Forgiveness, Justice, Revenge - Research Paper Example

Body Statement III: The biblical story 'Parable of the Prodigal Son’ reinstates 'forgiveness' as the act of remission of sins, which can bring back a repenting person to the path of righteousness, and by doing so, he is saved from being lost again. Body Statement IV: “The Sunflower” shows the struggle between the inner demon craving for revenge, and the righteousness in an individual by hating the crimes done by himself, as well as the whole Jewish community. Body Statement V: The movie ‘TSOTSI,’ brings to focus the hope forgiveness and social acceptance of Tsotsi.

Body Statement VI: In the movie ‘UNFORGIVEN’ the ancient notions of justice are projected, where only the act of vengeance can bring peace to the gratification of mind. Conclusion: Forgiveness, Justice, Revenge 'Forgiveness', 'Justice' and 'Revenge' are the three significant concepts that have allured the writers of all ages. The perspectives about these concepts vary according to the workings of individual mind, and the extremity of victimization. These notions have different meanings attached to them, yet they are closely related to each other.

This paper provides a definition to the concept of forgiveness with reference to the concepts of justice and revenge. The thesis statement of this study is that, the concept of forgiveness can be defined as the pardoning of sins, so that we can let go the feeling of hurt from our heart, freeing ourselves from anger, malice and contempt. Barb Toews in her work "Restorative Justice for People in Prison," (What is Restorative Justice?) states that a crime has the power to hurt its victims, offenders, as well as the community.

In this book, Toews suggests that the victims and their families, community members and offenders and their families require a variety of lawful needs such as companionship and security, strengthening one’s status, expression of inner thoughts, right to know, development, and transparency. Since each of the lawful needs experienced by the individuals vary from each other, these needs can be met with the help of a community, committed to restorative justice. The needs of those victims struggling with the aftermath of crime, if met in time, can reduce crime the crime rates in future.

The victims of today have the potential to become the offenders of tomorrow, as they surrender themselves to the cold-heartedness and self-imprisonment of vengeance. The victims of crime should be served with justice, or else they will be inclined to take law in their own hands, rather than fighting to make the law work. By serving ‘justice,’ the victim is served right, and by forgiving he can let go the hurt caused by the crime. The term ‘forgiveness’ is entangled with the terms: ‘justice’ and ‘revenge’.

To define ‘forgiveness’, it is essential to distinguish between ‘justice’ and ‘revenge’. Revenge is an insane and brutal notion in which a man seeks 'an eye for an eye’. In revenge, an individual cultivates anger and hatred in his soul so much, that his consciousness is overcome by the inner demon. In revenge, a man seeks to outdo injustice with another form of injustice. In other words, it is an act or thought of settling justice in a