Forgiveness as Therapy
This chapter argues that to make the troubled victim of mistreatment forgive the person who imposed the mistreatment is not always the appropriate therapy, any more than penicillin is always the right treatment for a physical illness. It specifically raises questions about what forgiveness therapists take forgiveness to be, about the procedure by which they move patients to forgive, and about which patients should be urged to employ this means of solving the problem in their lives rather than another. It is shown that not all patients who are treated with penicillin or sulfa drugs are necessarily getting the treatment they should be given. In addition, there are similar limits to the use of forgiveness therapy. It is also proposed that it is not always used with the appropriate care for those limits.
Keywords: forgiveness, therapy, victim, penicillin, therapists
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