Where does the concept of “forgive yourself\” come from?
Is there a Church doctrine that spells this out? I keep reading this “forgive yourself” and hear it used by Christians, but I have not found a detailed written explanation with references. That sounds like pastoral advice, along the lines of “be kind to yourself.” I find no Scripture references to forgiving oneself. Forgiveness takes two forms in Scripture. The first is God’s forgiveness of humankind. The second is our forgiveness of other people. The two come together in the Lord’s Prayer, where we ask God to “forgive us” as “we forgive” other people. Clearly, in a healthy Christian community, if I forgive you and you forgive me, then I end up forgiven. But that self-reference isn’t the primary point of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a gift we receive from God and a gift that we give to other people. Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” echoing the commandments in Leviticus that required the Israelite to love both fellow-Israelites and resident aliens. In Leviticus, the call to
