I see on here a split of opinion with Christians on Austin Metcalf's dad, here and elsewhere.
I think both are incorrect in their own way.
One side says you don't forgive the unrepentant. Wrong, extremely wrong. Were the ones stoning Stephen to death repentant when he cried out for God to forgive them? No. The Bible puts no qualifications on who to forgive, only that you do.
The other side says he's being a Christian by forgiving the killer, and didn't do anything wrong and what I'd say is it's not wrong to forgive the killer, but I'd say that going on national TV and trying to make sure everyone complies with the cultures values on race has little or nothing to do with forgiveness, and so this side misses the mark.
You see, here's the biggest problem with what Austin Metcalf's dad did.
The black ghetto community needs to repent. They are like, in a way, a seperate nation like Ninevah who is told by all parties, including the church that they're not destined to hell.
Calling to repentance is an act of mercy in the Bible. Jonah didn't want to tell the Ninevites to repent because he didn't want them to experience God's mercy. When John the baptist comes on the scene preaching a message of repentance, it's repeated over and over that God's mercy has come. You want to love black people? Call the violence glorifying culture to repentance and warn them that huge swaths of their culture is akin to something like the Ninevites.
Essentially the dad is saying without realizing it "make sure you don't have any conversations that could be difficult for the inner city to hear, lest they realize their sins and turn and be saved".
Many black people will be going to hell unfortunately because even the church tickles their ear and never calls out their behavior even though the church is more than happy to call out their mostly white congregants behavior (which the church should).
Anyone who objectively looks at the black community can see that they fit the definition of a fool found in proverbs and yet no one wants to touch that subject, including Christians.
So, the dad should forgive the killer, even if it takes time to do, and it's odd that he would be so lacking in paternal instinct that he'd unemotionally virtue signal, which seems less like Biblical forgiveness and more like this modern day utter capitulation and celebration of black culture, and the next thing the father could do, which would be the loving thing and also an extremely dangerous and scary thing, which would be to absolutely address the racial issue. Look, it's not about race. Jesus said go preach to all the nations. By all accounts, the black culture is a foreign nation. They share no values, and their values that are taught from birth are completely leading people to hell. They qualify as a nation that needs repentance.
And as we see in the Bible, in order for people to accept Jesus, they first need to be told what they're violating, where they're astray, and what the consequences of sin are.
I don't see the church doing this with the black community. The exact opposite.
So the "don't forgive the unrepentant" Christians are wrong, as are the Christians who are failing to realize that the black, inner city, thug culture needs to face some extremely harsh facts for their eternal good.
Not the argument being made, and this is a mistake I see frequently.
The point is that the unrepentant CANNOT be forgiven, and by definition that is completely correct. God alone can forgive those who are not sorry for their actions. Man cannot. Saying "you are forgiven" is not something that Jeff Metcalf has the power to do. Because the animal who killed his son did not merely trespass against him, but against the dead innocent and the laws of God as well. Jeff Metcalf has no authority over two of those things, and the pretense towards that is blasphemy.
Man can offer forgiveness for a trespass against us specifically, but if it is thrown back in our faces(and hoo boy it sure has been), well that is the end of it.
Because Stephen forgave the completely unrepentant rabbis who stoned him, I would have to say you're incorrect. Stephen did not perpetrate a falsity as his last act on earth. It is possible for man to forgive the unrepentant. But is that a prescription? No, because the parable of the debtors involved repentant wrongdoers.
You're also conflating God's forgiveness and man's forgiveness. Jeff Metcalf can't pardon Karmelo Anthony's sins, yes, but that would be true even if Anthony genuinely repented. Human forgiveness is not about pardoning sins, it's about letting go of bitterness.
Having said all that, should Metcalf have forgiven Anthony? If it came from a place of genuine spirituality I would agree with StaticNoise2, but from what I've seen I have my doubts, and in that case no. Certainly not in public the day after the murder. More time is needed to collect one's thoughts.
Indeed, if Metcalf was actually sincere in his forgiveness, he should also be able to announce his public forgiveness for Jake Lang. Instead we have Metcalf speaking with more vitriol for "racists" than for the actual murderer.
Let's also keep in mind that Christ himself called forgiveness on the unrepentant Roman soldiers who crucified him because they didn't know what they were doing. Does this mean that God blanket forgives the unrepentant? No, it means God is merciful above human understanding and seeks tirelessly for all to be saved. I'm not saying this as a commentary on this story, but just so people understand more about forgiveness.
I presume you mean Saint Stephen the first martyr.
I would point out that individuals who are representatives of God are different than regular people. It's why priests can offer confession for example. Regular people cannot.
I however am no saint nor priest, nor is Jeff Metcalf.
Yes. Something He has the authority to do. He asked the Lord to forgive those men, "for they know not what they do."
You can certainly ask the Lord to forgive someone. I never said otherwise.
If God wanted us to make a distinction between the early saints and ourselves, He would have said "But those guys are of a different standard than you should be" Otherwise He's creating confusion. And we know it is written 'God is not the author of confusion, but of peace'
One instance of forgiveness was Paul was talking to his friends when he said
whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant.." 2 Corinthians chapter 2:10-
Second Corinthians carries a frequently apologetic tone in and of itself. Paul is talking to them about his intent to not have a painful visit to their church. He's reassuring them and telling them that any affront he may have caused in the past is one that he will "forgive" in turn.
Again, we see a translation problem into English. As you noted, God is not the author of confusion. Man is, and our flawed and limited understanding. Same as that whole "thou shalt not kill" thing, which isn't at all what the Fifth Commandment says. It says thou shalt not commit murder.