When I enrolled in Religion and Social Justice, I was not entirely sure what to expect. I thought the courses would be filled with abstract monotonous concepts. However, this was not the case. The course was incredibly interesting and engaging. Professor Tirana was able to take incredibly complex theological, philosophical concepts and firmly plant them in the reality of the surrounding world, connecting them to social justice, making them more than approachable. One of those concepts was forgiveness. This essay will explore the concept of forgiveness and examine its ability to enact social justice. What is so fascinating about forgiveness is that it appears to be so antithetical to human instinct. It requires a conscious, deliberate …show more content…
Tutu stated that in order “for our nation to heal and become a more humane place, we had to embrace our enemies as well as our friends.” (81) This new beginning for South Africa was largely successful because it was built on honesty, peace and compassion; the foundations of forgiveness. Desmond Tutu describes forgiveness as the act of abandoning the right to vengeance. Tutu understood that revenge, vengeance and retaliation are the irrational responses of individuals who do not completely comprehend the fragility of civilization. In seeking vengeance an individual only perpetuates and exasperate the initial animosity, which creates a devastatingly vicious cycle of hate. The urge to pay someone back reduces humans to our worst selves. It was forgiveness that allowed Tutu and Mandela to lead a dignified, rational opposition against the horrendous inequalities of apartheid. Forgiveness informs an elevated way of thinking, …show more content…
It would seem that all of America’s unresolved racial anxieties have bubbled up to the surface. The riots in Ferguson, Missouri encapsulated the nation’s volatile racial tensions. I believe that it is quite possible that if a reconciliation committee had been brought to Ferguson in the days or even weeks after the initial riots much of the racial tensions which sparked subsequent incidents could have been avoided. It would have given the community the opportunity to express their anguish and disappointment. Tutu writes that “true reconciliation is based on forgiveness, and forgiveness is based on true confession” (112) this reconciliation informed by forgiveness would have presented an opportunity for both the police and members of the community to look beyond who was right or wrong, and simply acknowledge the human tragedy, and begin to see each other as human beings. This is why forgiveness is so important for social justice, it creates
I liked everything about this course. The seminars, study plans, and the weekly discussions help
Hesburgh explains, “My whole instinct is to forgive. Perhaps that is because I am a Catholic priest. In a sense, I am in the forgiving business… I think of God as the great forgiver of sinful humanity” (169). Prager further explains these religious divides, “It is only meant to explain why to Jews it is so patently obvious that it is morally wrong to forgive a man who has burned families alive, and to Christians it is equally obvious that one ought to” (230). Buddhism also argues for forgiveness as well. Ricard states, “For a Buddhist, forgiveness is always possible and one should always forgive” (235). Lastly, there is an argument that without forgiveness it is difficult to move on to the future. Tutu succinctly states, “Without forgiveness, there is no future.”
As one grows from infant to adult an even elderly age, we experience many events in life. One only grows from mistakes that are inevitable to happen. Like the Yin Yang theory, for instance, shadow cannot exist without light. Therefor forgiveness comes into play, it is defined as the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. In The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. It discusses the moral ethics of the matter of forgiveness. Questions are asked by Wiesenthal, what would you do? If a dying Nazi soldier asks for your forgiveness? Forgiveness can often be influenced by religious belief, psychological, and political point of view, one is always capable of asking for forgiveness or granting forgiveness to another, granted or not, one makes a choice and lives with that decision.
The topic of forgiveness has been one that a great deal of discussion has taken place in multiple novels. Definitions of forgiveness vary for everyone because it is a personal opinion of many. Topics such as religion and culture can influence those opinions. The novel The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal arouses numerous thoughts and arguments of forgiveness.
In the short story “Forgiveness Story: The weak get even, and the great get over it”, author June Callwood (2007) presents the different areas of forgiveness, the reactions of the aggrieved party, the effects of forgiving and unforgiving and the route towards forgiveness. Callwood narrated stories of forgiving, letting go and stopped hating those who had hurt them. In the story Simon Wiesenthal, a Nazi hunter and a Jew, was brought to a camp where a young and dying Jew murderer asked for his forgiveness, not knowing what to do he just kept mum and left the room (p. 1). After thirty years, he contacted different kinds of people with exceptional mind and asked what he had done (pp. 1-2). He received different responses. Others such as Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama said that he should have pardoned the young man while others, the likes of philosopher Marcuse, said that a man who had done a heinous crime should not be forgiven because in so doing we are tolerating what is morally wrong (p. 2). This story shows that forgiveness is worth doing it may be hard but for those who have done it they were able to move on and get on with their lives.
Forgiveness has a different context depending on where the person is from or what he believes. Religion places a great emphasis on the view of forgiveness.
This is why the world is still having such glaring and shockingly similar issues to this very day, this is why forgiveness matters and it is time to get involved again before new tragedies
In general, self-forgiveness is identified by a common ability to exhibit self-respect in spite of the acceptance of wrong-doing (Hall, J., Fincham, D., 2005). I never considered the distinction between interpersonal forgiveness and intrapersonal forgiveness. While they share many similarities, there is even greater evidence of the differences between the two. One significant difference involves the consequences of withholding forgiveness from self. It is likely that intrapersonal unforgiveness can be much more detrimental than interpersonal. Hall & Fincham state “ Self-forgiveness often entails a resolution to change” (2005). It is this process of acceptance of one’s own imperfections and sinful nature that catapults a desire for self-improvement and growth. This is a critical component of healing the soul and beginning the journey to spiritual and mental health. Also enlightening was the declaration that one can experience pseudo self forgiveness by failing to acknowledge any wrong doing and convincing him/herself that they are without fault. Finally, I was struck by the notion that self-forgiveness will typically
Inventory: I am an independent learner, so this course is perfect for my learning style. I’m also a spatial learner which means I take in information by studying graphics. One way I would
There was such a variety of topics covered in this course and I wish that I had taken it in a classroom instead of online. With this online course, I feel like the material went a little too quickly. If I were in a classroom setting, I feel that
Loss brings sorrow, sorrow brings, hatred, hatred brings vengeance, vengeance brings loss. A vicious cycle easily avoided, yet it proves to be difficult time and time again. Something as simple as an apology or explanation is sometimes all that is required to avoid the cycle. Humans are only humans after all, but if we humans can be provoked so easily, why not forgive just the same. Then again, there are also actions that need no explaining because these kinds of actions are unforgiveable and should be met with an accordance of justice and without vengeance or else the pain will never stop.
Forgiveness is not just practiced by saints and not only benefits its recipients but have strong connection with person’s physical, mental and spiritual health. It plays a great role in the health of families, communities and nations. Forgiveness provides common ground for love, acceptance, harmony and true happiness Most spiritual and religious leaders of the world will agree that forgiveness of oneself and others is one way to clear the mind, heart and soul and may result in a feeling of increased peace and happiness.
Reconciliation is stated as “restoration of a state of peace to the relationship, where the entities are at least not harming each other, and can begin to be trusted not to do so in future, which means that revenge is foregone as an option” (Santa-Barbara, 174). This definition is a starting point in understanding reconciliation but does not address the spirit of forgiveness involved. It is important to recognize harms that others have done but it becomes necessary to portray these in a positive and understanding manner. This supplies the persecutor with an image that is not so negative and “monster-like” but also provides for the victim acknowledgement that there has been harm done. For reconciliation to take place, all parties involved
This course I took very seriously, because it taught me what I did not know with what I did
Gratefully God has taught us that we can forgive! Even though we may be a victim once, we need not be a victim twice by carrying the burden of hate, bitterness, pain, resentment, or even revenge. We can forgive, and we can be free!