Chapter 7: Forgiveness

I. Nice in theory, hard to practice
    A. We argue from difficult cases.
    B. Begin with something easier: a family member or co-worker.
II. To love as one loves self
    A. One loves self, not because one is nice or lovable.
    B. Hate the sin but not the sinner.
    C. We love ourselves despite our sins and failures, constantly forgiving ourselves.
    D. We ought to hate evil, but we can hope that the sinner, like ourselves, is not entirely evil.
III. Hatred and hope
    A. Hatred wrongly directed destroys.
    B. Hatred consumes our universe.
    C. Even of the worst person, one can hope for a better ultimate outcome.
IV. Problem with 6th Commandment
    A. The Hebrew word is “murder”.
    B. One is not prohibited from justifiable killing.
    C. The key is not to hate, when killing is necessary.
V. The meaning of loving our enemy
    A. To love someone means to wish his good, as we wish our own good.
    B. God wants us to love all selves the way we love ourselves.
    C. God love us in this way.

Discussion Questions: (pp. 115-120)
    1. Dag Hammarskjöld wrote, “Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who ‘forgives’ you—out of love—takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice.” [Markings, tr. Leif Sjöberg & W. H. Auden, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1964 (post.), p. 197] Does this idea conform to Lewis’s idea of forgiveness? Jesus’s idea? (pp. 115-116)
    2. Does hope help us to separate the sin from the sinner? (pp. 117-118)
    3. “I can forgive, but I can’t forget.” How is this idea related to Christian forgiveness? (p. 120)