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Forgiveness: Breaking the Chain of Hate
How could survivors of the Burma Road, the Siberian Gulag, or Nazi atrocities forgive those who harmed them? How can representatives of entire populations--Australian Aborigines, African Americans, and black South Africans--be reconciled with whites who exploited them? And how can the offenders find the grace to apologize?
Michael Henderson writes about dozens of remarkable people of many nations and faiths who have, by repentance and forgiveness, been able to break the chain of hate through repentance and forgiveness.
Michael Henderson writes about dozens of remarkable people of many nations and faiths who have, by repentance and forgiveness, been able to break the chain of hate through repentance and forgiveness.
187 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1999
11 people want to read
About the author
Michael Henderson
118 books12 followersYou'll find my bio on my website at www.michaelhenderson.org.uk
My new book has been reviewed in Publishers Weekly. See below:
Review of NO ENEMY TO CONQUER, in Publishers Weekly Dec 15, 2008
No Enemy to Conquer: Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World Michael Henderson, foreword by the Dalai Lama. Baylor Univ., $19.95 paper (234p) ISBN-978-1-60258-140-1
Henderson (From India with Hope), whose Irish Protestant family sought reconciliation with their Catholic compatriots, may be just the sort of eloquent messenger the world needs to understand the utility and not just the symbolic value of forgiveness. Starting with the Dalai Lama’s foreword—a paean to the power of redemption—this book is a blissful read and a persuasive argument for forgiveness as a practical tool for global survival. As the author demonstrates in a discussion of (the few) American individuals and institutions that have made formal apologies for the African slave trade, history cannot be redeemed with an apology, but an apology can create a new starting point for history. Most instructive, however, are the stories of people, from Chechnya to Pennsylvania Amish country, who have suffered unspeakable acts at the hands of enemies and staunchly refuse to be consumed by victimhood. Henderson shows the real muscle behind forgiveness, avoiding preciousness and sentimentality. He writes, “Forgiveness has an image problem”—with this latest effort, perhaps no more. (Feb.)
My new book has been reviewed in Publishers Weekly. See below:
Review of NO ENEMY TO CONQUER, in Publishers Weekly Dec 15, 2008
No Enemy to Conquer: Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World Michael Henderson, foreword by the Dalai Lama. Baylor Univ., $19.95 paper (234p) ISBN-978-1-60258-140-1
Henderson (From India with Hope), whose Irish Protestant family sought reconciliation with their Catholic compatriots, may be just the sort of eloquent messenger the world needs to understand the utility and not just the symbolic value of forgiveness. Starting with the Dalai Lama’s foreword—a paean to the power of redemption—this book is a blissful read and a persuasive argument for forgiveness as a practical tool for global survival. As the author demonstrates in a discussion of (the few) American individuals and institutions that have made formal apologies for the African slave trade, history cannot be redeemed with an apology, but an apology can create a new starting point for history. Most instructive, however, are the stories of people, from Chechnya to Pennsylvania Amish country, who have suffered unspeakable acts at the hands of enemies and staunchly refuse to be consumed by victimhood. Henderson shows the real muscle behind forgiveness, avoiding preciousness and sentimentality. He writes, “Forgiveness has an image problem”—with this latest effort, perhaps no more. (Feb.)
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July 27, 2012
An amazing collection of true historical events that changed people's lives from hatred to love by the acts of forgiveness. A model for our lives. I hadn't read about most of these, so it was an enlightenment and worth knowing about. Conflicts have to be settled, justice and unfairness resolved, but this is the most important step of moving towards a better world.
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