It's easy enough to say the words "I forgive", really meaning them is the hard part.
Dr. Laura is completely off her rocker!!!
This reminds me of what my mum used to say when we were growing up & did something stupid or wrong. "sorry isn't good enough!", and she being my all-wise mother 
she turned out to be right. I think what Dr. Laura was trying to get at was, that the word "sorry" is being thrown around too much. She's going a little far in saying that we should never forgive, though.
"Sorry" is used way to much... "sorry I stepped on your foot"; "sorry I ate your portion of the icecream"; "sorry I slept with your husband." & then if the person being said "sorry" to stays mad... well then "well, I said I was SORRY!" Saying "sorry" puts everything from stupid mistakes to grave errors/sins onto the same trivial level.
Saying sorry & asking for forgiveness are too completely different things usually. Sorry is like excuse me, meaning let me off the hook, Forgive Me is asking that you let all the anger, resentment, etc that you are holding in your heart against me for this particular deed go, and if necessary, punish me for it as you see fit.
I hope this isn't to disjointed to make sence... and if it is... forgive me...
Ania
P.S. I grew up on Dr. Laura, been listening to her since I was 5... I agree with some, maybe most, of the stuff she says, but sometimes she's way to much of a hard-liner.
Dr. Laura has been saying this for years.
However, Christianity is all about forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no Christianity. Dr. Laura is a moralist, but she has never been enlightened by the Holy Spirit. She has her opinions and that's all we can say about her.
We can all bring to mind, as many in this thread have, verses about the requirement to forgive. I can't think of one New Testament verse that says we should watch out for ourselves and not forgive others. The whole sense of the Gospel goes against Dr. Laura's "doctrines."
I don't listen to the lady anymore, myself. Much of what she says is ok, but it is mixed with much error. I am confused enough about how I should behave without listening to a mixed message! Better we read the Bible and the Fathers. Much better than Dr. Laura.
Can you imagine going to Jesus and asking if we should or should not forgive someone? Can you imagine Him saying, "Nah, don't forgive that guy." The same Jesus who told us to forgive seventy times seven?
-Xenia
Bitterness, etc.
Just because God forgives does not mean there are no consequences to sin.
Well, that's certainly true.
I came from a protestant church situation before converting to Orthodoxy that left me very bitter. I went to confession and my bitterness is now gone. I've spoken with some of the old church people, and I've forgiven them to the best of my ability. However, that doesn't mean that I trust them! My anger is gone and I wish them well as individuals, but they are still teaching error and I can't recommend them. My conscience is clear regarding them, whereas when I was bitter, my conscience was not clear.
-Xenia, who still has a long way to go.
Good post Xenia,
all that you said was good. As if we need to listen to these people when we have our Fathers and Apostles.
One thing I have noticed about Americans, you guys take a lot of notice of things that you dont need to.
At least, thats how it seems to me. In Australia, we dont have "Christian moralists" so its not there to mislead us. There is no illusion or allusion to any Christian basis for our political parties, we barely have any history to speak of, and may even be the most secular society in the world.
So, for Christians, it is perhaps sometimes easier, perhaps sometimes harder, but i suspect also clearer to see.
Glory be to God for all things!
-
OrthodoxyOrDeath
Anyone trying to succeed in the world should make an icon of Dr. Laura Schlessinger (a Jew?)
I once heard someone say that modern Judaism is the framework and foundation by which the Antichrist will establish himself. It took me along time to understand how this could be true. But after dealing with Jews enough, I slowly learned what this meant - and it seems very true. They do have a insatiable drive for dominance and power; but not only that, they overwhelmingly believe in man.
Of course I don't know if Schlessinger is a Jew...and YES, I AM an anti-Semite, not in the Nazi sense, but in the Christian sense.