“Forgiveness is elusive, mysterious, primal…an idea and an ache, which is rooted in existential concerns. But too often forgiveness is presented as a simplistic valentine celebrating New Age pieties: exhorting us to forgive and criticizing those who cannot as spiritual underachievers,†notes Helen Whitney. “My intention is to complicate this vitally important subject and to explore not only the power of forgiveness, but its limitations and dangers.†This book addresses the act of forgiveness, which is a theological principle central to all major religions, but is more and more frequently leaving the church, synagogue and mosque and hitting the fractious streets. Inevitably its new role in the world raises serious and complex questions: why is forgiveness in the air today; what does that say about us and the times we live in; what are its power, its limitations and in some instances its dangers; has it been cheapened or deepened … or both? Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate seeks to shed insight into the light and darkness – the presence and absence – of forgiveness. Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate illuminates the spontaneous demonstration of forgiveness following the 2006 shooting of Amish children in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; the struggle of ’60s radicals to cope with the consequences of violent acts of protest; the shattering of a family after the mother abandons her husband and children and then returns, seeking forgiveness; the legacy of post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in South Africa; the penitential journey of modern Germany, coming to terms with its history; and stories of survivors of the Rwandan genocide.
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FastPencil Premiere. Forgiveness
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
FOREWORD
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION: THE CHANGING FACE OF FORGIVENESS
FORGIVENESS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. AMISH GRACE: AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS
Judith Shaw-McKnight: THE THERAPY HOUR
Deb Lyman and David Long: REDEEMING INFIDELITY
Terri Jentz: THE POWER OF RIGHTEOUS ANGER
Don Robeson: THE DANGER OF RIGHTEOUS ANGER
Liesbeth Gerritsen and Dan Glick: THE LAST TABOO
Kathy Power: PERPETRATOR TURNED PENITENT
FORGIVENESS IN THE PUBLIC REALM. THE LANGUAGE OF PUBLIC APOLOGY
South Africa’s Search for Truth and Reconciliation: OWNING THE PAST
Germany’s Penitential Journey: FACING THE PAST
Rwanda Emerges from the Darkness: FORGIVING THE UNFORGIVABLE
CONCLUSION
HELEN WHITNEY BIOGRAPHY
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As this book is inextricably connected to the film upon which it is based, my gratitude extends to people involved in both the creation of the film and of the book. The title is the same for each: Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate.
Above all, I owe a particular debt to my executive producer, Paul Dietrich, who approached me four years ago with an offer to make a film and a companion book about forgiveness. His passion for the subject was an inducement. Equally so was his willingness to give me complete artistic freedom. I am also grateful to his business partner and executive producer, Ian Watson. He shared Paul’s passionate engagement with the subject and offered his encouragement throughout the long period it took me to bring both projects to completion.
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I had to relinquish material because of the time limit for the television series. Filmmakers describe this painful process as “throwing your babies overboard.” While the book still takes as its starting point the interviews, I have now been able to expand the voices, to rescue some of my ‘lost babies’ and even to include new material. I returned to brilliant intellectuals whose insights shaped my thinking but who were uncomfortable in front of the camera. In the new introductions and conclusions to each chapter, I have been able to move away from the minimalist haiku style of television narration into my new voice—fuller and more textured, allowing me to provide essential context and analysis.
Writing up these interviews and going back through the printed materials gave me a chance to walk my own walk, talk my own talk about “the ache for connection.” All my films have changed me. This one has been no different. It has taught me how much I had to learn about my own subject. It has sent me on errands of penance and reminded me of my own snares of pride. When penance has been offered to me, I have struggled to practice a deeper humility. And now, more than ever, I try to be alert to “the rumor of angels” that so often goes unnoticed in our own lives.
