#zA's Heretical Theosophizing

[zenosanalytic]

Yes! And I'd actually go further, like:

The whole idea of applying redemption to morality is deeply fucked up. "Redemption" is a financial term, specifically it's a "Buying Back": you Redeem debts, tokens, money, title, property. These are inherently amoral commercial concepts having to do with Money and Commodities, and we should really stop conflating them with morality. The things you do, Cannot be undone. There is no "going back" and God, even if it existed, would not have the power to unmake the past, and would be too moral, too respectful of hurt and agency, to ever do something that invalidates them for one person to benefit another.

But YOU have the power to change. YOU have the power to be different. YOU have the power to look at what you did and say "That was Fucked Up, and I was WRONG, and when I Thought that it was an OK Thing to do I was WRONG, and I'm never going to do or think that ever again," and then LIVE That. You have the massive power to recognize a mistake, and Apologize, and Remake Yourself, whenever you choose.

People can choose to forgive you or not, that's the power THEY Have and you have NO power to force it from them, nor the right to demand it. You live with the consequences of what you've done, and you stop being the person who did it, but the choice of Forgiving or Not is THEIRS to make. And, not really on this topic but an important related one, THAT is what Grace actually is. Not divine, not of God, not even Moral, but fundamentally and inherently Mortal; Imperfect, Changing, an inextricable contradiction, a bond made of people acknowledging Hurt, one choosing to lay it down, and another choosing to let themselves be forgiven; something so small and so huge that it feels like Magic.

the concept and idea of “you can always start trying to be a better person” is extremely important to me both in media and irl and i continue to be deeply deeply disturbed by the trend on this site pushing that these ideas in media are bad writing or even morally reprehensible

because theyd rather someone stay terrible or just straight up die than become a better person 

from a compassionate point of view it’s deeply distressing and from a pragmatic point of view it’s outright frustrating

it’s fucked up.