I've read the replies and I'm glad I asked this here. I wasn't sure if my question was going to be perceived as offensive because I didn't mean to imply that if we don't believe in God, how can we know how to forgive. Having said that, when you live your whole life tied to a religion, you come to the realization that you don't know how to think for yourself on certain matters without that religion dictating how you should respond. Every religion is different but most of them have rules and guidelines of how to approach forgiveness and reconciling with someone who has hurt you.
In Christianity, sadly, many women stay in abusive marriages due to their religious beliefs and the notion that one must forgive always "as God forgives you," and divorce is immoral.
So, now that I don't have religion chaperoning my life, I wonder how to view forgiveness on my own. I consider myself pretty reasonable and compassionate but I no longer wish to keep toxic people in my life, no matter how many times they apologize.
It feels good to think for myself and make decisions that are logically sound as well as morally sound. People think that religion is synonymous with morality and that couldn't be farthest from the truth.
In Christianity, sadly, many women stay in abusive marriages due to their religious beliefs and the notion that one must forgive always "as God forgives you," and divorce is immoral.
So, now that I don't have religion chaperoning my life, I wonder how to view forgiveness on my own. I consider myself pretty reasonable and compassionate but I no longer wish to keep toxic people in my life, no matter how many times they apologize.
It feels good to think for myself and make decisions that are logically sound as well as morally sound. People think that religion is synonymous with morality and that couldn't be farthest from the truth.
