I read recently that a person linked forgiveness to evolution.  Here is the scenario: In a tribe, if Person A behaves badly, he is let off the hook (so to speak) if he is valuable to the community.  Suppose he is a great hunter.  Those offended by him let the offense go because his hunting skills are so valuable to the community.  What do you think of this?

I think it is a fairy tale that is not correct.  Forgiveness is not a bargaining strategy, but instead is a moral virtue in which the one offended willingly decides to be good to the other, not for any gain at all for the self or for the community, but instead as goodness for itself.  Yes, a forgiver might benefit from forgiving and a community may benefit, but these are consequences of forgiving.  Consequences do not constitute forgiving itself.  So, the scenario is invented in the mind of a person who is not thinking deeply about what forgiveness is and is not.

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