The Will to Forgive: A Pastoral Theological View of Forgiving

Abstract

Defines forgiving as a process of reframing in which the restoration of integrity to one's self and one's relationships to others and to God is a central process. Sees this process of forgiving in four stages: (1) judgment vs. denial, (2) humility vs. humiliation, (3) opportunity of mutuality and negotiation, and (4) actualization of a new sense of awareness and perception. Provides cases illustrating the will to forgive and the failure of the will to forgive.