Is there such a thing as "Christian Forgiveness"? Christians speak as though there is. But what would it be? How would it differ from forgiveness as a basic human enactment? And if there is a distinctive Christian forgiveness, what might it have to say to our world today? To answer these questions, the present work traverses three distinctive intellectual landscapes--continental philosophy, Anglo-American moral philosophy, and psychology--to establish a phenomenology of forgiving before turning to contemporary Christian literature. The multilayered dialogue that ensues challenges the assumptions of contemporary approaches--secular and Christian--and invites the reader to rethink the meaning of Christian forgiveness.

The United States has more people locked up in jails, prisons, and detention centers than any other country in the history of the world. Exploring the history and foundations of mass incarceration, Dominique Gilliard examines Christianity’s role in its evolution and expansion, assessing justice in light of Scripture, and showing how Christians can pursue justice that restores and reconciles.

God calls us to forgive those who have hurt us, but that's often easier said than done. Combining insights from his professional research and personal experience, Everett L. Worthington, Jr. shows what it takes (intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally) to move toward and beyond forgiveness and to cross the bridge to reconciliation.

Most evangelical Christians believe that those people who are not saved before they die will be punished in hell forever. But is this what the Bible truly teaches? Do Christians need to rethink their understanding of hell? In the late twentieth century, a growing number of evangelical theologians, biblical scholars, and philosophers began to reject the traditional doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell in favor of a minority theological perspective called conditional immortality. This view contends that the unsaved are resurrected to face divine judgment, just as Christians have always believed, but due to the fact that immortality is only given to those who are in Christ, the unsaved do not exist forever in hell. Instead, they face the punishment of the "second death"--an end to their conscious existence. This volume brings together excerpts from a variety of well-respected evangelical thinkers, including John Stott, John Wenham, and E. Earl Ellis, as they articulate the biblical, theological, and philosophical arguments for conditionalism. These readings will give thoughtful Christians strong evidence that there are indeed compelling reasons for rethinking hell.

The meaning of ‘forgiveness’ and its role within restorative justice are highly contested. This book offers analysis from practical and academic perspectives within Christian theology, against a rich canvas of related concepts, including victimhood, sin, love, and vulnerability. Critical friends of restorative justice, the authors argue that forgiveness – whether as journey or act, unilateral or mutual, conditional or unconditional – is necessary to achieving a fully restorative resolution to acts of harm. They also suggest that Christianity, with its meaning-giving metanarrative of restoration, and preference for communitarian approaches to justice, may have epistemic value for evaluating and even deepening the theory and practice of restorative justice.

Adam and Eve in Scripture, Theology, and Literature: Sin, Compassion, and Forgiveness is an extended consideration of the narrative of Adam and Eve, first seen in the Hebrew Bible but given new life by St. Paul in the New Testament. Paul’s treatment of Adam and Eve, especially his designation of Christ as a second Adam, has had an enormous influence in Christianity. Peter Ely follows this rich narrative as it develops in history, providing the basis of the doctrine of original sin in Christianity, giving rise in modern times to theological speculation, and entering thematically into mysticism and literature. The power of the adamic narrative can only be realized if one treats it as a true but non-historical myth. The “truth” of the myth lies in its ability to stimulate thinking and so reveal the depths of human experience. Augustine understood that, so did Julian of Norwich, and even the Belgian author of mystery stories, Georges Simenon, who had a deep sense of the universality of human weakness and the possibilities of redeeming what was lost. Simenon’s detective Maigret saw himself as a “mender of destinies.” The doctrine of original sin, the notion that human beings share a common vulnerability, can open the way to compassion and forgiveness. As Shakespeare illustrates in Measure for Measure, the awareness of weakness in ourselves should move us to compassion for others. The recognition of a kind of “democracy of sin” can keep us from considering ourselves better than others, unlike them in their weakness, and entitled to stand in judgment of them. Thus, compassion opens the door to forgiveness. The progress from sin to compassion to forgiveness forms the heart of this work.

The Philosophy of Forgiveness, Volume III: Forgiveness in World Religions is a collection of essays that explores the philosophy of forgiveness in different religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Each chapter scours one of these religions for insights on the concept of forgiveness, asking questions such as whether forgiveness is a virtue, whether it is conditional, whether God has standing to forgive, and whether it is permissible not to forgive some extreme wrongs. In some of the chapters, the concept of forgiveness in one religion is compared with that in another. In other chapters, the ideas of different traditions within a religion are compared and contrasted. Also, some chapters compare a religious concept to the views of a philosophical figure, such as Aristotle, Kant, or Derrida. The contributors to the volume come from various cultural and religious backgrounds and from different disciplines, such as philosophy, religious studies, and psychology. The collection is written for scholars, graduate students, and upper-division undergraduate students interested in forgiveness or comparative religious philosophy.

'The Philosophy of Forgiveness, Volume III: Forgiveness in World Religions' is a collection of essays that explores the philosophy of forgiveness in different religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Each chapter scours one of these religions for insights on the concept of forgiveness, asking questions such as whether forgiveness is a virtue, whether it is conditional, whether God has standing to forgive, and whether it is permissible not to forgive some extreme wrongs. In some of the chapters, the concept of forgiveness in one religion is compared with that in another. In other chapters, the ideas of different traditions within a religion are compared and contrasted. Also, some chapters compare a religious concept to the views of a philosophical figure, such as Aristotle, Kant, or Derrida. The contributors to the volume come from various cultural and religious backgrounds and from different disciplines, such as philosophy, religious studies, and psychology. The collection is written for scholars, graduate students, and upper-division undergraduate students interested in forgiveness or comparative religious philosophy.

Forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian Gospel. It goes hand in hand with love, mercy, and grace, the fundamental theological virtues. However, forgiveness is easier to define than it is to embody. This unique collection of essays brings together theologians, ethicists, and ministry practitioners into a constructive dialog which explores the complex and crucial concept of forgiveness: what it is, where it is to be found, and how it might be practiced. These essays reflect the perspectives of those from various traditions who nonetheless take the Christian Scriptures seriously, believe that forgiveness is central to living out the Gospel, and are creative in the ways in which forgiveness can be practiced. Forgiveness is an art and not simply a science; as such it requires trust, skill, and hope alongside love, mercy, and grace if it is to be embodied. This volume offers a unique window into the art of forgiveness and the faithful and innovative ways in which it is to be understood, embodied, and cultivated.

For years Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today's premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community's hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life, not only after death but before it.