Noun

Singular forgiveness

Plural uncountable

forgiveness (uncountable)

1. The action of forgiving.
2. Readiness to forgive.

Synonyms

• (action of forgiving): remission
• (readiness to forgive): mercy

Forgiveness is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, and/or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. The Oxford English Dictionary defines forgiveness as 'to grant free pardon and to give up all claim on account of an offence or debt'. The concept and benefits of forgiveness have been explored in religious thought, the social sciences and medicine. Forgiveness may be considered simply in terms of the person who forgives including forgiving themselves, in terms of the person forgiven and/or in terms of the relationship between the forgiver and the person forgiven. In some contexts, forgiveness may be granted without any expectation of restorative justice, and without any response on the part of the offender (for example, one may forgive a person who is incommunicado or dead). In practical terms, it may be necessary for the offender to offer some form of acknowledgment, apology, and/or restitution, or even just ask for forgiveness, in order for the wronged person to believe himself able to forgive.

Most world religions include teachings on the nature of forgiveness, and many of these teachings provide an underlying basis for many varying modern day traditions and practices of forgiveness. Some religious doctrines or philosophies place greater emphasis on the need for humans to find some sort of divine forgiveness for their own shortcomings, others place greater emphasis on the need for humans to practice forgiveness of one another, yet others make little or no distinction between human and/or divine forgiveness.

Quotes about forgiveness.

Contents

• 1 Sourced
  • 1.1 Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers
• 2 Unsourced or mixed (needs cleanup)
• 3 Buddhism
• 4 Christianity
  • 4.1 Biblical texts
  • 4.2 Other quotes related to Christianity
• 5 Islam
  • 5.1 Verses from the Qur'an
  • 5.2 Traditions of the Prophet
• 6 Judaism
• 7 Notes and references

Sourced

• Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember, than to forgive and forget.
  • Maria Edgeworth, "An Essay on the Noble Science of Self-Justification"; Tales and Novels, vol. 1, p. 213.

• I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter But my will gets weak And my thoughts seem to scatter But I think it's about forgiveness Forgiveness Even if, even if you don't love me anymore.
  • Don Henley, in "The Heart of the Matter" - YouTube video

From Wikiquote under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Mon Jan 25 05:31:07 2010