Biblical Models for the Practice of Forgiveness in Public Life

Abstract

The aim of this article is that to remind the fact that forgiveness is not a practice that should be held captive for the religious life of a person or human community. Rather, it should be a practice of the public life of a society. Yet, there are biblical models for such a practice of forgiveneness, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Therefore, for the biblical model embodied by the prophet Jeremiah, the article will continue with the biblical model embodied by John the Baptist. The two are proeminent figure in the Bible, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The third model is that embodied by Jesus Christ, the central person in the New Testament. From the exploration of the three models, the paper will continue with the coordinates of Church’s participation in Christ’s model. It will end with the way the practice of forgiveness is reflected in Romanian society and politics after 1989.

Keywords

• forgiveness
• practice
• public life
• biblical model
• participation