Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do

We all, at least those with any exposure to Christianity at all, know those words by heart. We know who said them, and under what circumstances. And we believe we know what He meant, when he said them.

I've come to think we have really missed it on this one, over all the centuries of this religion. Recurring as a central theme in so many of my meditations, thoughts, and studies for a good long while now, has been a core concept related to His words, the words themselves, and when He spoke them. And I've struggled with how to ever try to convey to others just what has seemed to emerge for me, as a central truth very different from what I, and the rest of us, have ever been taught about that.

Some years ago, I had read, and adopted as one on my little guides to wisdom nuggets, that "pride never recognizes itself; if it did, it would immediately commit suicide by common sense." And I had come to see how that had been true in me and others, both through life experiences, as well as through studies in Psychology and theology. 

Then, I began to experience, in one context after another, in how many ways we commonly really do not recognize something in what we do, what we way, how we are. Our view of ourselves is rarely clear, and seriously skewed with reality when we really start breaking it down and looking at it.

In the matter of hypocrisy, it is easy, it seems, to see and point out the hypocrisy in others, ourselves, not so much so. As I studied hypocrisy in various contexts, religion, the bible, philosophy, and psychology, that central theme emerged, again and again. We know not what we (really) do.

In philosophy and logic, the examination of the various forms of what are called "fallacies of logic," and then on into psychology, and what are called such as "Ego Defenses" there is was, again and again. We don't even recognize our most blatant hypocrisies, because we don't even really know what hypocrisy IS! We not only know not what we do, we don't even know what it is we THINK we don't do!

In the matter of idolatry, I owe a great debt to Paul Ramsey, in his Basic Christian Ethics, for his carefully thought out description of just what idolatry actually, but more importantly, the mental "process" humans go through in creating and holding an idolatry. Again, we not only know not what we do, we don't even know what it is we THINK we don't do!

In everyday life around us, i am not alone in wondering at times how it can be most everybody agrees bullying is 'wrong', and yet there is so much bullying. And that it doesn't take much observation to see that many of those that insist most strongly that they hate bullying, believe bullying is wrong, are actually bullying others, even often, in the course of their daily interactions with others! And once again, when I delve into why that is, why such hypocrisy about bullying, I find at the core of it, they don't recognize what they do as being bullies, and yes, again, because they really don't even know what bullying IS! Again, we not just know not what we do, we don't even know what it is we THINK we don't do IS!

At the core of all this, and so much more, this central theme, central truth, as it seems to keep making its way into my considerations on any matter.

When Jesus uttered those words as He hung on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," it wasn't just about, as our common Christian beliefs have taught us, His just forgiving those that were murdering Him, for not recognizing they were killing the Son of God, even though they didn't know what they did, never repented or asked forgiveness. No, that was not what he meant at all.

If He came here to die on the cross for the Sin of the world, then those words meant something much more, far greater, than forgiveness of those few that were participating in his murder,

In those words, His mission was accomplished. NONE of us really know what we do! 

"It is finished."