Abstract
In the body of research on an ethics of forgiveness, scholars differ about the place of remembrance in the act of forgiveness. One line of thought follows the argument of the philosopher Nietzsche, who maintained that people cannot live in the present when they are prisoners of the past. Without forgetting, the human species would have to relive the past continuously, and would never live in the present moment. Without forgetting, there can be no future. An opposite opinion follows the argument of Wiesel, who said that he discovered that only memory could help him to reclaim his humanity after the inhumanity of the Holocaust. What is therefore the relation between forgiveness and forgetfulness? This article deals with this question from a Christian ethical perspective. With a biblical-theological hermeneutical model as angle of approach, the investigation focuses on the evidence provided, in this regard, by the institution and meaning of the relevant feasts in the biblical history. These are the Passover, the Feast of the Huts, the Feast of Purim and the Lord’s Supper. The study reaches the conclusion that remembrance is an essential part of forgiveness, and should be a core ingredient in socio-political transition.
Highlights
Remembrance is an essential part of the process of healing in socio-political transition
A leader in the discourse about transitional justice, holds the same opinion. He says the following about the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa: The emphasis was on a common memory that would allow all South Africans to agree that this did happen, and that it must never happen again; that despite our divisions and differences, we can and must work together
HTS 322 remembrance in a Christian ethics of forgiveness?’ The central theoretical argument of this investigation is that remembering the past in the act of forgiveness is essential for renewing the present and planning the future
Summary
Remembrance is an essential part of the process of healing in socio-political transition. A leader in the discourse about transitional justice, holds the same opinion He says the following about the work of the TRC in South Africa: The emphasis (in the South African process) was on a common memory that would allow all South Africans to agree that this did happen, and that it must never happen again; that despite our divisions and differences, we can and must work together. HTS 322 (page number not for citation purposes) remembrance in a Christian ethics of forgiveness?’ The central theoretical argument of this investigation is that remembering the past in the act of forgiveness is essential for renewing the present and planning the future. The main tenets of such an ethics of forgiveness have to be outlined by way of an introduction to the main topic under discussion
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