Do Atheists have the "ability" to forgive?

Question

To err is human, to forgive divine.

I mean no offence by this question yet am curious to others opinion on this issue. Forgiveness at its roots, is something with religious value, I will not sit here and proclaim that it was a Christian Idea, but it is rooted within religion, so heavily it is hard to ignore. However if Atheists lack the ability to "forgive" what des one call it when they absolve someone of there misgivings towards the atheist? Just some food for thought.

MiKe Drazen

with all respect sir, forgiving and forgeting are two seperate things entirley

Answer 1

Just leave us alone! God made us Atheists, so who are you to question him?
Haha, I amuse me.

Answer 2

Interesting.

Forgiveness is not something that came from religion, and atheists are fully capable of forgiving. Animals are capable of forgiving. Dogs, cats, primates, and lions are all observed to show forgiveness.

The act of forgiving is merely recognition that someone has offended or made a mistake and hopefully will not do it again. Forgiveness has potentially great therapeutic value for both the forgiver and the forgivee. It can lead to even stronger friendship and bonds than before the transgression. The buddha taught about the importance of forgiving your enemies and transgressors long before jesus did.

Religion does not have exclusive rights to a social act or concept (like "turning the other cheek" or "giving all that you own to the poor") simply because the religion has adopted a doctrine about that act or concept. I am an atheist and I forgive people every day. It might also surprise you to know that atheists love other people and are generally very moral/ethical. In fact, I have found that atheists tend to be more ethical than other people. I think this is because our belief systems are so deeply considered and based on rational principles.

I hope that helps.

Answer 3

Forgiveness is not rooted in religion. The quote you reference is the opinion of a person, Alexander Pope who lived from 1688 - 1744, a poet.

Atheists do not lack the ability to forgive. After all, they are not the one damning people to hell, in direct violation of Christ's instructions. Forgiveness is an emotional, not religious issue. Absolution, now, that's a different story. Atheists tend to take responsibility for their actions rather than attributing them to others or supernatural forces and never say they are forgiven unless the person they have wronged has informed them of the fact.

Answer 4

I am an atheist and I forgive people all the time. The idea of forgiveness exists in all religions and philosophies, including humanism. It seems silly to even ask this - do you really think that being an atheist changes your fundamental nature so much that you're not basically human, with the same feelings and abilities as other humans?

Answer 5

If you are talking about a god's forgiveness of human violations of its edicts then, yes, it would be a no-brainer because you would have to have a religion in order to have a god. If, however, you are talking about humans forgiving one another, THAT stems from moral codes - and all humans have a moral code whether they are religious or not. The basis of most moral codes is something like the Golden Rule- treating others like they would want to be treated. Being able to be tolerant of those that violate this code is forgiveness.

As religions generally demonstrate intolerance towards those outside their faith - and a great many times a violent intolerance - it seems that human forgiveness is more purely practiced outside of religious confines than within.

Answer 6

"To err is human, to forgive, devine."

That's a cute quote, but that's all it is. A cute quote. It's not a statement of truth, nor was it ever meant to be.

Forgiveness is certainly the cornerstone of Christianity and most other monotheistic religions that assume humans are sinners out of the gate. But that doesn't mean the concept of forgiveness lies with God alone. The concept of retribution is equally well rooted in religion... would you say the faithful are the only ones capable of revenge killings?

I'm not athiest - but I don't see the point in attempting to dehumanize athiests by presuming them incapable of basic human emotions. Forgiveness is a personal choice, not a gift from God (at least, not to my knowledge).

Answer 7

What makes you think that forgiveness is purely a religious thing? Have you ever stepped on a dog's tail? Does the dog refuse to let you touch her after that or is she still your friend? Does the dog's forgiving you mean she's religious?
Anyone can understand that people make stupid blunders and life can go on in a good way if we just move on past the blunders. It doesn't take a belief in a divine power to understand this.
BTW, I am a Christian.

Answer 8

If a person genuinely forgives another, it's b/c they're willing to admit to themselves they've been wrong before and are sympathetic. Nothing to do with religion. I realize you said you're not attributing it solely to Xianity, but do you mean any at all, or any 'recent' ones? Besides, the ancient Egyptians forgave, so did the Mayans/Aztecs, the many pagans before Rome and Christianity came by. The ancient Greeks.

Answer 9

I can't believe the lack of information people have about atheists. We have better morals than so called christians or religious people what so ever. We don't love or hate because a book tells us too. We love or hate because of reason, which is better. Of course we can forgive, we can't waste our one and only life hating people. We are alive to have a good time and to seek happiness while it lasts.

Answer 10

I have the ability; I lack the will at times.

I have forgiven many horrible things that have been said and done to me in my lifetime.

There are still a few I hold on to, far more to my own detriment than the other person's.

Forgiveness is good for the psyche. I'm not so sure about the soul. It is certainly inherent to many faiths, but not unique to faith.

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Answer 11

Just because you think it has religious value doesn't mean it actually does. Yes, we can forgive and we can be good, upstanding, moral people without having to believe in an imaginary friend. I don't get why that is so hard to comprehend for some religious people.