What Does it Truly Mean to Forgive?

The impact of Christ’s teaching

The arrival of Christ into the world marked a turning point in history, one whose significance is easier to see now than it was at the time.

To understand the full measure of His message, we must remember that it unfolded within a society steeped in slavery, where respect for the human person was fragile at best and, in many cases, simply absent. Society was divided into rigid classes, and the wealthy held such power over the poor that they could dispose of their very lives.

Hatred, war, contempt, raw and animalistic violence — these were ordinary things in that age.