Every day people have to face situations, big or small, that they have to forgive. This could vary from getting nudged in the hallway to being violated by a loved one, and everyone at some point in his or her life has to face something that seems unforgivable. Eventually we all have to ask ourselves is anything truly unforgivable.
There are a wide variety of different cultures and religions in our world. Something almost all of the religions have in common are that they each emphasize the benefits and the importance of forgiveness (The Benefits 1). Sometimes religion can both help and hinder people. The girl in the article “forgiving what seemed unforgivable” had an unwavering love for her religion. When she was raped she felt her purity was violated. She knew that remaining pure was a major part of her religion, and now that she was no longer truly pure she could not forgive herself. She eventually began to purify herself though prayer and was guided by this quote from the bible: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Purify your hearts, ye double-minded” (Forgiving 18). Religion both left stuck her in the misery of having her own unforgiving eyes upon herself and helped her through the aftermath of the rape by returning her to a state of internal purity.
Some people believe that forgiveness has nothing to do with religion that forgiving is strictly a choice. You can choose to have a religion that might help you through hard times but that you can also simply choice to forgive without religion. Reon Shuttes, prisoner of war in Zimbabwe for 13 years, feels that forgiveness, tolerance, and acceptance of circumstances are the keys to our ultimate freedom. All of these are choices we, as individuals, have to make (Poolman 1). “The key… is choice, a powerful tool to which every human has access to at every moment… regardless of the situation”(Poolman 1). Choosing forgiveness can benefit a human personally and actually help brighten their future also (The Benefits 2). Schutte is now giving inspirational speeches all over the world (Poolman 2). In the movie Annie, directed by John Huston, the orphan mother, Miss. Hannigan, has a lot of built up hatred and anger. She chooses to never let go of the negativity, meaning she never has and never will fully forgive anyone. People have to make the choice on their own.
Simon Wiesenthal’s book The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness spoke to me about the question of forgiveness and repentance. Simon Wiesenthal was a Holocaust prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. He experienced many brutal and uneasy experiences that no human being should experience in their lifetime and bear to live with it. Death, suffering, and despair were common to Simon Wiesenthal that he questioned his own religious faith because he asks why would his God allow the Holocaust happen to his people to be slaughter and not do anything to save them. During Simon Wiesenthal time as a Jewish Holocaust, Simon was invited to a military hospital where a dying Nazi SS officer wanted to have a conversation. The Nazi SS officer told Simon his story of his life and confesses to Simon of his horrific war crimes. Ultimately, the SS officer wanted forgiveness for what he done to Simon’s Jewish people. Simon Wiesenthal could not respond to his request, because he did not know what to do with a war criminal that participate in mass genocide to Simon’s people. Simon Wiesenthal lives throughout his life on asking the same crucial question, “What would I have done?” (Wiesenthal 98). If the readers would be on the exact situation as Simon was
Must one forget before one can forgive? Forgiveness involves not holding a sin against a person any longer, but forgiveness is a decision of the will. Since we cannot selectively remove events from our memory, it is impossible to truly forget sins that have been committed against us. Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, in his book The Sunflower, writes of an experience that occurred when he was a prisoner in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. He recounts a day when he was taken from work and lead to the bedside of a dying man. The dying man Karl, a member of the SS, confessed to Simon about his dreadful act for he sought absolution from a Jew. As Karl begs for Wiesenthal to forgive him, Wiesenthal remained silent and walked away. Wiesenthal’s purpose is to argue whether the inhumane acts of the SS should be forgiven. Because
The Crucible – Forgiveness & nbsp; The Healing Power Of Forgiveness - The Gift of Reconciliation. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." --- Mahatma Gandhi & nbsp; Forgiveness is a process of inner healing. For most of the people in The Crucible, they did not need to necessarily forgive others but forgive themselves.
Life as we all know is full of disappointment and filled with disparity. Most of us are able to go through these and learn from and forgive ourselves. Yet, this isn’t always the case. People are faced with traumatic experiences that often take a long time to get over, if they ever do get over it. These experiences brew in our brain popping up at the most random points often bringing our spirits down. Although these experiences may scar us and fill us with regret and guilt, we can’t continue to live in the past and let these regrets haunt us. Self forgiveness is a key to healing and to moving on in life, no matter how hard it is.
The idea of forgiveness resonates differently with every individual. Where do we draw the line in terms of offering up a sincere acceptance of someone’s apology? Are there any acts that we as individuals will absolutely not be able to ever excuse? In the case of Simon Wiesenthal, those questions were brought directly into his life in a way more powerful than many of us will ever experience in our lifetimes. After living through the Holocaust, Wiesenthal was confronted by one of the former SS members and asked to forgive his atrocious acts of violence against innocent Jewish people. His decision is one that Wiesenthal has been seeking validation for ever since it was made.
On the contrary to orthodox consensus, Kennedy sees the doctrine of forgiveness as one silencing factor that caused further emotional trauma on abused children (131-4). However, I think the Christian concept of forgiving is indeed a double-edged sword rather than a paradox in child abuse issue. In other words, it could either offer spiritual support or it could worsen the victim’s e...
Gandhi once said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Forgiveness is a fundamental concept in To Kill a Mockingbird. When one forgives and shows compassion for another he or she takes the risk that they will be wounded again. Yet, many of Harper Lee’s characters manage compassion for those who are clearly undeserving. These characters attest that while, forgiving is not forgetting, forgiveness can lead to tolerance. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows that forgiveness can be liberating, rectifying, and nurturing.
Forgiving someone is a way to release us from the pain they have brought us. Justice can just be
The essay "Forgiveness," written by June Callwood, explores the concept of forgiving and how it influences people's lives for the better. Her work describes many components of forgiveness, such as how difficult it can be to come to terms with, why it is such a crucial part of humanity, and how it affects all people. Her essay aims to prove that forgiveness is the key to living peacefully and explains specific examples of people who have encountered extremely difficult situations in their lives- all of whom found it within themselves to forgive. To clearly portray this message in her writing, Callwood uses several strategies. She includes fear inducing statistics, makes many references to famous events and leaders, and uses a serious convincing tone, all of which are very effective.
Forgiving is a challenge in itself, especially when people do not feel there is justification for the wrongdoing. The ability to forgive is to forget about the harm afflicted by the active person. Forgiving is an act of obedience to God’s will, but how long does it take to achieve this? People may question the difficulty of the task. Forgiving can also seem like a battle between winning and losing. For instance, in this case scenario, if the mother decides to forgive her husband, she will feel defeated. There should be consequences and no remorse for his actions. In addition, the children are hurting from the pain of disloyalty. How can they forgive his actions according to Jesus and the Kingdom?
Forgiveness is a process. You can still feel the pain, see the events behind your eyes, and feel the loss of the people around you but you have to find a way to forgive. People think that if you forgive someone you are forgetting or saying hey I would hang out with this person now because we’re cool but thats not at all what forgiveness is. Forgiveness is righting the wrong for yourself because you want the injustice you feel to leave. It’s acknowledging to that there a wrong that was done to you and you decide how you want to think about it not anyone
As famed poet Maya Angelou once said, "It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive" (Angelou). Forgiveness is the decision to release any anger or blame towards a person or thing and let go, seemingly an easy task, but many people find it impossibly hard to do. In the aftermath of the devastating genocide in Rwanda, the most powerful step towards healing the nation was the forgiveness fostered by survivors. It was this strong belief that began to spread through Rwanda and brought people peace and acceptance. In Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza, Immaculée discovers forgiveness in her life, and begins to let go of the horrifying deeds that the Hutus committed against the Tutsis in order to move on and grow as a person, helping both herself and the killers move on.
The substance of forgiveness is known to be an important thing and concept in the teaching of Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus has made it clear that unforgiveness is known to be a serious sin nurtured in the heart. As per Jesus Christ, it is said that the person needs to be forgiven even if a serious problem is caused due to him. If not, even we would not be forgiven from God. As per Jesus, if you forgive the sin done by the people, your heavenly will also forgive you if you have committed any sin. We would always want the heavenly father to forgive us for whatever wrong things or the mistakes that we do. In fact, we always think that it is the duty of God to forgive us. However, we never consider that the degree of offence we have done. We always think that he is the God and it is his prime duty to forgive us no matter what we do. But if somebody does the same thing to us, we always feel that it is not important to forgive them we think that we should not let them go just by forgiving them. Hence, the most important thing that needs to be considered here by us is that we should learn to forgive people (...
Forgiveness is the act of releasing an offender of any wrong or hurt they may have caused you whether they deserve it or not. It is a decision to let go of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group of people. When we choose to forgive, we’re wiping the slate clean, cancelling a debt, or as I love to say, “Letting it go.” In the Bible, the Greek word for forgiveness literally means to “let it go.” This concept, “forgiveness,” is easier said than done. Majority of people find it very difficult to let go of offenses and hurts caused by others. I really do believe that most people desire to let it go, but we lack the knowledge of how to do it. As believers, we are instructed by God maintain an attitude of forgiveness.
A strong Christian lesson on the true nature of forgiveness can be found in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount: