The art of forgiveness: Theological reflections on healing and reconciliation

Abstract

Can the theological ideas of forgiveness and reconciliation have any political relevance, given the massive inhumanities of our time, of which Auschwitz remains the most horrifying symbol? Reconciliation is a word that springs lightly from the mouths of politicians and pundits, perhaps because it never seems to have much concrete content. Forgiveness is a concept that seems shorn of its roots by the gradual disappearance of the sense of sinning against God and of the need for penance -- reducing forgiveness to a social convention (as in 'Pardon me!'). The thought that either of these theological ideas might have some political relevance seems thoroughly unconvincing in the light of the apparently unforgivable horrors of our time. This book grows out of the conviction that, as the author says, "it is necessary to think about forgiveness not in spite of Auschwitz but because of Auschwitz." Drawing on the Bible and church history, Geiko Müller-Fahrenholz shows how the idea of forgiveness has been distorted, abused and largely lost, and why it is so important to reclaim this healing art, not only in personal relations but especially in the relations between nations and peoples