Preview

Analysis of Forgiveness

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1057 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis of Forgiveness
“Forgiveness Is More Than Saying Sorry” “Forgiveness is a relational process whereby harmful conduct is acknowledged by one or both partners; the harmed partner extends undeserved mercy to the perceived transgressor; one or both partners experience a transformation from negative to positive psychological states, and the meaning of the relationship is renegotiated, with the possibility of reconciliation” (Waldron & Kelley 2008). There is no doubt that forgiveness is an extremely important topic for those of us who study personal relationships. Almost every relationship experiences dialectical tensions (conflicts between two important but opposing needs or desires) or some type of strain on a relationship (Floyd 2009). A time in which someone needs forgiveness arises from some sort of behavior harming a valued relationship, and if a person does not know how to forgive or refuses to forgive, then that has the potential to harm a friendship for forever. Through Waldron & Kelley’s book “Communicating Forgiveness”, they give an in-depth history of forgiveness, conceptualize forgiveness as communication, and offer path-breaking theory development, all through a Christian perspective.
History of Forgiveness Christian writings place a fully developed conceptual understanding of forgiveness between God and humankind; scripture emphasize the centrality of forgiveness as a means of reconciliation between God and humankind. It is argued that: The root is the figure of Abraham, the founder of the three main western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It was Abraham’s departure from Mesopotamia, both literally and figuratively, that provided the foundation to these religions. This foundation involves three main concepts: Creation is good, God is merciful, and we (created in God’s likeness) have a duty to imitate God and be merciful towards each other (Waldron & Kelley 2008).
In addition to this, as Christians, we are called to be Christ-like.



References: Floyd, K. (2009). Interpersonal communication: The whole story. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. NIV Quest study Bible (Revised ed.). (2003). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Waldron, Vincent R. & Kelley, Douglas L. (2008). Communicating forgiveness. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Wilson, S.D. (2001). Hurt people hurt people: Hope and healing for yourself and your relationships. Grand Rapids: Discovery House Publishers…

    • 1370 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The book Sunflower is based on the possibilities and limits to forgiveness , and it’s even in the title. The book talks about a young Simon Wiesenthal as he goes to a concentration camp. There he had seen all the horrible acts ,that we read about now, firsthand . While he was there he was put on duty to help a mortally wounded Nazi. As Simon is nursing the Nazi he hears about all the horrible acts that the man has committed. This whole time when the Nazi was on his deathbed Simon could not see how he could ever forgive this man.The…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel “Baygirl” by Heather Smith, the theme is that there is always room for forgiveness. Kit forgave her father even after everything he did and made her go through. Kit forgave her mother for her errors. And many people who Kit knew made mistakes and still she forgave every single one of them. If Kit can forgive all of these people in her life, I’m sure we can forgive many people as well. Kit’s example proves that forgiveness isn’t impossible, even to the hardest and most hurtful…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Magnuson and Enright provide research that show strong evidence for the benefits associated with using a “road map” to learn how to forgive someone and also on how to receive forgiveness. Their evidence suggests that those who have forgiven or received forgiveness also have significant reductions in anger, depression, anxiety, grief, and post-traumatic stress symptoms and increases in self-esteem, hope, positive attitudes, environmental mastery, and finding meaning in suffering . The model that is proposed consists of multiple levels of forgiveness education which takes place at fixed times throughout each year in order…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Guilt is considered as ‘’a painful emotion experienced when one believes one’s actions or thoughts have violated a moral or personal standard,’’ whereas, ‘’Forgiveness is to give up resentment against someone for an offense or fault’’ (TheFreeDictionary.com, 2017). In Scott Anderson’s novel, Triage (1998), explores many themes throughout the three main characters including guilt and forgiveness. Mark Walsh, a war photojournalist, recalls the emotional and physical trauma that he experienced during the Kurdistan War and develops a pathway to recovery; Elena Morales, Mark’s Spanish girlfriend, has cut all lines of communication with her grandfather, Joaquin Morales, after finding out about his career during the Spanish War and Joaquin looks for forgiveness from his granddaughter Elena and himself as he…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of forgive is to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake. However, there is a deeper meaning to this. Contrary to some of Harold S. Kushner’s statements, I believe that forgiveness is as beneficial for the victim of the crimes as it is for the offender. In fact, I am far more inclined to agree with Jose Hobday’s views. He states that…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nearly everyone has been hurt by the words or actions of others. These wounds can leave someone with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness, and vengeance. However, if one does not forgive, they can that is hurt the most. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the main character, Christopher Boone, shows the power of forgiveness. Even though his mother, Judy Boone, left him he still forgives her. Judy Boone’s actions were justified, she did not deem herself fit to be a mother at that time. Through the letters she shows remorse, she cares for Christopher and looks out for him, she also shows growth and maturity. Judy has changed and is better suited to be the mother figure Christopher never had before.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    rough draft

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive” (Green 218). In John Green’s, Looking for Alaska, Alaska and her friends are searching for the way of the “labyrinth” while finding their Great Perhaps at the same time.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cled

    • 1997 Words
    • 8 Pages

    34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will…

    • 1997 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coupled with my families' counsel and diverse insights from others, I read a book on moral injury written by Reverends Brock and Rebekah Ann Parker: Proverbs of Ashes. Following this reading I would cease letting anyone dictate how I feel, what I feel, how and when and if to forgive.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Albert Ellis

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page

    Explanation: I think it would be interesting to hear the class talk about what “true forgiveness” means, from their own worldview…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Papers

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages

    NOTE: When interviewing, first, thoroughly summarize the teachings of this chapter (Early & Gutierrez, Chapter 21 entitled, “Turning Your Hurts Into Helps”) for the one being interviewed in case they have not read the chapter for himself/herself. Then, ask interviewee to respond to the question as some phrases, words, concepts are explained in a particular way by Earley & Gutierrez.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I Believe in Forgiveness

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages

    I never really understood the meaning of forgiveness. When people hurt me or treat me badly I always thought the best way to handle it is to hold it in. I never showed anger on the outside but just kept it all in. Instead, I let it boil inside of me. My kind act toward those who hurt me was a shield from my pain. Most of my kind act was at my mother. I blamed my birth mother for every relationship I have ever been in that ended with my hurting the guy or me thinking I am just going to be like my mother and leave him for the next person. Over the years, her actions and mishaps became the victim for my own actions. The fact that I have not yet become a divorcee like her was justification for her being irresponsible, dishonest, and ungrateful. Throughout the years of struggle, dysfunctional relationships, and little to no relationship, I hardly took responsibility for anything that I had done. I laid all my relationship troubles on my birth mother. I call her my birth mother because I never grew up with her but I have met her from time to time. She gave me to my dad when I was seven years old because of another man. I blame my relationship trouble on her because she never had a solid relationship for me to learn from. She…

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Every day we are given a fresh start; another chance to move forward in our lives and accomplish the things we thrive to achieve day to day. A new day can also liberate us from our past mistakes and provide us with a chance to change our ways. We are all faced with misery and misfortune at points in our lives, some more than others. We must recognize that it is not the burden in itself that shapes who we are, but how well or how poorly we deal with the difficulties. Sometimes misfortunes can be seen in a negative light; because it seems unjust, therefore we response in a negative matter, and become negligent to change. Overcoming tragic events is what truly counts, for we are meant to live happily and in acceptance that there are things that we cannot change. In many cases, individuals seem to feel as though they’ve lost an amount so great that they are unable to free themselves of the pain. This perspective often leads to further suffering. A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahou and Kiss Me by Andrew Pyper demonstrate a loss of identity, negligence towards communication, and eventually leading to the destruction of a relationship.…

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Self Forgiveness

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This review article deals with the forgiveness of one’s-self. The article states that there are few definitions of self–forgiveness that can be found in the social sciences literature, but those that do exist emphasize self–love and respect in the face of one’s own wrongdoing. In the philosophy literature, self–forgiveness has been conceptualized as a show of goodwill toward the self while one clears the mind of the self–hatred and self–contempt that result from hurting another (Hall, & Fincham, 2005). My definition of self-forgiveness is when a person knows that something is wrong, but yet they go ahead and do it anyway. Later they start to have feelings of guilt and shame about what they did. These feelings do not go away just by ignoring them. The conscious mind will not allow them to forget what they did. Ultimately a person may feel so bad about what they have done, that the only option is to forgive one’s self. If this feeling is ignored, it can lead to continued feelings of guilt and shame as well as a feeling of condemnation.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays