The Limits of Forgiveness
Case Studies in the Distortion of a Biblical Ideal
by Maria Mayo
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Demystifying an unrealistic ideal
Maria Mayo questions the contemporary idealization of unconditional forgiveness in three areas of contemporary life: so-called Victim-Offender Mediation involving cases of criminal injury, the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-apartheid South Africa, and the pastoral care of victims of domestic violence. She shows that an emphasis on unilateral and unconditional forgiveness puts disproportionate pressure on the victims of injustice or violence and misconstrues the very biblical passages--especially in Jesus' teaching and actions--on which advocates of unconditional forgiveness rely.
Maria Mayo earned her doctorate in history and critical theories of religion at Vanderbilt University. Her work focuses on conceptions of forgiveness in the contexts of criminal justice, pastoral care, and conflict transformation. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Christian writing on forgiveness often consists of sentimental clichés and platitudes about the supposed glories of unconditional forgiveness. Maria Mayo’s book is a refreshing change from all that. She appreciates the many virtues of forgiveness but is also alert to its downsides—particularly if advocated in a hasty and uncritical way and supported with few biblical quotations taken out of context and in ignorance of their ambiguous meanings. Her scholarship is solid, her arguments are careful and nuanced, and she is a clear and persuasive writer. There is much to be learned from her book and I am delighted to recommend it to others.”
Jeffrie G. Murphy, Arizona State University
“Using a close biblical analysis, Maria Mayo explores current conceptions of forgiveness and how its Christian origins are intermingled in complex and problematic ways. In cases of domestic violence, in the Truth and Reconciliation hearings, and in psychotherapy today, victims are being pressured to forgive as if there are only two options, the other being retribution. Mayo smartly shows how this dichotomization of forgiveness and resentment crowds out other potential responses that are human and also healing. Her thorough and thoughtful analysis adds substantially to a growing voice that reasserts victims’ rights to anger and the kind of help that gives full acknowledgment of the complexity of their pain.”
Sharon Lamb, University of Massachusetts Boston
“In the unflinching critique of much recent Christian scholarship on the meaning and practice of forgiveness, Mayo argues that forgiveness is a more limited or conditional virtue than is often claimed. Even those who will disagree with her conclusions or find themselves, as I often did, wanting right of reply, will appreciate the clarity and passion with which she makes her case. The topic is an immensely complex one and Mayo rightly admonishes us never to sidestep the deep and pastoral ambiguities involved in contemplating the task of forgiveness.”
Christopher Marshall, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand
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