Resilience of The Soul Understanding The Depth of Forgiveness

By Brittany Forrester

In "Resilience of The Soul," forgiveness is explored with depth and nuance, revealing it to be a journey fraught with intellectual and emotional challenges. Drawing on a rich tapestry of philosophical and theological perspectives, the author delves into the complexities of forgiveness, shedding light on its resistance to easy comprehension.

Through a creative dialogue with the works of thinkers such as Simone Weil and René Girard, the book navigates the terrain of forgiveness, examining the tensions and ambiguities inherent in forgiving and being forgiven. Rather than presenting forgiveness as a straightforward process, the author argues that it involves a profound transformation of understanding, akin to a spiritual journey of death and resurrection.

The book elucidates forgiveness as a paradoxical endeavor that defies simple categorization and demands a willingness to embrace ambiguity. It challenges conventional notions of judgment and rationality, calling for patience and acceptance in tension and uncertainty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: vincenzo nappi
• Release date: Mar 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224266449

Book preview

Chapter One

Introduction

AT FIRST GLANCE, THE teachings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth concerning forgiveness do not form a harmonious whole. Firstly, it seems that divine forgiveness hovers between being the ground of human giving and forgiving and a response to it. The command to forgive is associated with the sun that rises on the evil and the good and the love of enemies through which one becomes a child of the Father, perfect with his perfection. This perfection appears indifferent to human assessments of worth or worthiness; it is a giving that needs no prior condition. Nevertheless, this unreserved giving does, in turn, give rise to response, such that the measure with which one gives is an indication of how one has received: '[t]herefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.' Slightly different again is the sense that forgiveness is given in response to faith. The son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. Still, nevertheless, it is faith in this authority that enables forgiveness to be given with the same ease that a lame man is made to walk. Still, the relationship between divine and human forgiveness is also conditional: 'If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' God forgives us as we forgive those who sin against us; we forgive those who sin against us so that God will forgive us.

Secondly, and perhaps more problematically, is the relation of forgiveness to human judgment. Forgiveness is commanded alongside a withdrawal from judgment and fault finding and is part of the reciprocal scheme in which one receives according to the measure one has given: 'Do not judge, and you will not be judged.' As a result, it is recommended that one concentrate on the speck in one's own eye, not the plank in another's. Yet it is also placed alongside the description of a careful process for addressing the wrongdoings of others and, if necessary, expelling those who do not respond with repentance6 The giving or withholding of forgiveness is itself treated as a way of enacting judgment, such that the act of human forgiveness binds and releases not just on earth, but in heaven. More than this, forgiveness may also become a new criterion for judgment; as such, it necessarily comes with an element of threat. Those who do not pass on to others the forgiveness they have received are punished all the more severely; it is a gift that heightens the logic of retribution when it is abused.

Forgiveness, then, is not just challenging to practice. It is difficult to think: it offers resistance to thought. How can forgiveness be pronounced as a sign of authority, freedom, and gratuity and yet also remain subject to certain conditions or requirements, which means that it is received from God almost automatically when given to others? How are we to respond to the gift of divine forgiveness when such forgiveness is itself conditional upon our own response to it - how can forgiveness be genuinely offered when it is accompanied by a threat? How can forgiveness be understood as a forgoing of judgment, a loosening of categories of judgment, and at the same time as itself a basis for judgment? How can forgiveness involve a willingness to act outside of reciprocal expectations as a sign of the indiscriminate love of the Father and itself be the basis for a rule of forgiveness? There are various ways of bringing order to this picture. Perhaps the key is to consider the qualitative difference between the forgiveness given by God and the forgiveness given to each