Author Archive: directorifi
I think that forgiveness is a fad, a passing fad, kind of like the mindfulness popularity. Why should I think that forgiveness will last a long time in Western culture?
Forgiveness is likely to continue because it has been discussed for thousands of years. It is sad that forgiveness has yet to be taken seriously on the societal level. By that I mean this: There never has been, from what I can find, a thorough-going discussion in any secular community on the importance of applying both justice and mercy/forgiveness together in the larger community. Justice has been paramount and forgiveness virtually ignored. So, forgiveness likely will continue to last within individual human hearts, primarily because that has been the case, as I mention above, for thousands of years. It is my hope that societies will awaken to the importance of letting justice and mercy/forgiveness be part of the dialogue of how we should interact with one another.
International Conference on Forgiveness for Peace to Be Held in Jerusalem, July 12 and 13, 2017
Come, and deepen your understanding of forgiveness. Come, and join us for the Jerusalem Conference on Forgiveness for Peace on July 12 and 13, 2017.
To forgive is to work toward reducing resentment and offering goodness of some kind to those who have not been good to you. To forgive is not to give in to injustice or to excuse wrong-doing. Forgiveness is from a position of strength, not weakness. As forgiveness frees a person from debilitating resentments, then he or she has more vitality to see clearly and to pursue a better way with family, community, and the larger society.
Day 1 concerns interfaith dialogue among Jewish, Christian, and Muslimxperts discussing what the term “to forgive” means within their own belief system and how that knowledge of forgiveness can be used to
enhance interfaith dialogue. Internationally notable speakers will participate: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (this year’s recipient of the Templeton Prize), Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, the Philippines, and Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia. All are world-renown within their own faith
community.
Day 2 focuses on forgiveness education with educators from Belfast, Athens, Lebanon, the US, and the Galilee or Jerusalem areas discussing how they implement forgiveness education for children
and adolescents. You may gain insights on how to bring forgiveness within your own family and community. There will be opportunities to: 1) hear personal testimonies of those who have forgiven much and 2) share your own view.
The conference will take place at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center. More information is on our website at the top of our homepage.
Robert
What happens when you forgive a person who refuses to forgive you in return? Suppose after you forgive, the other refuses to talk with you. How do you come to a peace when you know the other hates you?
There are no guarantees that your forgiveness will change the other person. Part of forgiving is knowing that you have done your best to offer compassion and even love to the other. You can go in peace knowing that you have done your best.
In Chapter 2 of your book, Forgiveness Is a Choice, you make the claim that if I try to forget offenses against me, then this is unhealthy. Why do you say that? Isn’t it healthy to put the past behind?
Yes, it is healthy to put the past behind if one does not deny the anger inside of oneself. My point in saying that trying to forget is unhealthy is this: So often we still remember the deep injustices against us. It often is unrealistic to completely forget what happened. We do not develop a kind of moral amnesia when we forgive. Instead, we remember in new ways, without the build-up of strong anger. We need to be gentle with ourselves when we remember details of cruelty against us. Such remembering does not mean that we have failed to forgive.
Is There Such a Thing as Self-Forgiveness?
When you self-forgive, you are practicing the virtue of mercy toward yourself. And this next point is very important: You continually extend virtues toward yourself, such as being fair to yourself (the virtue of justice), taking care of yourself (the virtues of kindness and wisdom), and being patient with yourself when you are learning new things in life. If you can practice all of these virtues toward yourself, why would anyone want to bar you from the most important of the moral virtues: loving yourself in the face of disappointment, disapproval, and in extreme cases, self-hatred?
Robert
Enright, Robert (2015-09-28). 8 Keys to Forgiveness (8 Keys to Mental Health) (p. 181). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
