What is Forgiveness? (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Religious Studies): Revision Note

Forgiveness

• Forgiveness means to grant pardon for a wrongdoing — to give up resentment and the desire to seek revenge against a wrongdoer

• Forgiveness enables people to acknowledge wrongdoing and rebuild relationships

• Many religious and non-religious people believe that forgiveness is important to resolve conflict and bring peace

• All religions teach about the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation,the process of accepting the apology, forgiving and moving forward together in harmony

Christian attitudes to forgiveness

• Forgiveness is central to Christian belief and behaviour

• Christians see forgiveness as part of agape love, following the example of Jesus

• Christians believe forgiveness is linked to justice because God is both just and merciful

  • Christians try to reflect God’s mercy by forgiving others

Jesus’s teachings on forgiveness

• Jesus taught that forgiveness should have no limits

• This means Christians should forgive repeatedly and freely

• Forgiveness is also taught in the Lord’s Prayer, in which Christians ask God to “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”

  • This means Christians can only expect God’s forgiveness if they forgive others

• Jesus also warned that refusing to forgive breaks a person’s relationship with God:

• Jesus also used parables to teach how important forgiveness is

• The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–24) shows that God welcomes back those who repent, no matter what they have done

  • A son demands his inheritance from his father and abandons the family home to seek his fortune but wastes his money

  • When he returns years later, poor and hungry, his father forgives him and welcomes him back, despite everything

• The Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21–35) teaches that Christians must forgive others because God forgives them

  • A servant is forgiven for owing money, yet he does not forgive another who owes him money

• Both parables show God as loving and merciful, so Christians should show mercy too

Jesus’s examples of forgiveness

• The actions of Jesus offer an example of forgiveness that Christians are expected to follow

• Jesus forgave those who crucified him, saying on the cross:

• Jesus forgave the adulterous woman and encouraged her to change her life, saying, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:1–11)

• Jesus brought reconciliation to Zacchaeus the tax collector, helping him repent and put things right (Luke 19:1–10)

Forgiveness, repentance and reconciliation

• Many Christians believe forgiveness and repentance should go together

• If someone is genuinely sorry, Christians believe they should forgive that person and try to restore peace

• Jesus taught about the importance of showing forgiveness and mercy to others, telling his followers in the Beatitudes that God would reward them for doing so:

• Jesus also told people to put relationships right before they worshipped God:

Different Christian denominations

• All Christians agree that forgiveness is essential, but they differ in how they believe God’s forgiveness is received

• Catholic Christians believe forgiveness is supported through the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession)

  • People confess their sins and take on acts of penance, such as saying prayers

  • God’s forgiveness is granted through the priest’s pardon

• Evangelical Christians believe God forgives directly through personal prayer and faith, not through a priest

Christian forgiveness in action

• One example of forgiveness based on Christian faith is Gee Walker

  • She is the mother of Anthony Walker, who was murdered in Liverpool in 2005 in a racially motivated attack

  • She forgave her son’s killers following the teachings of her Christian faith

  • She said:

• A second example is Archbishop Desmond Tutu

  • He was an Anglican Bishop who campaigned for civil rights in South Africa during the racist apartheid regime

  • He led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help restore the country after apartheid, using the principles of forgiveness and restoration

  • He believed that there was a need to ask for, offer and accept forgiveness

  • He said:

Muslim attitudes to forgiveness

• Islam teaches that forgiveness is essential for maintaining peace, justice and good relationships

• There are two kinds of forgiveness: Allah’s forgiveness and human forgiveness

  • Humans need both because they make mistakes towards both God and others

Forgiveness from Allah

• Allah’s forgiveness has no limits, especially towards anyone who sincerely repents

• Muslims believe Allah is “Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”

• The Qur’an teaches about Allah’s forgiveness to those who sincerely repent

• Muslims believe that suffering or hardship may be a reminder to turn back to Allah:

• This means that although people sin, Allah forgives far more than he punishes

• A Muslim asks directly for forgiveness through dua (personal prayer)

  • There is no priest or intermediary for asking for forgiveness in Islam

Forgiveness between people

• Human forgiveness is the process of people forgiving each other in their daily lives

• Islam teaches that all humans will make errors, but repentance and forgiveness:

  • Help to restore peace 

  • Help to mend relationships

  • Strengthen the ummah

  • Are seen as a moral duty

  • Are seen as a sign of strong faith

• As Allah is merciful, Muslims should also try to be merciful

• Muslims follow the example of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who forgave even those who treated him cruelly

  • An example is when he cared for the elderly woman who had thrown rubbish at him when she later became ill

• Muslims believe that forgiving others leads to forgiveness from Allah:

• The Hadith also teaches that Allah will reward examples of forgiveness:

• While Muslims have the right to seek qisas (retribution) in serious cases such as murder, the Qur’an encourages forgiveness first wherever possible

  • This helps restore relationships and uphold peace in the community

• Although most sins can be forgiven if a person sincerely repents, some Muslims believe that some of the most serious sins, known as “shirk”, may not be forgiven if the person does not repent before death

Muslim forgiveness in action

• One example of forgiveness based on the Muslim faith is Khaled Hosseini

  • He is an Afghan-born doctor and author of The Kite Runner

  • Many of Hosseini’s family members in Afghanistan were imprisoned or disappeared

  • He moved to America and became a Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

  • He set up a nonprofit organisation to provide shelter for refugee families and support Afghan citizens, called the Khalid Hosseini Foundation

  • He said:

Humanist attitudes to forgiveness

• Humanists do not base their attitudes towards forgiveness on God or religious teachings

  • They rely on reason, human experience and the belief that good relationships are essential for human happiness

• Humanists believe forgiveness is important because:

  • Everyone makes mistakes

  • Everyone is capable of selfish behaviour

  • Everyone benefits when relationships are repaired rather than broken

  • It helps to reduce conflict and improve cooperation in society

• Humanists often use the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated. This means they try to forgive mistakes, let go of anger and accept differences in others

• Humanists argue that forgiveness comes from:

  • Compassion: understanding why someone acted a certain way

  • Empathy: putting yourself in someone else’s position

  • Common sense: realising that holding on to resentment only damages oneself

• However, forgiveness has limits

  • It should not replace justice

  • People must take responsibility for their actions

  • Harmful behaviour cannot simply be ignored

  • Some actions may be so inhuman that forgiveness feels impossible

• In these cases, the best response may be to focus on preventing the harm from happening again rather than forcing forgiveness