So, I just finished watching this movie..

"Amish Grace" and it's the fictionalized story of what happened in the Amish community a while back. A guy went in and kill a bunch of school girls.

The Amish always forgive (never forget) and they truly believe in forgiving. In the movie, the men of the Amish community even went to the widow mother (of the guy that killed the school girls, and then killed himself) and APOLOGIZED to her and told her if she needed anything to let them know.

Now, another mother in the movie, an Amish mother. Lost her daughter to this random killing. And she also had a sister shunned from the Amish community because she wanted to leave the community live in the real world. Now she is not to be spoken of, they can't see her, they can't receive mail from her. The mother (and sister of the shunned) can't let go and forgive this man. It bother's her more than anything that she lost her daughter and is being almost forced to forgive. I agree with her, there's no way I could forgive the man that murdered my child.

I just don't get how, she can be shunned for wanting a different life, but the man who comes in and murders a good handful of their children can be so easily forgiven. The rest of the world hated this man, and the Amish community and his wife and children were the only one's to show up at his funeral. And the mother even ended up forgiving him and showed up.

I don't know it's just absurd, what's your opinion?

I've seen that movie, and wondered the same thing.

It's so confusing!

Yeah, I tried and tried to find a way for that woman to even think about forgiving that man, but there's NO way..it was her daughter?

I can't even lie, I was pissed at the end when she showed up at that funeral!

I can understand that maybe she wanted to respect her daughter and forgive him like she had done before he killed her.. But wow.

Murder can be forgiven, but not leaving the Amish lifestyle? I would think since the Amish were tolerant of the outsiders they'd be tolerant if someone wanted to leave and live like them.

Yeah I tried to look at it as respecting her daughter too, but I always got back to how disrespectful it was to forgive that man for taking her daughter's life.

And I agree, how can you be so extreme about not forgiving one thing, but so extreme about forgiving something far worse.

Glad I'm not Amish.. I guess you'd have to be to understand it all though.

That confuses me, too. If anybody killed my kids forgiveness would be the last thing on my mind. As for anybody wanting to live their life their way, surely that's natural. How very strange.

Even as a Christian, I had a hard time grasping that level of forgiveness myself.

Having said that, it is the 'ultimate' forgiveness, and indeed love really, to do.

They are the living, breathing 'example' of their blief.

The message I got from it was: If they can forgive such an atrocity, which was done unto 'them'; then who are the resto of the world not to?

Very intereting, (and disturbing) movie nonetheless.

I can never really know what I'd do for 'certain' in such a situation; but knowing myself so well as I do, - Christian or not!...I don't see myself being THAT selfLESS.

And I do agree, it's seems contradictory to forgive one atorcity, and not another, which is MUCH LESS atrocious for certain!
But my guess is that the latter is one, that if not reckoned with in the way they had, it would ultimately destroy their way of life.

There have to be some boundaries set with any way of life.

The mind reels.

Uhm, f*** that. If someone comes to my home and kills my child; forgiveness is out the door and vengeance has taken its place. Somethings cannot be forgiven..I could never be Amish. Kudos to those who can bear it.

I used to live in Lancaster county, where that happened. The Amish have a rite of passage that starts around 16, called rumspringa. The teens are able to explore the world outside of the Amish community, and decide for themselves whether or not they want to stay. If they don't stay that's when they are asked not to come back. It's just how their religion is. It's very strict and orthodox. I mean I can see where the forgive the killer's mother, because she wasn't doing the killing, and I'm sure she was in mourning as well. You also have to remember that it's a movie, based on a true story. Some parts are probably exaggerated. ... but no, I'm not sure I could forgive a person if they killed any member of my family.

I don't have a problem with them forgiving the wife of the murderer. I understand she didn't commit the crime, I just think it's absurd how they went to her home and told her they forgave her husband and offered their condolences to her lost one, when they had all those girls murdered bye HIM. It's just strange to me. And I know about the rumspringa I watched a special on it, I just think that if they allow them to make that decision and that's the decision they make they should be equally forgiven as say.. a murderer on their turf. I just have a hard time understanding how one thing can be so important to forgive and another can not.