Synopses & Reviews
In Why Forgive? Arnold lets the untidy experiences of ordinary people speak for themselves--people who have earned the right to talk about forgiving. Some of these stories deal with violent crime, betrayal, abuse, hate, gang warfare, and genocide. Others address everyday hurts: the wounds caused by backbiting, gossip, conflicts in the home, and tensions in the workplace. The book also tackles what can be the biggest challenge: forgiving ourselves. These people, who have overcome the cancer of bitterness and hatred, can help you unleash the healing power of forgiveness in your own life. Why Forgive? Read these stories and decide for yourself.
Review
Thought-provoking and soul-challenging...Arnold writes with an eye-opening simplicity that zings the heart. < b=""> Houston Chronicle <>
Review
A most impressive book...so powerful that tears often impede reading. < b=""> ALA Booklist <> (Starred Review)
Review
Why Forgive? shows humanity at its gut-churning worst and ennobling best through the experience of people who have endured unthinkable losses and struggled to make peace with their perpetrators. < b=""> Denver Post <>
Synopsis
In Why Forgive? Arnold lets the untidy experiences of ordinary people speak for themselves--people who have earned the right to talk about forgiving.
Some of these stories deal with violent crime, betrayal, abuse, hate, gang warfare, and genocide. Others address everyday hurts: the wounds caused by backbiting, gossip, conflicts in the home, and tensions in the workplace. The book also tackles what can be the biggest challenge: forgiving ourselves.
These people, who have overcome the cancer of bitterness and hatred, can help you unleash the healing power of forgiveness in your own life.
Why Forgive? Read these stories and decide for yourself.
About the Author
People have come to expect sound advice from Johann Christoph Arnold, an award-winning author with over a million copies of his books in print in more than 20 languages. A noted speaker and writer on marriage, parenting, and end-of-life issues, Arnold is a senior pastor of the Bruderhof, a movement of Christian communities. With his wife, Verena, he has counseled thousands of individuals and families over the last forty years. His books include Why Forgive?, Rich in Years, Seeking Peace, Cries from the Heart, Be Not Afraid, and Why Children Matter. Arnold's message has been shaped by encounters with great peacemakers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, César Chavez, and John Paul II. Together with paralyzed police officer Steven McDonald, Arnold started the Breaking the Cycle program, working with students at hundreds of public high schools to promote reconciliation through forgiveness. This work has also brought him to conflict zones from Northern Ireland to Rwanda to the Middle East. Closer to home, he serves as chaplain for the local sheriff's department. Born in Britain in 1940 to German refugees, Arnold spent his boyhood years in South America, where his parents found asylum during the war; he immigrated to the United States in 1955. He and his wife have eight children, 42 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. They live in upstate New York.
Table of Contents
1. The Cancer of Bitterness 2. Believe in Miracles 3. Ending the Cycle of Hatred 4. Bless your Persecutors 5. Forgiveness and Justice 6. The Deeds of Mercy 7. When Reconciling Is Impossible 8. Forgiving in Everyday Life 9. Forgiveness and Marriage 10. Forgiving a Parent 11. Blaming God 12. Forgiving Ourselves 13. Accepting Responsibility 14. Not a Step, but a Journey 15. Making Ripples