학술논문

Teaching and Learning Forgiveness: A Multidimensional Approach
Document Type
Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Source
Teaching Theology & Religion. Jul 2006 9(3):175-185.
Subject
Counseling Techniques
Epistemology
Teaching Methods
Educational Theories
Psychological Patterns
Religion
Consciousness Raising
Biblical Literature
Language
English
ISSN
1368-4868
Abstract
This essay seeks to illumine the teaching and learning of the practice of forgiveness by relating a range of theoretical perspectives (theological, psychological, and socio-cultural) to the process of cultivating the practical wisdom needed for forgiveness. We discuss how a Trinitarian "epistemology of the cross" might lead one to a new way of perceiving life's constraints and possibilities and relate this theological epistemology to three psychological approaches for understanding forgiveness--a narrative approach, object-relations theory, and consciousness development theory. Our discussion of these theoretical perspectives is explicitly related to the practice of teaching and learning forgiveness, outlining learning activities we have used in a course we taught (which ranged from case studies and film to lectures and discussions based on close readings of biblical and theological texts) and reporting highlights in our students' work.