter of fact. The person who is to be forgiven has more work to do than the person who forgives.
If asking for forgiveness, we can assume that the asker will accept forgiveness once it if offered, and the relationship between said parties will be restored.
But if one forgives a person without this person asking for forgiveness (be it for whatever reason that they don't ask for forgiveness, even though they might want it), then such a forgiveness doesn't even out the conflict between said parties. The one who forgive evened out his part of the conflict. But the one who has been forgiven (without asking for forgiveness) keeps the conflict alive on his part. And the relationship is not restored, it remains in waiting, on a status quo.
I'm not sure I agree: the person who forgives is the one who does the "work". The receiver might be grateful or not and remain perfectly passive. It doesn't depend on some effort of will in order to be grateful, just on whether he is aware of the need to be forgiven and saved.
It is much more work to maintain our innocence, or the integrity of a restored relationship, especially in the face of hardships and accusations. Just look at Job: he didn't ask forgiveness, but only his faith in God's justice allowed him to do that. His wife proposed an easy way out: "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
It is only
after acceptance that the work starts, not to restore, but to maintain and enjoy it.
The issue to address here is then why someone doesn't ask for forgivenes.
It may show that someone doesn't want the conflict to be resolved on the other person's terms, which is what accepting forgiveness asks for. This is possible if there is no sense of dependence or need - and no desire for the demands that an exclusive relationship would put on them. Or the whole concept of God could be rejectionable. I guess the reasons will differ from person to person.
