StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Why Should We Forgive Others - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Different religions in the world teach on the aspect of religion, with different definitions of what is forgiveness. Forgiveness generally means someone letting go negative thoughts for wrongs done for the purpose of reconciliation…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.8% of users find it useful
Why Should We Forgive Others
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Why Should We Forgive Others"

Why Should We Forgive Others? Different religions in the world teach on the aspect of religion, with different definitions ofwhat is forgiveness. Forgiveness generally means someone letting go negative thoughts for wrongs done for the purpose of reconciliation. In Christianity which is a western religion, teaching about forgiveness takes a very central role in the spiritual life of the Christian adherent. The teaching is that, if we expect God to forgive us, we must in turn forgive our fellow man when they wrong us.

This is best expressed in what is known as the Lord’s Prayer in Mathew 6:9-13 where the Christian petitions God to forgive him just as they forgive others. This is as a precondition that if we expect God to forgive us, we have a part to play in forgiving others as it is narrated in Mathew 6:15. We also find the example of a Christian who practiced forgiveness during the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:60 where Stephen prayed and said ‘lay not this sin to their charge’, words almost similar to the ones uttered by Jesus Christ at His crucifixion, ‘forgive them for they know not what they do’, speaking about His crucifiers, yet He had committed no sin, Luke 23:34.

This shows that a Christian who forgives is following the example of the author of Christianity, Jesus Christ. The Bible also teaches about turning your other cheek and giving your coat as well to someone who takes your cloak as it continues to express the virtue of forgiveness, Luke 6: 27-31. The Bible also talks about God’s demonstration of love in that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world while man was still a sinner (Bash, 2007). This is the Christian type of the perfect type of forgiveness that believers should portray, that which someone is supposed to offer not because you are requested but because not forgiving goes against the will of God.

It is a type of forgiveness where someone is ready to pay a sacrifice to restore peace and fellowship with the other person, following the example of Christianity’s model, Jesus Christ. While forgiveness is not an easy choice, especially when we have been falsely accused or wronged, Christian teaching shows then that it is driven by the Christians desire to be obedient to God. This s important because it is sometimes difficult to forgive but, the Christian faith teaches that what is impossible to man is possible with God, implying that the Christian can draw strength from God so as to forgive.

To the Christian then, forgiveness is important because, it is a considered as a spiritual principle that will trigger the forgiveness of God when the Christian will go against the will of God. To the person who forgives, it releases them from the grip of sin, since failure to forgive is considered as sin. That is why Jesus said that people should forgive those who wrong them seventy times seven times daily, so that we do not harbor sin in our lives, Math 18:22. Sikhism which is an eastern religion also has extensive teachings about forgiveness.

It teaches that forgiveness is an antidote for anger or a way to remove anger. It teaches that forgiveness is triggered by compassion towards the person who has wronged you. The forgiveness act is taught by the Sikhism religion to be divinely inspired but not the work or the result of human effort. If it was by personal effort, the Sikhs believe, it would bring about pride which would hamper spiritual progress (Morrison and Singh, 2007). The teachings continue that anger and forgiveness are opposites which cannot dwell in a person together at any given time.

Anger they believe, is the accumulation of unfulfilled desire, explaining that when someone does what we want, we have feelings of love for them while if they do not, we have feelings of anger towards them. This can make our hearts angry, bitter or offended, but when someone learns to meditate on the teachings of Sikhism, the hurt ego and anger are naturally changed to exhibit compassion and forgiveness (Morrison and Singh, 2007). Some key verses in the Guru Granth Sahib the scriptures of the Sikh religion portray some teachings and believes about forgiveness, ‘to practice forgiveness is fasting, good conduct and contentment’- Guru Arjan Dev, page 223.

Another states that ‘where there is forgiveness, there God resides’- Kabir, page 137. Another verse states, ‘dispelled is anger as forgiveness is grasped- (Guru Amar Das, page 233). In my opinion, the teachings of most eastern religions, Sikhism included seems to lean more on psychological explanations as they teach about why people should forgive others while western religions like Christianity, Judaism and others relate forgiveness to moral reasons. However, all the religions see forgiveness as vital in creating peace among people.

References Bash, A. (2007). Forgiveness and Christian Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McCullough, M. E., Pargament, K. I. and Thoresen, C. E. (2001). Forgiveness: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York. Guilford Press Morrison, D and Singh, A. (2007). Forgiveness in Different Religions. Retrieved on June 28, 2012 from: http://nexusnovel.wordpress.com/2007/01/03/forgiveness-in-different-religions/

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Why Should We Forgive Others Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Why Should We Forgive Others Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/religion-and-theology/1453807-why-should-we-forgive-others
(Why Should We Forgive Others Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Why Should We Forgive Others Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/religion-and-theology/1453807-why-should-we-forgive-others.
“Why Should We Forgive Others Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/religion-and-theology/1453807-why-should-we-forgive-others.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Why Should We Forgive Others

Christians Belief of Compassion in Socioeconomic Issues

Globalization has further caused a shift in social morality with major morality conflicts resulting due to abortion, prostitution and drug abuse among others.... Name: Title: Course: Tutor: Date: Christians' Belief of Compassion in Socioeconomic Issues Background of Issue This paper focuses on socioeconomic issues as the current issues related to religious beliefs and identifies how the belief Christians hold of Jesus would be employed to confront them....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

How Do We Forgive Our Fathers (Poem)

Name Instructor Class 8 July 2013 Masculinity and Fatherhood in Lourie's “How Do we forgive Our Fathers” When a boy grows up in a man's world, is he better off because of it?... In the poem “How Do we forgive Our Fathers,” Dick Lourie discusses the strengths and weaknesses of fathers, with emphasis on their faults.... The first line states: “How do we forgive our Fathers?... It states: “Do we forgive our Fathers for leaving us too often or forever” (Lourie 3)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

A Metaphysical Analysis of The Paradox of Forgiveness

Thus, he goes beyond and argues that “to forgive is to deliberately refuse to punish” (Zaibert 368).... We merely choose or decide whether or nor to forgive on the basis of deliberating on a guilty person's punishment.... If we choose to forgive the person, we thus avoid punishment.... In doing so, I shall focus on his definition of forgiveness as a pure mental act, in relation to his defense that to forgive a person is to intentionally refuse to punish that person....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Forgivness

As much as the Amish also shun violence, their religious beliefs teach them to conceal their affairs from the rest of the world and forgiveness is a The Amish schoolhouse shooting was an unfortunate event that happened in 2006 and that left five dead and a number of others wounded.... To the Amish, forgiveness is a religious duty because they believe that God forgives them and requires them to do the same to others.... They teach their children to forgive by showing them that reporting others to the law when they are wronged is not the right way and that they would rather show unconditional love to them through the act of forgiveness (Clark 136)....
2 Pages (500 words) Admission/Application Essay

How Does Jesus Resolve the Problem of Suffering

By praying, we seek God's forgiveness of our sins and we in turn forgive others.... He is merciful enough and is always ready to forgive everyone who seeks his mercy.... By praying, we give honor to the Lord, who in turn assures us that He will always answer our prayers when we due: Theology What is sin?... By praying, we give honor to the Lord, who in turn assures us that He will always answer our prayers when we pray....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Life and Deeds of Jesus in the Book of Mark

It also tells that they some who believed in preaching and others who were there just to criticize what he taught.... They said the only one who had the authority to forgive sin was God alone.... Lastly, it states that the son of god (Jesus) can forgive sins....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Analysis of Picking Cotton - Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption

hellip; The book will indeed change my views of others.... The paper "Analysis of Picking Cotton - Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption" discusses that the memoir by Jennifer and Ronald is referred to as a New York bestseller.... It is a tale of courage and a powerful illustration of the problems that are rife as far as eyewitness identification is concerned....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness

As a reviewer of this story and the incident narrated by Karl, I would prefer to forgive a man who has reached the penultimate phase of his life owing to the pain through which he was going after the shell exploded beside him.... The paper "The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness" discusses the style of the story where the narration and confession evoked mixed feelings in the mind of the author who had been trying to relate the incident through a series of montages and reminisces about his family and the reality of war much of which centered on the brutality on the Jews....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us