ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by introducing philosophical reflections into the discussion surrounding forgiveness including offering a rough context required for forgiveness to be a possible response, distinguishing forgiveness from nearby concepts with which it is often confused, and bringing these considerations (alongside the scriptural ones canvased in the last chapter) to bear on common definitions of forgiveness—i.e., two definitions treating forgiveness as foreswearing resentment or foregoing punishment. After arguing against the plausibility of identifying these definitions as capturing the sort of forgiveness with which we are concerned in this context, we consider a definition of forgiveness inspired by the Psalms, namely to not count a wrongdoer’s sins against them. We then modify this definition in light of the possibility of nonmoral, but still objective, transgressions (e.g., transgressions of holiness) for which forgiveness is an appropriate response. The result is a functional definition of forgiveness that takes into account the context, types of agents involved, and type of norm transgressed in determining what forgiving another looks like.
