I just had another article — “Forgiveness Is A Toxic Practice” — go live. Please check it out! Like many of my articles, this one goes against popular mores and has a potentially surprising take. Please read it here. Thanks!
Dr. Andrew Joseph Pegoda
Categories: Thoughts and Perspectives
Thought provoking! Shared with a friend whose best friend was murdered years ago. The murderer is on death row. It’s difficult for her and the family dealing with this idea of forgiveness. The murderer has expressed no remorse. (Even if he had, is it the family’s responsibility to forgive? Hmmm) Thanks for the article.
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Thank you. I hope she finds it helpful. I wrote this with people like her (and my dad) in mind, who feel very obligated to forgive.
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Very interesting article! I have always had trouble with this idea of forgiveness and I couldn’t quite articulate why. Your article perfectly framed my discomfort with the idea of forgiveness for grievous, traumatic, life altering incidents perpetuated by individuals. In many ways I think that the concept of forgiveness in today’s world often serves to give the powerful greater opportunities to exist in society as they are. Often it let’s the individual of the hook as well as letting society of the hook in its role in creating real life monsters. It makes me wonder where the concept of forgiveness originated from, who is it for and who in reality statistically benefits from it?
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Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Not sure of where the practice originated, but your question got me to thinking how the concept differs when translated between languages and cultures
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Fascinating, thought-provoking article. Job well done!
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Thank you, Rae!
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