In Chesterton’s The Secret of Father Brown, a beloved nobleman who murdered his good-for-nothing… 1 answer below »

In Chesterton’s The Secret of Father Brown, a beloved nobleman
who murdered his good-for-nothing brother in a duel thirty years
ago returns to his hometown wracked by guilt. All the townspeople
want to forgive him immediately, and they mock the titular priest for
only being willing to give a measured forgiveness conditional on
penance and self-reflection. They lecture the priest on the virtues of
charity and compassion.
Later, it comes out that the beloved nobleman did not in fact kill his
good-for-nothing brother. The good-for-nothing brother killed the
beloved nobleman (and stole his identity). Now the townspeople
want to see him lynched or burned alive, and it is only the priest
who – consistently – offers a measured forgiveness conditional on
penance and self-reflection.
The priest tells them:
The priest tells them:
It seems to me that you only pardon the sins that you don’t really think sinful. You only forgive
criminals when they commit what you don’t regard as crimes, but rather as conventions. You
forgive a conventional duel just as you forgive a conventional divorce. You forgive because there
isn’t anything to be forgiven.
He further notes that this is why the townspeople can selfrighteously
consider themselves more compassionate and forgiving
than he is. Actual forgiveness, the kind the priest needs to cultivate
to forgive evildoers, is really really hard. The fake forgiveness the
townspeople use to forgive the people they like is really easy, so
they get to boast not only of their forgiving nature, but of how much
nicer they are than those mean old priests who find forgiveness
difficult and want penance along with it.
After some thought I agree with Chesterton’s point. There are a lot
of people who say “I forgive you” when they mean “No harm done”,
and a lot of people who say “That was unforgiveable” when they
mean “That was genuinely really bad”. Whether or not forgiveness is
right is a complicated topic I do not want to get in here. But since
forgiveness is generally considered a virtue, and one that many
want credit for having, I think it’s fair to say you only earn the right
to call yourself ‘forgiving’ if you forgive things that genuinely hurt
you.

"Get 15% discount on your first 3 orders with us"
Use the following coupon
FIRST15

Order Now