Honor and redemption

rugadd wrote:

Rex wrote:

Mindas Arran wrote: Good evening,

A question --
Can "honor" (in the traditional sense), once lost, be redeemed?

Do enough good deeds make up for past misdeeds?

Or is it that no manner of atonement will change the past?

It's really easy to take the Jedi stance and be the bigger person, forgive others, and expect others will reciprocate. A person has the capacity to change, but people aren't so trustworthy or trusting.
While honor and actions aren't necessarily the same, you can't have one without the other.
A common statistic I learned from a professor was that people on average will need 10 good things to balance out 1 bad experience.
I'm not sure of the nature of your transgress, but the fact that you're seeking atonement means you're on the right path. Humility is the key.

I would be surprised to hear Mindas was looking for atonement.

haha why do you say that? No....just a discussion topic

This was asked of me in E-mail....This was my answer : Yes of course. If we couldn't whats the point of redeeming ourselves before our gods (depending on faith) or improving/ bettering our full potentials. Humans make mistakes even dishonorable ones. But they can be redeemed with alot of work and conviction. Life isnt black or white. There is always a tomorrow.

Focus should always be in front rather than behind. If it were how will you see in front of u?

Your focus is key. Where is it? Can the past play a role in our future... if we allow it. What we allow now... sets our goals and aim. If in the coarse of nature, forward looks back, it is to reflect and adjust, do not let it keep ur focus to long. If growth is what u seek u will find it and the dead branches and leaves will eventually wither away. Be like the tree, planted by the waters. Find your river of water and forward grow! You are not alone friend, in this Temple we never are!

Mindas Arran wrote: Good evening,

A question --
Can "honor" (in the traditional sense), once lost, be redeemed?

Do enough good deeds make up for past misdeeds?

Or is it that no manner of atonement will change the past?

Nothing can ever change the past, short of having a TARDIS. But I think we can start doing better as soon as we can, to the best of our ability. I think we can regain honor as time goes on, but there are also more important things than regaining honor.

To expect humans to be either all good or all bad all of the time is unrealistic. We screw up. I think the best way to receive grace is to give it. Forgiving others is more important that being forgiven yourself.

Snowy Aftermath wrote: Forgiving others is more important that being forgiven yourself.

That's so good, we should make it part of our doctrine. Oh wait . . .

I believe that anyone can make the effort to redeem themselves if they have acted dishonorably or treated others poorly.

But that doesn't guarantee that the people around them are going to see them as redeemed or trust them again. You cant force others to act different than they do

Brenna wrote: I believe that anyone can make the effort to redeem themselves if they have acted dishonorably or treated others poorly.

But that doesn't guarantee that the people around them are going to see them as redeemed or trust them again. You cant force others to act different than they do

Beautifully said Lady Brenna.

The act of contrition has to be sea-change with-in the "offender", and s/he must accept that despite their contrition, those who were offended are under no obligation to accept the conciliatory offering...

However, as was mentioned, you cannot change the past, so the important thing is to carry the new & improved behaviour and insights forward and not re-offend...


Part of the message is hidden for the guests. Please log in or register to see it.

Mindas Arran wrote: Good evening,

A question --
Can "honor" (in the traditional sense), once lost, be redeemed?

Do enough good deeds make up for past misdeeds?

Or is it that no manner of atonement will change the past?

Honor means many things to many people. I tend to find that the younger generations equates honor and deeds or honor and reputation or some assembly or amalgamation of many things. It also seems to be equated with something that one can loose or that it can be found by other people.

Your honor is something inside you. Others can not see it or tell if it is there or what it is like except by your actions or inactions. So no one can tell you that you’ve lost your honor. They may think that you are not acting within the bounds of what they perceive your honor system to entail, but only you know if that is true. And if you feel as though you have lost your honor, well that is a tragedy indeed.

Can ones honor be redeemed? No. It can however be rebuilt. We all fall or stumble at some point and none of us are without tarnish. We build our honor every day and it reads like a book of our lives written on our souls. The most important person that needs to rebuild their honor is the one that is not happy with it. And they must do it for themselves. In time, others will see it and decide that the person has regained their honor. But, it is not their opinion that should matter when your honor has to be satisfied.

Good deeds never “make up” for misdeeds. But deeds do show what path a person is on. And that is more important. Where your honor is and what are you doing with it now. If I lied, then no amount of truths will erase that lie. But, I can show that I have learned from my errors and made changes to myself and my life to better that part of myself.

Honor, I've found, is a man-made concept that has no basis in reality.

Streen wrote: Honor, I've found, is a man-made concept that has no basis in reality.

would it be possible for you to explain what you mean here?