These days, people tend to flippantly ‘forgive’ others, when in fact they often don’t genuinely mean it. This may be because people have lost touch with the true meaning of the word forgiveness. The common scientific definition of forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness. (GreaterGood, n.d.) According to various world religions, the meaning of and approach to forgiveness is much deeper than this. Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism all have their own perspective of forgiveness, but they all believe that forgiveness is an important and positive trait for people to adopt.
In Judaism,…show more content… He is sent to work on the construction of the infamous Death Railway in Thailand, where he and his comrades were forced to work in brutal conditions, forced to clear large swathes of jungle whilst being beaten and starved. Lomax, a signals engineer, decides to build a makeshift radio to bring hope to the men forced to work on the railroad, and give them information regarding Allied victories and American advances. The radio is soon discovered, and Lomax is subjected to beatings, rape, and waterboarding. He marries soon after the war, but on his wedding night, the nightmares of war return. Feeling humiliated, he becomes depressed and takes his anger out on his wife. His wife, unable to find the root of the anguish, turns to Lomax’s friend and fellow veteran, Finlay. Armed with this new information, his wife decides to reveal the location of the Japanese officer who tortured him, ultimately setting up a meeting between Lomax and the captor. In the emotionally charged meeting, Lomax is able to confront his demons, but more importantly, is able to reconcile with the man, undergoing a profound catharsis from the destructiveness of hate, and finally allowing him to heal old wounds. From a human perspective, reconciliation and closure are only achievable when one confronts the root of his problems and is able to release his emotions, like Lomax did in “The Railway
