Posted for Elvira Hernandez, Section 13
Forgiveness and Its Importance
By definition, forgiveness is the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. Why is forgiveness so important? Forgiveness is important for the well-being of humanity. Without forgiveness, the world would be chaotic. People would perform in acts of revenge; targeting one another. However, the act of forgiveness not only serves to better the world, but it also helps relief the pain within ourself. Christianity and Nietzsche
Forgiveness is a heavily taught in the religion of Christianity. There are many examples in the bible about forgiveness. In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." Forgiveness is crucial in Christianity; followers must forgive those who hurt them; there is no limit to how many times an individual should forgive; it’s a recurrent action. But you may ask why is forgiveness so important in christianity. There’s a heavy emphasize in forgiveness because God forgives us for our sins, and he let his own son die for our sins. All in all, in Chirstianity, forgiveness serves to better our individual self and serve the world and our communities well-being. For Friedrich Nietzsche, in order forgive and/or ask for forgiveness, one must have complete knowledge of his/her actions. For Nietzsche, forgiving without knowledge is meaningless. Rather than taking the Christianity approach of forgiveness, Nietzsche viewed forgiveness as relief of all anger the forgiver might have towards the forgiven. Unlike Christianity, the forgiver has to explicitly know what he or she is forgiving. The act of forgiving is mainly effective for the forgiver.
Christianity is a loving religion. One of the 10 Commandments is to love your enemy. Thus, when one is forgiving, all background knowledge should be ignored; one must simply learn how to forgive and have faith that, if needed, God will do justice. On the other hand, Nietzsche believes that forgiveness without knowledge serves more harm than good because one can easily say “I forgive you” but live their daily life re-thinking about the incident in which they were hurt (either physically or emotionally) and think of ways they could have gotten revenge. Personal Reflection
The way one approaches forgiveness depends on what one values. It is argued to be good for one’s health because it helps alleviate from wounds and grudges. However, there is that saying of “forgive and forget” but I would argue that it is easier to forgive than it is to forget. Forgiveness to me is meaningful and has a strong purpose; it’s a virtue. When I forgive others for wrongdoings, I let go of any grudges and sadness because that is what I expect of others when I ask for forgiveness. I take forgiveness as a tool to make better relationships with others; it brings people closer.
Quiz: 1. Why is forgiveness heavily taught in Christianity?
2. What does Nietzsche believe one must have before forgiving? 3. Why is forgiveness good for the world? Discussion Questions:
1. Do you believe there is a certain limit to forgiveness? If so, how much and explain. 2. Do you believe it is possible to forgive without complete knowledge? Why? 3. Do you believe forgiveness is important for the well-being of the world? Or is it a
meaningless action? Why? 4. Do you believe that forgiveness is good for an individuals health? Why?
Sources: https://psychologenie.com/forgiveness-precondition-of-love https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z2b36yc/revision/1 http://www.philosophicaleggs.com/?p=286 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2008/nov/24/philosophy-religion-nietzsche-gi rard
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Forgiveness is self-redemptive, but can be extraordinarily hard and heroic. Imagine forgiving someone who injured or murdered a loved one, as (for instance) some of the survivors of the Charleston hate-murders have done. But not to forgive is to live with a festering wound. As you say, though, as hard as it is to forgive it can be harder to forget. Nor should we forget. But we should try to dissolve the pointless anger. Nietzsche was an angry philosopher, not evidently a very happy one.
ReplyDeleteMartha Nussbaum, who is of Jewish heritage, has written a wonderful book on this subject: "Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice"
“Being a human means accepting promises from other people and trusting that other people will be good to you. When that is too much to bear, it is always possible to retreat into the thought, “I’ll live for my own comfort, for my own revenge, for my own anger, and I just won’t be a member of society anymore.” That really means, “I won’t be a human being anymore.”
Section 13:
ReplyDelete1. Forgiveness is heavily taught in Christianity because God forgave forgives everyone for their sins.
I do believe that there is a limit to forgiveness. I don't think that I would ever be able to forgive someone that injured me or my family. I don't think someone should get a free pass to do whatever they want to as long as somebody forgives them.
It should be easy for an infinite god to forgive finite humans for the sins due to the human nature he endowed them with, they're his to begin with. Far more impressive and often incomprehensible is for good humans to forgive those who've inflicted injury, suffering, and murder.
Deletei believe forgiveness is important too not every action deserves the same amount of time to heal or to receive forgiveness but forgiveness should also be what we strive for. whether it be for stealing, lying, or fighting forgiveness is one of the biggest steps in ending any feud.
ReplyDeleteI believe that forgiveness is extremely important to our health. I think that holding grudges and not letting things go causes stress and tension on our bodies. If we forgive, our body is able to relax and we are mentally more stable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the post above. forgiveness allows us to live in peace within ourselves. If not, I think people could be thinking in a loop. Like sometimes they might forget about whatever they are holding a grudge on but eventually that thought comes back constantly.
ReplyDeleteSection 12
ReplyDeleteI think people should be more open to the idea of forgiveness in their life to help benefit their physical and mental health. Studies have found that some people are just naturally more forgiving. Consequently, they tend to be more satisfied with their lives and to have less depression, anxiety, stress, anger and hostility. People who hang on to grudges, however, are more likely to experience severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other health conditions.