Forgiven and Forgiving

The practice of forgiveness is often one of the most difficult required of Christians in their everyday lives, mainly because it involves an admission of human weakness and requires an indulgence of the offense to be forgiven. In this biblically grounded study of the concept of forgiveness, Countryman, who teaches New Testament at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif., offers a new look at forgiveness. Forgiveness, he contends, is not a duty but a conversion, a change of mind (metanoia) in order to see things through God's eyes instead of ours. Countryman writes, ""Forgiveness... is the most generous of loves. It is God's best gift to us.... It is the spiritual river of life that carries the past along, washing it clean of its wrongs, into the as-yet uncertain future--a future that will culminate in the life of the age to come. By forgiving and being forgiven, we bring that life, our true citizenship, with us into the midst of this world."" Countryman traces his reflections on forgiveness through chapters on repentance, unhealthy forms of forgiveness, refusal of forgiveness and justice. Countryman's lively style and his lucid insights into the nature of forgiveness make this a must read for clergy, laity and general readers. (Mar.)