Are Christians Obliged not to Forgive? A Response to Martin (1997)
In contrast to the prevailing wisdom of many Christian and secular psychologists, biblical studies scholar T. Martin (1997) claims that a Christian has an obligation not to forgive an unrepentant offender. In this article, I analyze each of his points, offer more evidence from the writings of the ea...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage Publishing
2000
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| In: |
Journal of psychology and theology
Year: 2000, Volume: 28, Issue: 1, Pages: 36-42 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | In contrast to the prevailing wisdom of many Christian and secular psychologists, biblical studies scholar T. Martin (1997) claims that a Christian has an obligation not to forgive an unrepentant offender. In this article, I analyze each of his points, offer more evidence from the writings of the early Church, and reach the following conclusion: Although we must always remember that reconciliation between victim and offender is the goal in Christian relationships, subtle distinctions between God's forgiveness of humans or the Church's reconciliation with offenders (on the one hand) and forgiveness between two individual Christians (on the other hand) allow us to maintain that Christians can and should forgive unrepentant offenders, at least as forgiveness is defined in the psychological tradition. I end with a series of forgiveness-related challenges and questions for scholars in biblical studies, theology, and psychology. |
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| ISSN: | 2328-1162 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of psychology and theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/009164710002800103 |