"...that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Thus sayeth the scripture; and surely at least some here understand that one cannot be contemptuous of one's parents and expect his or her children to have a better attitude towards their parents...but how exactly does one "honor" parents who are abusive, hypocritical or otherwise contemptible?
The Bible also says if you disrespect your parents you shall be put to death. The Rabbis of the Talmud said it was the hardest commandment to keep. As for how do you honor the abusive parent? Well since we don't live under the Biblical restrictions any longer, we are not going to be put to death if we attack our parents, but you can honor your parents without accepting their behavior. But I have to ask, why is this so important?
Matthew 10: 34-37 34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law 36 a mans enemies will be the members of his own household. 37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Really honoring your parents isn't it.
I might, but I'm not here to pontificate to no one in particular, and especially not to people who don't accept the premises in the first place. So far my experience suggests you are one of the latter. No it does not. What it says is that in the days of Moses, God commanded the Israelites to put children who cursed or disrespected (depending on which translation one believes) to death. In any case, that's off topic here. So what does that look like? If you understand what it means to honor your parents, why would you need to ask?
Except you say it doesn't say that and then say it does. How is it off topic about honoring ones parents?
Im sure we'd all do well to spare and be spared pontification. Honouring ancestors is a very strong tradition among Asians.
You have me confused with someone else. Apparently you have nothing of value to contribute to this thread, so I suggest you turn your attention elsewhere. Historically, so is tyranny, and I'm pretty sure that's more than mere coincidence. And to anticipate one of your possible objections, no I do not think Asians have a corner on the tyranny market - but then, neither are they unique in their adherence to such traditions.
With empathy, compassion, understanding, forgiveness--take your pick. Some construe that passage to simply mean that you honor them by having children of your own, while others might interpret to mean that you honor them by being a good person. I never had what I would call an ideal home life, but my parents with all their issues were a lot better than I understand their fathers were and my childhood was surely better than theirs. I choose not to be hateful or resentful or anything else other than grateful for that which I did have as a child. I would rather pass on positivity than a ball of negativity about which I can do nothing. What others choose to do is their choice.
