Forgiveness in The Arab and Islamic Contexts

This essay explores the current and historical meaning of forgiveness in Arab and Islamic cultural and religious contexts. It also hopes to encourage further empirical research on this understudied topic in both religious and peacebuilding studies. In addition to the perceived meaning of forgiveness in an Arab Islamic context, this essay examines the links between forgiveness and reconciliation. Relying on religious sources including the Qur'an and Hadith, as well as certain events in Islamic history, the essay identifies various ways to conceptualize and explain the meaning of forgiveness. This theoretical and conceptual segment is followed by a section which explores current perceptions of forgiveness among Arab Muslim teachers in five different communities. The empirical data for this analysis is based on a larger comparative regional study that has been completed through surveys and structured interviews with educators from Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestinians from the West Bank and Israel. Our study concluded that the teachers' perceptions of forgiveness were mainly derived from religious sources and identities and that Islamic religious discourse provided a solid foundation for framing the meaning of forgiveness.     

ECONOMY OF “INVISIBLE DEBT” AND ETHICS OF “RADICAL HOSPITALITY”: Toward a Paradigm Change of Hospitality from “Gift” to “Forgiveness”

The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct a Christian theology of “hospitality” through a critical reading of Jacques Derrida and Friedrich Nietzsche as well as through an in‐depth biblical and theological reflection on the ethics of hospitality. Out of this reconstructive investigation, I propose a new Christian ethics of hospitality as a radical kind. As a new paradigm, this radical hospitality is distinguished from other types in that it is no longer conceived on the model of “gift”. The new Christian ethics of hospitality is rather reconstructed on the model of “forgiveness” by critically appropriating the concept of “invisible debt” that lies between the hosting citizens and the migrants in the senses of “you owe us your presence” and “I owe you my security and success.” While the hospitality of the gift defines the relationship between the hosting citizens and the migrants as givers and givees, the new paradigm of hospitality identifies this relationship as between creditors and debtors. In this regard, a new Christian hospitality called for unto citizens of the hosting society is a radical kind that challenges them to transcend the creditor‐debtor consciousness.     

“And Yet It Moves”: Dream and Reality of the Ecumenical Movement

This article offers an overview of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. It sets out the context in which the assembly took place, the main issues discussed, and perspectives for the future. The article argues that the assembly in Karlsruhe demonstrated that the ecumenical movement still is alive and can offer enormous potential in a world at the brink of a new East–West divide, facing a significant weakening of multilateral structures of cooperation, and even the threat of nuclear war. Moreover, the Karlsruhe assembly demonstrated that on subjects such as the Middle East, peace ethics, and nationalism, and in the deep commitment and spiritual life of its participants, the ecumenical movement is vital and vibrant and represents a countercultural force against rigid nationalisms.     

Group climate in an open-ended cancer support group

A number of well-described, controlled studies assessing cancer support group intervention support their effectiveness. All of these experimental groups have been close-ended and typically involve six to eight weekly sessions. Because many cancer patients are unable or unwilling to participate in closed, extended-session groups, there is particular need for analysis of the effectiveness of short-term, open-ended groups. Additionally, objective measures are needed to delineate the factors contributing to a successful outcome in cancer support groups. We used the Short Form of the Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ-S) to characterize 23 sessions in an open-ended, short-term, Veterans Hospital based cancer support group. The cancer group scored significantly lower on the Avoiding and Conflict dimensions (p<.001) compared to a normative psychotherapy group sample. There was no difference on the Engaged dimension. This pilot study suggests that a cancer support group in this setting can create an environment where members are cohesive and take responsibility for their own change process, while keeping interpersonal conflict to a minimum. Based on these preliminary findings, we encourage controlled clinical trials examining the efficacy of open-ended cancer support groups.At the time of this study, Dr. Daroff was a resident in Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco.     

Mission and reconciliation

Conflicts and wars often occur, with devastating consequences in society. Attaining reconciliation is a challenging task, especially if each side in the conflict articulates its identity in terms of victimhood through education, history, and memories. Can theology offer an adequate answer and help overcome conflicts and bring forgiveness? Each time we serve the liturgy, we are reminded to remember the future and remember Christ’s ultimate forgiveness. In that sense, worship as a communal and God-oriented event can remind us of our mission, which is participation in God’s salvific work. This paper offers some theological insights as guidelines for Christians and their respective communities to pursue. Hopefully, theology will prove its ability and strength to foster reconciliation and unity in a suffering world.     

The contribution of school experience to students' resilience following a terror-related homicide

Schools have a significant effect on students' development, and serve as important social agencies for interventions for students facing disasters. However, little is known about the effect of students' school experience itself on their resilience when facing extreme negative events. The present study focused on students who were exposed to terror-related homicide with the aim of investigating the contribution of school climate resources to their resilience. Since resilience is associated not only with fewer negative outcomes, but also with positive change, the contribution of schools was studied as both inhibiting post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and enhancing post-traumatic growth (PTG). A mixed-methods research design was used. The participants included 117 (52% girls) high school students (mean age = 14.54; SD = 1.49). Twenty-five of them were interviewed in addition to responding to the research questionnaires. Different aspects of the school climate were found to be associated with students' PTS and PTG, yielding two overarched factors explaining the school's role as a protective resource: sheltering and supporting. The former is associated with fewer PTS and the latter with higher PTG. The use of different resources for different forms of resilience is discussed.     

Things fall apart. The cultural complex in contemporary times1

These extraordinary months due to COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests, set as they are against a backdrop of the increasingly worrying climate emergency, have brought fear, anxiety and discord across the globe. But we have also experienced a deepening of our understanding of our connectedness, protests against injustice, expressions of social concern and a demand for change. The concept of the cultural complex as developed by Singer & Kimbles (2004) offers a helpful means of connecting the psychology of the individual psyche and the political phenomena of power relations. Using a small example to illustrate how it might operate at a local level, I suggest that a fundamental shift is taking place raising profound levels of anxiety as we move from the known to the unknown. The bipolar nature of these complexes means the extremes are surfacing bringing fears of the very real possibility of more entrenched attacks on democracy from the far right and the hunkering down behind armed borders. But there is also hope that different ways of living together may be developing from the ground up, ways that are rooted in our sense of interdependence – with each other and our planetary home.     

高自尊易宽恕?基于中国青少年样本的研究

目的:以中国青少年为被试样本,整合已有自尊与宽恕关系的研究,运用元分析技术,明晰二者之间的整体关系,分析以往研究结论产生分歧的原因。方法:采用中国知网、万方数据库、Web of Science等检索系统搜索自尊与宽恕的相关文献,遴选出符合元分析研究标准的有效文献31项,70个独立样本,共计被试31516名。结果:(1)自尊与宽恕间存在中度相关,自尊可正向预测宽恕,验证了高自尊者易宽恕。(2)自我宽恕比人际宽恕与自尊的关系更为密切。(3)宽恕测量工具、被试类别、宽恕结构对自尊与宽恕的关系调节作用明显,性别无显著调节效应。     

Être lesbienne,gay ou bisexuel·le dans une organisation française : le rôle des micro-agressions homonégatives et l’effet médiateur du climat de diversité sexuelle dans le choix de dévoiler ou dissimuler son orientation sexuelle

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGB) can use an array of strategies to reveal or conceal their sexual orientation in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between perceived homonegative microaggressions in the workplace and those strategies, as well as the mediating effect of LGB-supportive climate in those relationships. A sample of 135 LGB employees has replied to an online questionnaire dealing with these variables. The data were treated through simple linear regressions and the structural equation modelling method. Results highlighted that the effect of microaggressions on sexual identity management in the workplace was mediated by the LGB-supportive climate. There was also a direct and positive relationship between microaggressions and the revealing strategy. Results are discussed in light of the existing literature on the topic. Perspectives at systemic and individual levels to support an LGB-supportive climate and to reduce discrimination experienced by LGB employees are suggested.     

Both sides of the story: Narratives of romantic infidelity

We applied a narrative identity approach to the study of romantic infidelity. In Study 1, participants provided narratives of the moment they discovered their partners' infidelity. In Study 2, participants were prompted for narratives of their unfaithful actions. In both studies, measures of personality traits, forgiveness, empathy, and self‐esteem were administered. Narratives were coded for themes of redemption (bad beginnings, positive endings) and exploration (engaging with the experience's emotional implications). After controlling for relevant covariates (e.g., story length), participants who formed redemptive stories of their partner's infidelity evinced higher levels of forgiveness and lower levels of empathy (Study 1), whereas participants who disclosed redemptive stories about their own infidelity demonstrated decreased forgiveness (Study 2). Across studies, exploratory narratives corresponded positively with conscientiousness.