Forgiveness is a tool used to relieve suffering, so would it be right to forgive people who have done extremely atrocious acts, such as the mass murder and rape of innocents?
This was the question posed by Dr. Jim Denison, founder of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, in an article he wrote for Charisma News. Denison shared information he obtained from The New York Times, stating how Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi leads an organisation that has murdered more than 3,000 people over the past year alone.
Baghdadi is the leader of the Islamic State jihadist group, which reportedly executed 74 children, some of whom were crucified, for not fasting properly during this year's Ramadan. The ISIS has slaughtered countless of its captives through beheading, gunshot, blasting, burning, drowning in cages, burying alive, hurling on top of buildings, and other bizarre and grisly ways of killing. The merciless group has also enslaved, sold and raped thousands of women, including American humanitarian aid worker Kayla Mueller.
Officials recently disclosed that Mueller had been repeatedly raped by Baghdadi, who made her his personal sex slave during her 18 months in captivity, before she died.
Denison wondered how her parents, family, and friends must be feeling. Although he is not related to Mueller, Denison said he feels a deep revulsion towards ISIS militants, particularly its leader Baghdadi.
"I know the Bible repeatedly tells me to forgive my enemies. Jesus taught us to 'love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.' But if Kayla Mueller were my daughter, how could I possibly forgive the man who did such horrifically unspeakable things to her?" he asked.
It might seem unfair to forgive a person who has harmed you, said Denison, but actually it's not. "God does not ask us to forgive horrific sins such as those perpetrated by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He doesn't forgive sins, either. Rather, forgive the sinner. When Stephen was being stoned to death, he forgave the men, not their actions. Jesus did the same from the cross," Denison explained.
However, forgiveness does not mean Baghdadi should not face justice for his horrifying crimes, Denison said, since he definitely should. But that does not mean Christians cannot trust God to enact His own judgment at His own time, he added.
