Changes

==History==

==History==

In the Hebrew Bible, the term kiffer (from the verb kaffar: covering over, atonement, propitiation, reconciliation) was used in the context of [[animal]] [[ritual]] [[sacrifice]]. Propitiation of God was the objective. Saint Paul, especially in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 and in Romans 5:10, raises this concept to the level of a restoration to the favor of God for sinners who repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ. But the term refers not only to such reconciliation with God but also to the task of reconciliation with other [[persons]] as a primary requirement for the followers of Christ. In Matthew 5:23-24: “If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

In the Hebrew Bible, the term kiffer (from the verb kaffar: covering over, atonement, propitiation, reconciliation) was used in the context of [[animal]] [[ritual]] [[sacrifice]]. Propitiation of God was the objective. Saint Paul, especially in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 and in Romans 5:10, raises this concept to the level of a restoration to the favor of God for sinners who repent and put their trust in the expiatory death of Christ. But the term refers not only to such reconciliation with God but also to the task of reconciliation with other [[persons]] as a primary requirement for the followers of Christ. In Matthew 5:23-24: “If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Reconciliation''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Status_Quo this link].</center>

<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Reconciliation''''', follow [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Reconciliation this link].</center>

In [[the Gospels]], as in much later [[discussion]], reconciliation came to be paired with the concept of [[forgiveness]], the forgiveness freely given by [[God]] and to be imitated by all. In this, the New Testament’s reconciliation with God and with others took on the full [[character]] of the Hebrew Bible’s [[shalom]]: completeness, soundness, welfare, [[peace]]. Yet in [[practice]], the concept long tended to be confined to the [[private]] sphere, the [[individual]]’s forgiveness by God, as in the Catholic practice of confession to a priest and the absolution of sins, now called the sacrament of reconciliation rather than, as in the past, of penance.

In the [[Gospel]]s, as in much later [[discussion]], reconciliation came to be paired with the concept of [[forgiveness]], the forgiveness freely given by [[God]] and to be imitated by all. In this, the New Testament’s reconciliation with God and with others took on the full [[character]] of the Hebrew Bible’s [[shalom]]: completeness, soundness, welfare, [[peace]]. Yet in [[practice]], the concept long tended to be confined to the [[private]] sphere, the [[individual]]’s forgiveness by God, as in the Catholic practice of confession to a priest and the absolution of sins, now called the sacrament of reconciliation rather than, as in the past, of penance.

 

==Current Applications==

==Current Applications==

But the wars of the twentieth century and the many situations of transitional [[justice]] (the restoration of civil relations after periods of oppression) brought the wider social-political concept of reconciliation back into prominence in Christian [[thinking]] and made it the property of all the world. Thus, in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa South Africa], the effort to heal the [[society]] after the ills of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid apartheid] gave rise to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_(South_Africa) Truth and Reconciliation Commission]. Its grant of amnesty to offenders, on condition that they admit their [[guilt]], was seen as far more satisfactory than the more vengeful [[process]] of the Nuremberg Trials after the collapse of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism Nazism]. We can observe an outgrowth of this development in the growing interest in restorative justice, a legal concept that defines the objective of a justice system as the restoration of [[relations]] rather than simply the determination of [[guilt]] and the [[punishment]] of the offender—retributive justice.

But the wars of the twentieth century and the many situations of transitional [[justice]] (the restoration of civil relations after periods of oppression) brought the wider social-political concept of reconciliation back into prominence in Christian [[thinking]] and made it the property of all the world. Thus, in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa South Africa], the effort to heal the [[society]] after the ills of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid apartheid] gave rise to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_(South_Africa) Truth and Reconciliation Commission]. Its grant of amnesty to offenders, on condition that they admit their [[guilt]], was seen as far more satisfactory than the more vengeful [[process]] of the Nuremberg Trials after the collapse of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism Nazism]. We can observe an outgrowth of this development in the growing interest in restorative justice, a legal concept that defines the objective of a justice system as the restoration of [[relations]] rather than simply the determination of [[guilt]] and the [[punishment]] of the offender—retributive justice.

Christian proponents of reconciliation, such as Archbishop [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu Desmond Tutu] of South Africa or the Croatian theologian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_Volf Miroslav Volf], have consequently held prominence in this [[movement]], although it has also been taken up as a managed and secular technical process conducted by professional mediators. [[Realization]] of the benefits that can be derived from this kind of process has brought about the rise of Track II diplomacy, the work of nongovernmental peace-building professionals who can often help the [[citizen]]ry of conflicted societies reach reconciliation in ways that the official diplomatic representatives of governments cannot, or who can be the catalysts of solutions to conflict that governments could not generate themselves.

Christian proponents of reconciliation, such as Archbishop [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu Desmond Tutu] of South Africa or the Croatian theologian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_Volf Miroslav Volf], have consequently held prominence in this [[movement]], although it has also been taken up as a managed and secular technical process conducted by professional mediators. [[Realization]] of the benefits that can be derived from this kind of process has brought about the rise of Track II diplomacy, the work of nongovernmental peace-building professionals who can often help the [[citizen]]ry of conflicted societies reach reconciliation in ways that the official diplomatic representatives of governments cannot, or who can be the catalysts of solutions to conflict that governments could not generate themselves.

Distinguishing between the [[concepts]] of [[forgiveness]] and reconciliation has troubled many. We may see forgiveness as the personalized action of individuals and reconciliation as the effect of the healing of relations in the broader [[society]].

Distinguishing between the [[concepts]] of [[forgiveness]] and reconciliation has troubled many. We may see forgiveness as the personalized action of individuals and reconciliation as the effect of the healing of relations in the broader [[society]].

==Source Citation==

==Source Citation==

"Reconciliation." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 7. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 110-111. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. University of the South. 18 Oct. 2009 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=tel_a_uots>.

"Reconciliation." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 7. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 110-111. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. University of the South. 18 Oct. 2009 <https://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=tel_a_uots>.

[[Category: Religion]]

[[Category: Religion]]

[[Category: Psychology]]

[[Category: Psychology]]