The Christian concept of forgiveness and religious education facing the problem of individualism

ABSTRACT

The analysis undertaken in this article pertain to the challenge faced by education, which consists of overcoming the negative aspects of contemporary individualism, such as the building of instrumental relationships by people maturing in a culture permeated with it. Consequently, there is limited responsibility taken for the other people co-creating these relationships. The author puts forward the thesis that the Christian concept of forgiveness is an appropriate point of reference for reflection on the nature of interpersonal relationships and the issue of responsibility for other people, even when they are weak and their behaviour is the cause of disappointment and regret. The main part of the analysis was devoted to understanding forgiveness, which is the essence of the Christian attitude and, at the same time, the subject of many controversies. However, from the analysis of excerpts from the Bible, it was concluded that the often-raised doubts about the moral value of forgiveness are a consequence of identifying God’s forgiveness with decisions made by people and an erroneous understanding of the relationship between forgiveness and repentance. The dispelling of these doubts was a premise for the statement that it can become the basis of contemporary social and moral education.

KEYWORDS:

• Christianity
• individualism
• responsibility
• forgiveness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The heroes of the Greek novels are not perceived as offending the gods, so they don’t need to show repentance, conversion and beseech forgiveness (Konstan 2010).

2. In Christianity, the incarnation, passion and death of Christ on the cross are understood as the greatest expressions of God’s love for people (Martini 2019), but this topic is deliberately omitted because it would require a broader theological interpretation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jarosław Horowski

Dr. hab. Jarosław Horowski is an associate professor in Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Institute of Education Sciences, editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Paedagogia Christiana. Author of Moral Education According to neo-Thomistic Pedagogy (in Polish, WN UMK, 2015). Interested in philosophy of education, moral and religious education, neo-Thomistic notion in pedagogy, education for moral virtues, and education for forgiveness.