Is Christian Forgiveness Unconditional?
Editor’s Note [We will be taking a break from Ken’s series on how to build the perfect church to address the timely subject of forgiveness.] Introduction Peacemaking, in its fullest flower, is about reconciliation. And this is a multi-faceted process. An integral step within this process is the component of forgiveness. The title to Bishop Desmond Tutu’s book succinctly captures his thoughts on the matter: “No Future Without Forgiveness.” Yet when one is in the midst of palatable pain caused by another, even such powerful statements are simply not enough to mollify the soul. Upon hearing the news of Martin Luther King, Jr.s’ assassination on the evening of April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy, delivered an extemporaneous eulogy. He was in Indianapolis, Indiana to give a political speech. Capturing the mood of the moment, Kennedy quoted the ancient Greek poet Aeschylus [525-456 B.C.] who “wrote: ‘In our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair
