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Mercy & Grace - eternal life, eternal punishment [7]
Hi Minnie,
A noble essay for sure! The sentiment you put forth would certainly make for a much better world. I have put some suggestions below for your consideration. There are few things that come to mind that may, or may not, be useful for you. Grace and mercy can be difficult topics because they can overlap with other words similar in concept. They are also connotative, so it maybe worth differentiating with some similar words to see what best fits for your intended meaning. At any rate, I don't think you can go wrong by aiming to be concise. You've done a very nice job with some often not so easy concepts. I put some other words to compare and contrast and an edit to the first paragraph as an example. Good luck.
(1)THE RIGHT WORD:
BenevolenceIf you want to win friends and influence people, it's best to start with benevolence, a general term for goodwill and kindness (a grandfather's benevolence).
CharityCharity is even better, suggesting generous giving (the baker gave him bread out of charity) but also meaning tolerance and understanding of others (she viewed his selfish behavior with charity).
CompassionCompassion is a feeling of sympathy or sorrow for someone else's misfortune (he has shown compassion for the homeless), and often includes showing mercy.
MercyAside from its religious overtones, mercy means compassion or kindness in our treatment of others, especially those who have offended us or who deserve punishment (mercy toward the pickpocket).
ClemencyClemency is mercy shown by someone whose duty or function it is to administer justice or punish offenses (: the judge granted clemency), while leniency emphasizes gentleness, softness, or lack of severity, even if it isn't quite deserved (a father's leniency in punishing his young son).
(1) Lindberg, C.A.
Oxford American Writers Thesaurus. New York, NY: OUP, Inc., 2008. print
Topic: Mercy
A common adage says that grace gives what people do not deserve - eternal life
; while mercy withholds what people do deserve - eternal punishment.
However, mercy also applies to the temporal world.goes much deeper than thatIt is in mercy that we find empathy, compassion, and forgiveness; the essentials for genuine kindness between human beings.