Forgiveness and Interpretation

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between our interpretations of another's actions and our readiness to forgive. It begins by articulating an account of forgiveness drawn from the New Testament. It then employs the work of Schleiermacher, Dilthey, and Gadamer to investigate ways in which our interpretations of an act or agent can promote or prevent such forgiveness. It concludes with a discussion of some ethical restrictions that may pertain to the interpretation of actions or agents as opposed to utterances and a look at the significance of these restrictions for forgivenesspromoting interpretation.

A Critical Response to Heidi C. Giannini

“…To confine forgiveness to giving up resentment (which she also equates with anger and hatred), however, overlooks the essentially action‐directed and interpersonal nature of the doctrine of forgiveness in the New Testament. Glen Pettigrove (, 430) has correctly noted that “[o]ne of the first things likely to strike a contemporary western reader who investigates New Testament discussions of forgiveness is how little it appears to have to do with feelings and how much it has to do with actions and relationships.” He adds: “In the New Testament, forgiving is principally something one does and only derivatively something one feels.” The Christian theological meaning of forgiveness is to act and behave in a certain way toward others; it is, to use the language of J. L. Austin, “a performative utterance” (Austin ; , 233–52). Granted, it is to put away anger, but it is also to overlook the offense and to (re)establish positive relations.…”