FORGIVENESS AND SENSITIVITY

Abstract

Is it possible that there can be an excess of forgiveness? Isn't forgiveness one of those things that are in short supply in the world? This academic exercise examines the possibility that there is such a thing as a surfeit of forgiveness. I will attempt to show how too much forgiveness can breed insensitivity in people. The link between forgiveness and sensitivity is the main subject of examination in this academic exercise. When one is forgiven again and again (borrowing a term from the Lord's Prayer) for one's "trespasses", does it become easier to "trespass"? Can the complacent mind subconsciously come to regard forgiveness of one's own "trespasses" as an expected right rather than a privilege that has to be earned? Can confidence in one's being forgiven be exploited for self-centered behavior? The Chinese saying goes, "having gotten an inch, he advances a mile". In this academic exercise I will attempt to see if this saying is true of the social process of giving and receiving forgiveness. I will try to evaluate the effect of an atmosphere where forgiveness is not only encouraged but also enforced. Is it a factor in causing people to grow less sensitive about the effects of their own actions on others? In other words, does too much forgiveness lower sensitivity of one's own "trespasses"? In this paper, the group I have selected to focus on is Protestant Christians. In the in the social milieu of the church, members are encouraged to forgive other members' transgressions against them. The backing of religious righteousness gives this encouragement a greater authority and force than exists in the wider society. Those who don't forgive are "counseled" to do so. Members therefore may develop a habit of expecting to be forgiven for their transgressions, even when outside the church community. This may lead them to be less sensitive to nonchurch members' feelings. Thus, insensitivity may not be limited to the evangelical sphere. In the next chapter I will attempt to show anecdotal evidence that insensitivity may also be extending to non-religious areas of social interaction. The material will also be based on the data gathered over two productions put up by the 1994-1997 class of NUS's Theater Studies Course.