Running head: ARTICLE 2 REVIEW: FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION 1
Article 2 Review: Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Justice
Liberty University
ARTICLE 2 REVIEW: FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION 2
ARTICLE 2 REVIEW: FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION 3
Article 2 Review: Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Justice
Volf (2001) makes arguments for two major claims in his review: religions are violent by
nature and issues surrounding forgiveness, reconciliation, and justice. The author believes that
Christianity does not fosters violence, but rather it offers a more peaceful world. He points out
the answer is not to reduce the Christian faith, but to encourage and nurture religion overall in a
way that it shapes behavior. The author believes that within the Christian culture lies great
opportunity for peace creation, but he is quick to point out that Christianity has been used to
legitimize violence.
According to Volf (2001), “first justice, then reconciliation” is not plausible to carry out.
He argues that strict justice would not be desirable among people today, as it were in the Bible as
it is considered too severe. He goes on to say that even if justice could be satisfied, there would
still be conflicting feeling between one another. He concludes that an alternative should be
considered for forgiveness and reconciliation. He suggests that true “forgiveness and
reconciliation is to be found at the heart of the Christian faith- in the narrative of the cross of
Christ, which reveals the vary character of God” (Volf, 2001, p. 41).
The author makes several good points on the violence related to religion and the process
of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Bible has numerous verses on peace and forgiveness.
Hebrews 12:14 says “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one
will see the Lord” (ESV). Ephesians 4:32 says “And be ye kind one to another tender-hearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (KJV). The Bible is very
clear on his desire for us to live a peaceful and reconciled life. This article contributes to the field
of conflict management by helping the reader to understand others points of view. It also makes
you ponder about the thought process in the middle of conflict. Many times only justice is in the
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forefront of our minds when we have been wronged, instead of reconciliation or forgiveness.
This viewpoint allows helps you to understand the importance of pulling from our Christian faith
in the middle of conflict. Although in a perfect world, Christianity would be nurtured and
reconciliation would be priority, I don’t think the authors conclusions are necessarily realistic. It
would be interesting to see how pulling reconciliation from our faith interacts with true justice.
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