Outback Jack's Journey

  I went to a talk on Forgiveness just now by Dan Anderson. He said forgiveness has two aspects: An absolute insistence on the wrongness of the wrong. Forgiveness is not the same as excusing a wrongdoing, minimising a wrong, overlooking or forgetting, or just getting over it. Forgiveness refuses to say that a wrong doesn't matter. The decision by the person wronged to not act toward the wrongdoer on the basis of the wrongdoing. Rather than reasoning from the wrongdoing to a set of actions toward the wrongdoer, instead the forgiver accepts reasons to excludes the wrongdoing from consideration and acts on the basis of these other reasons instead. Two other curious things.  Jesus "invented" forgiveness. It does not exist in any historical writings before Jesus resurrection! (People cannot forgive without having first tasted forgiveness from Jesus.) Repentance (admitting the wrong) (where possible) is required for #2. (Luke 17: forgive your repentant brother 7x) I've defi...

I am known as: André. What others don’t know about me is: I don't value myself. I only give myself value when others hang out with me.  I was sexually abused aged 7 and 8, I struggle to feel I am a "real man", I have lusted after myself and other men. What I struggle to accept about me and my life is that I have value in myself, and that men accept me as a man. I didn't learn much at all about being a man from my father. What I learned about being a man from my mother is that masculinity is physical attributes that you can see. I am like my father: I am assertive. I am like my mother: I often play the "victim", I am selfish. I am different from my father: I can say "I love you", I can apologise for mistakes, I can express emotions, I can see a counsellor and not "lose it", I trust in Jesus. I am different from my mother: I am not a narcissist. What wounds do I carry as a man: I think the masculine characteristics are ones you can see: vis...