Faithful to forgive?
Tuesday, Oct. 2 marks the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Nickel Mines, Pa., where a gunman murdered five girls at an Amish school. At the recent Religion Newswriters Association Conference in San Antonio, much focus was placed on the schoolhouse murders and the way the Amish community expressed forgiveness for the shooter (who killed himself). The Amish also extended grace to the shooter’s family, sending shockwaves around the world.
Everyone wondered how the families of the young victims could be so quick to forgive, but Don B. Kraybill, one of the authors of the new book, “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy,” said the Amish community’s reaction to the murders was not so surprising when one considered their strong faith beliefs.
Such “radical forgiveness” is founded in familiar Scripture like ”The Lord’s Prayer.” The words and phrases that many Christians may know by heart have truly been taken to heart by the Amish, Kraybill said at a RNA luncheon sponsored by Jossey-Bass Publishers.
“And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” says Matthew 6:12.
Scholars conducting ongoing studies about forgiveness spoke at another RNA event and interesting questions were raised. One of them in particular provoked much thought among the journalists gathered and I wondered how readers would answer such a question.
Here it is: Is faith necessary for true forgiveness to take place?
Something to think about, right?
Let me know what you think by e-mailing me at chinton@oklahoman.com.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
