Crossroads of forgiveness: a transcendent understanding of forgiveness in Kierkegaard\u2019s religious writings and immanent account of forgiveness in contemporary secular and Christian ethics

Andrzej Słowikowski

doi:10.1007/s11153-019-09733-y

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to clash the problem of forgiveness as formulated in contemporary secular and Christian ethics with Kierkegaard’s considerations concerning this issue. Kierkegaard’s thought is increasingly used in the modern debate on forgiveness. It is therefore worth investigating whether Kierkegaard’s considerations are really able to overcome in any way contemporary disputes concerning this problem or enrich our thinking in this area. The main thesis of this paper states that there is a fundamental, ontological difference between Kierkegaard’s understanding of forgiveness and that of modern thinkers. While the Danish philosopher refers to the transcendent reality of spirit, where the act of forgiveness is always performed by God, in contemporary ethical and Christian thought, forgiveness is first and foremost formulated from an immanent point of view that appeals to the world of human values. This difference is demonstrated by analyzing the four main themes corresponding to the most important issues taken up in the contemporary debate on forgiveness. These are: the victim-offender relation, the conditionality and unconditionality of forgiveness, the issue of condonation, and the problem of the unforgivable. As a result of the analyses presented herein, the impossibility of directly applying Kierkegaard’s transcendent theses to ethical thought of the immanent variety will be shown.

Highlights

The issue of forgiveness has been hotly debated in the last few decades in the context of secular and Christian thought
The aim of this article is in reference to the four aforementioned topics, to show the most important differences between Kierkegaard’s account of forgiveness as found in his religious writings and those arising from contemporary secular ethics and Christian ethics
Kierkegaard repeatedly makes use of the dialectic of rigorousness and leniency to describe man’s relation to God as given by Christianity. He claims that only if man relates to himself with rigorousness, that is, only if he makes an effort to make himself aware of his sin to go on to look for redemption from it–only can he count on the Christian leniency that attaining forgiveness of one’s sins provides (Kierkegaard 1990, pp. 72–73, 340, 1997b, pp. 128–134)

Summary

Introduction

The issue of forgiveness has been hotly debated in the last few decades in the context of secular and Christian thought. Since there exists a basic discrepancy between the ethical understanding of forgiveness and Kierkegaard’s account thereof, the question arises as to whether such approaches are valid. This discrepancy arises from the remarkable seriousness and radicalness with which Kierkegaard treated the truth of Christianity. It is not a difference in views, but a difference of ontology–one that concerns how to understand man’s being, his essence, and the point and meaning of human existence

Objectives

Conclusion