When I teach church classes about forgiveness, I begin with a question: What do you think the Bible says about forgiveness?
The first thing someone calls out is usually "70 times seven," a reference to Jesus' instruction to his disciples that they must forgive without bound. Next, students mention the Lord's Prayer, citing the verse, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Often there is a lull at this point, and then someone remembers Jesus' words from the cross, "Father, forgive them." With most groups, the discussion falters here.
Everyone is sure that the Bible is full of messages about forgiveness, but when it comes down to it, few people can identify exactly what the text actually says about it.
The Old Testament has very little to offer on interpersonal forgiveness. The most salient example is Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers who had sold him into slavery (Genesis 45:1-15), although this is arguably more a story about reconciliation than it is about genuine repentance and forgiveness. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, the focus is on petitionary prayers to God for the forgiveness of wayward individuals or groups, especially through the sacrificial system established with the covenant. Examples include animal atonement offerings (Leviticus 5:14-16, 6:67; Numbers 28), Job's prayer for pardon (Job 7:21) and Moses' plea for the restoration of Israel (Exodus 32:32). In the prophetic literature, God's forgiving responses are recorded, as in the promise to Jeremiah to restore Israel (Jeremiah 33:8), and in Isaiah to "blot out" and "not remember" Israel's sins (Isaiah 43:25). God's forgiveness stands out as a theme throughout the Old Testament.
The New Testament continues this concern for the forgiveness of an entire people, but shifts the focus to Jesus as the "perfect sacrifice" who replaces the old sacrificial system (Hebrews 10:8-10). At the Last Supper, Jesus declares, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
However, Jesus also offers direct teachings on forgiveness, and while his words are sometimes contradictory, it is clear that interpersonal forgiveness is an important concern. While he does instruct his disciples to forgive "70 times seven times" in the Gospel of Matthew (18:21-22), in Luke he qualifies this teaching, saying, "If there is repentance, you must forgive" (17:3). Both Gospels include the reciprocal formula in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us as we forgive others," but where Matthew's version talks about forgiving debts, Luke's prayer asks for forgiveness of sins (Matthew 6:12; Luke 11:4). The Greek word translated as "forgive" in all of these passages is also the standard term for the remission of a financial debt.
In all four Gospels, Jesus notes the importance of forgiving others to ensure God's forgiveness. Matthew includes the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, in which a freed slave who does not forgive the debts of another is thrown into jail to be tortured. Jesus concludes this story with a less-than-comforting moral, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart" (Matthew 18:35).
One of the most celebrated forgiveness texts is Jesus' prayer from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). This is often cited as the quintessential moment of unconditional Christian forgiveness, and held up as a model that believers should seek to emulate. Often, pastoral caregivers present victims of violence with this verse to demonstrate the perfect Christian response to persecution and wrongdoing. This becomes especially problematic when victims -- especially of domestic violence -- are pressured to reconcile quickly and unconditionally with their abusers based on an idealized portrait of Christian forgiveness.
While Jesus is certainly an advocate of forgiveness -- in addition to the verses cited above, he claims the authority to forgive sins on earth (Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:23) and announces his mission as one of "forgiveness of sins" (Luke 24:47) -- he is far from consistent on the issue of interpersonal forgiveness. When he cries out from the cross, he does not say to his attackers, "I forgive you," or, as he has before, "Your sins are forgiven you." Instead, he prays that God might forgive them. Considering that earlier in Luke's Gospel, Jesus makes it very clear that repentance was required for forgiveness (17:3), and since no repentance is forthcoming from the men who are attacking Jesus, we might assume that forgiveness is a non-issue in this case. Indeed, nowhere does Jesus plainly state that unconditional forgiveness is a virtue or a requirement for the new covenant community. However, in the same Gospel, Jesus does instruct his followers to "bless those who curse you [and] pray for those who abuse you" (Luke 6:28), which appears to be exactly what he is doing on the cross.
I ruffle a lot of feathers when I suggest that Jesus might not be forgiving his attackers as he is being crucified. But this interpretation pays off for victims who are concerned about living faithfully in the aftermath of violence. Instead of a Jesus who appears to be endlessly and impossibly forgiving, here is a Jesus who is true to his teachings and also easier to imitate.
Praying for one's attacker is an easier -- and much safer -- task than offering unconditional forgiveness and reconciling with unrepentant abusers. Requiring repentance before granting forgiveness gives victims another way to protect themselves while remaining true to the biblical text.
things I learned as a puppy
I also had the pleasure of reading a very well researched article on forgiveness as a social dynamic in a reputable psychology journal.
In both cases, I was able to learn a valuable lesson about forgiving others without having to swallow bronze age myths about talking snakes and magical arks, nor did I have to countenance abhorrent stories of mass murder and incest. I did not have to explain to my daughter why a message of forgiveness also included stories of a god commanding rape.
What does the bible say about forgiveness? I couldn't care less.
It's a medieval tome, for Christ's sake.
Succinctly, I think that when it becomes necessary to confront wrongdoers –with Christ’s divine nature and His motive in operation, good can occur for all parties affected. I don’t think forgiveness should include calling WRONG things RIGHT (Isaiah 5:20), nor contentment with what God unequivocally detests (i.e. defrauding / oppressing others).
Forgiveness can become too much about self-protection & coziness, than concord & understanding opponents’ point of view; Christ’s sorrow and cross (Luke 9:23). When possible, forgiveness should include accountability. Overlooking wrongs and making no mention of it for sake of personal ‘wholeness’ is important, but there’s the other matter of possibly gaining {Matthew 18:15; et seq.} a brother (or even a true friend). (I’m not referencing confirmed political corruption that cripples and oppresses people, and trounces the economy.)
Forgiveness based on Jesus’ example has no individual-focused design. As a victim of marital domestic abuse –and the courts that made matters worse, I concede to there being pitfalls in forgiving unrepentant and unaccountable people. Meanwhile, I’m being disciplined in hard lessons of learning forgiveness that is consistent with God’s glory and purpose.
Mimi Rothschild
CEO, Learning By Grace, Inc.
www.LearningBYGrace.org
So Christ's death (Human Sacrifice) wasn't quid pro quo?
the centerpiece of Christianity is Human Sacrifice; the sacred ritual is cannibalism.
The Spirit always shows us what you mean in the bible.
:-)
I think it's clear that Jesus put personal relationships in the center of his ministry. Besides the quotes mentioned above, there is Matthew 5:23-24, where Jesus urges us to reconcile with our brother before we even go to church! Therefore, clearly, forgiveness and love are primary.
Then there is a the Sermon on the Mount, where in both Matthew and Luke, Jesus tells us to first deal with our own faults before even criticizing another.
But, as the author says( with some disdain...I don't know why) the most obvious command is to forgive your friend, family member, lover, neighbor more times than anyone could do the math.
These ideas together form a point of view where we can make some conclusions about the spirit of forgiveness and tolerance that is taught in the Christian tradition. You don't need to count the quotes. The faithful don't.
Then he adds a commandment of Cannibalism.
By "ministering" in hospitals do you mean genital mutilation? - 'cause that's also in there.
The words within the bible from the Sermon on the Mount could not have been the words of Jesus. Jesus did not speak those words. It never happened. They made it up. It’s make-believe. Furthermore, this proves that printing those words in red as though they were the exact words spoken by Jesus is deliberate deception.
The uninformed who repeat lies are credulous, but the well-informed who propagate widely known lies are an insult to humanity.
Scholarship on the Gospels goes way deeper than your oh so typical word counting nonsense. From an anthropoligical viewpoint, it is well known that there was another document that was purely sayings, called the Q document, which was probably the source for most sayings. Oral history, also, was a whole different deal back then, since written sources were so rare. so the spirit of what Jesus said was preserved.
But looking at the Gospels as the evolution of a spiritual movement all started by the life of one man, the richness and meaning are clear for people who believe or are just interested scholars.
Probably not so much for someone with a bias like yours, but I can see how you wouldn't understand. It's a spiritual matter and you're a rabid atheist who wants nothing more than to spend your time sniping at religious people on the internet. Not how I'd spend MY time if I were you, but hey...