There is a need in both public and professional sectors for a deeper, and more complete understanding of forgiveness, as we are - in the author's own words - "on the threshold of an age of forgiveness and reconciliation." And yet despite continued interest and development in the field, researchers, clinicians, practitioners, and academics have long been without a comprehensive resource on which to base their work. The Handbook of Forgiveness summarizes the state of the science in the research, practice, and teaching of forgiveness. Chapters approach forgiveness and reconciliation from a variety of perspectives, drawing on related work in fields such as biology, personality, social psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, and international/political implications. The Handbook provides comprehensive treatments of the topic, integrating theoretical considerations, methodological discussions, and practical interventions strategies in order to appeal to researchers, clinicians, and practitioners. This volume is the most up-to-date and authoritative resource on the understanding of the science of forgiveness. The Handbook of Forgiveness has been chosen as a Book of Distinction by Templeton Press.

Inspiration and encouragement from across faith traditions for all who seek hope and wholeness through letting go. “The burden of a grudge, resentment or bitterness is not fully understood until the act of forgiving another lifts it and the freedom of grace given is experienced. How weighed down we are with being unforgiving! When you truly forgive from the heart … you know it by the liberation of your own soul.” —Rev. Timothy J. Mooney, in “A Choice and a Gift” Old wounds can bind up your heart and keep you from fully loving—and fully living—in the present. Your pain may come from devastating trauma or unconscious resentment from accumulated everyday grievances. No matter the depth of the hurt, true healing comes from the courage to face the past and begin the process of letting go. These offerings of warmth and wisdom from many different faiths, backgrounds and perspectives will encourage you to begin your own journey toward the wholeness and freedom that comes from true forgiveness. CONTRIBUTORS: Marcus Aurelius • Nancy L. Bieber • Rev. Carolyne Call • Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell • Nancy Barrett Chickerneo, PhD • Paul Wesley Chilcote, PhD • William Cleary •Nancy Corcoran, CSJ • Linda Douty • Rabbi Ted Falcon • Marcia Ford • Marie M. Fortune • Tamar Frankiel, PhD • Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, DHL • Caren Goldman • Rev. Steven Greenebaum • Judy Greenfeld • Kent Ira Groff • Diana L. Guerrero • Karyn D. Kedar • Kay Lindahl • Rabbi David Lyon • Pastor Don Mackenzie • St. Maximos • Ron Miller • Diane M. Millis, PhD • Rev. Timothy J. Mooney • John Philip Newell • Linda Novick • Rev. Larry J. Peacock • Gordon Peerman • M. Basil Pennington, OCSO • Jan Phillips • Susan Quinn • Imam Jamal Rahman • Marty Richards, MSW, LCSW • The Rev. Canon C.K. Robertson, PhD • Rev. Nanette Sawyer • Rev. Donna Schaper • Katharine Jefferts Schori • Rami Shapiro • Louise Silk • Rev. Susan Sparks • Aaron Spevack, PhD • Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz • Molly and Bernie Srode • Tom Stella • Sohaib N. Sultan • Terry Taylor • Yoland Trevino • Rev. Jane E. Vennard • The Rev. Peter Wallace • Cynthia Winton-Henry

This workbook is about forgiveness from a biblical standpoint. This one tells us what Jesus says about it and what He did to make forgiveness happen. It answers the questions “What is forgiveness?” and “how did forgiveness begin?” It highlights people, in the bible, who received forgiveness after betrayal, murder, and more. It also addresses reconciliation, acceptance and what to do if someone will not forgive you. There is a worksheet after each chapter to deepen our understanding of forgiveness. There is also guide to forgiveness worksheet to take us through the steps of forgiveness that God has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Forgiveness brings into conversation research from multiple disciplines, offering readers a comprehensive guide to current forgiveness research. Its 42 chapters, newly commissioned from an internationally acclaimed group of scholars, are divided into five parts: Religious Traditions Historic Treatments The Nature of Forgiveness Normative Issues Empirical Findings While the principal aim of the handbook is to provide a guide to the philosophical literature on forgiveness that, ideally, will inform the psychological sciences in developing more philosophically accurate measures and psychological treatments of forgiveness, the volume will be of interest to students and researchers with a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including philosophy, psychology, theology, religious studies, classics, history, politics, law, and education.

In the present book, scholars and activists from a variety of disciplinary perspectives engage each other around the topic of forgiveness. They examine its benefits and costs, its motives, and its limitations. The different voices do not sing in unity, but by the end of the book, you might conclude that some times of beautiful harmony were heard.

The present volume is a ground-breaking and agenda-setting investigation of the psychology of self-forgiveness. It brings together the work of expert clinicians and researchers working within the field, to address questions such as: Why is self-forgiveness so difficult? What contexts and psychological experiences give rise to the need for self-forgiveness? What approaches can therapists use to help people process difficult experiences that elicit guilt, shame and self-condemnation? How can people work through their own failures and transgressions? Assembling current theories and findings, this unique resource reviews and advances our understanding of self-forgiveness, and its potentially critical function in interpersonal relationships and individual emotional and physical health. The editors begin by exploring the nature of self-forgiveness. They consider its processes, causes, and effects, how it may be measured, and its potential benefits to theory and psychotherapy. Expert clinicians and researchers then examine self-forgiveness in its many facets; as a response to guilt and shame, a step toward processing transgressions, a means of reducing anxiety, and an essential component of, or, under some circumstances a barrier to, psychotherapeutic intervention. Contributors also address self-forgiveness as applied to diverse psychosocial contexts such as addiction and recovery, couples and families, healthy aging, the workplace, and the military. Among the topics in the Handbook: An evolutionary approach to shame-based self-criticism, self-forgiveness and compassion. Working through psychological needs following transgressions to arrive at self-forgiveness. Self-forgiveness and health: a stress-and-coping model. Self-forgiveness and personal and relational well-being. Self-directed intervention to promote self-forgiveness. Understanding the role of forgiving the self in the act of hurting oneself. The Handbook of the Psychology of Self-Forgiveness serves many healing professionals. It covers a wide range of problems for which individuals often seek help from counselors, clergy, social workers, psychologists and physicians. Research psychologists, philosophers, and sociologists studying self-forgiveness will also find it an essential handbook that draws together the advances made over the past several decades, and identifies important directions for the road ahead.

The book organizes and synthesizes existing forgiveness research around a descriptive communication framework, demonstrating how existing psychological research can be enriched by through the application of communication theories, including dialectical and face-management perspectives. For example, exploring how forgiveness is a process of dyadic negotiation, not just an individual's decision.

Is there such a thing as “Christian Forgiveness”? Christians speak as though there is. But what would it be? How would it differ from forgiveness as a basic human enactment? And if there is a distinctive Christian forgiveness, what might it have to say to our world today? To answer these questions, the present work traverses three distinctive intellectual landscapes—continental philosophy, Anglo-American moral philosophy, and psychology—to establish a phenomenology of forgiving before turning to contemporary Christian literature. The multilayered dialogue that ensues challenges the assumptions of contemporary approaches—secular and Christian—and invites the reader to rethink the meaning of Christian forgiveness.

Is forgiveness possible? How does one truly forgive? This topic is explored in-depth by scholars presenting various world-views on the subject of forgiveness.

To be unforgiving is harmful. The inability to come to terms with one’s anger or strife often can lead to stress disorders, mental health disorders, and relationship problems. Forgiveness is a personal decision. Forgiveness and Reconciliation focuses on individual experiences with forgiveness, aiming to create a theory of what forgiveness is and connect it to a clinical theory of how to promote forgiveness. Dr. Worthington creates an evidence-based approach that is applicable for individuals and relationships, and even for society. He also describes an evidence-based method of reconciliation - restoring trust in damaged relationships. Dr. Worthington hopes that this theory will inform scientific research and improve intervention strategies. Showing that forgiveness transforms personality, Worthington describes ways a clinician can promote (but not force) forgiveness of others and self. He provides research-based theory and applications and discusses the role of emotion and specific personality traits as related to forgiveness. Forgiveness and reconciliation might not be cures, but, as Worthington shows, they are tools for transforming both the self and the world.