Volf and Barron on Forgiveness
When I was writing my Master’s thesis on purgatory in ecumenical dialogue, I was fortunate to stumble across the work of the evangelical scholar Mirsoslav Volf. Volf, with his elegant reflections on the Last Judgment, proved to be the perfect evangelical interlocutor for the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. I sometimes joke that he wrote my fourth chapter for me. One of the many gems from Volf that made it into my thesis was this one, on the meaning of forgiveness:
We seriously misunderstand forgiveness . . . if we understand it as acting “as if the sin was not there” . . . There can be no redemption unless the truth about the world is told and justice is done. To treat sin as if it were not there, when in fact it is there, amounts to living as if the world were redeemed when in fact it is not. (Volf, Exclusion and Embrace, 298)
I was reminded both of my own work and of this quote from Volf when I watched Father Barron’s reflections on today’s readings and 9/11:
Brett Salkeld is a doctoral student in theology at Regis College in Toronto. He is a father of two (so far) and husband of one. He is the author of Can Catholics and Evangelicals Agree about Purgatory and the Last Judgment?
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This is a very interesting concept, that of Forgiveness of enemies, of people who do terrible acts. The idea that we view the terrorists not as some subhuman creatures worthy of destroying, but rather of flawed sinful brethren in need of forgiveness. The homily at Mass yesterday was very similar to this. It is a hard concept. In an abstract philosophical or academic discussion it all flows nicely off the lips, and makes good sense. When faced with the harm done to friends or family members, it becomes more difficult. The example of the Amish families and their outreach to the family of the man who killed their children not so long ago is an interesting thing to watch. People were amazed at it, even people whose Christian faith calls for just such action. Quite honestly, I’m not sure I could do it…and I pray I’m never in that situation.
I think that’s why Volf’s insight, that forgiveness is not the same as ignoring evil, is essential. His whole book really is fantastic on this whole issue. But mine is shorter. ;)
I’ve always liked that concept. Heaven cannot be a whitewash. Putting a white cloth over a steaming pile may trick our eyes, but the smell will remain.
Later in his section on Embrace Volf explains that in order for the act of forgiveness to be complete a certain kind of forgetting is necessary – in order to heal the afflicted memory – he admits that this kind of forgetting may be an eschatological reality as opposed to an earthly one, but its worth adding here all the same.
This forgetting, of course, is not immediate but a future act necessary to complete the process of forgiveness and free the victim from the cycle of mutual exclusion.