The A-Z of Believing: R is for Repentance

To err is human and to forgive is divine
– Alexander Pope

Repentance seems to be out of fashion, particularly among political leaders. President Trump, for example, doesn’t ask God for forgiveness for his sins because apparently he doesn’t have much to apologise for. In an interview shortly before the US election he said: “I have a great relationship with God ... I like to be good. I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don’t do a lot of things that are bad.” Of course, there are also examples of politicians expressing contrition, perhaps one of the most striking in recent years being David Cameron’s apology for the killing of 13 unarmed civilians by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday in 1972, the most controversial incident of the 30-year-long Northern Ireland Troubles.

Proclamations of remorse serve not only to apologise to the offended party but are also offered in the hope that the life of the penitent can return to normality as quickly as possible. But, does saying “sorry” guarantee a passport to normality? Is a statement of remorse equivalent to being repentant? In sum, what is repentance?

In religious terms repentance is a prerequisite for divine forgiveness and mercy. For Jews and Muslims, the focus is on God’s desire for us to repent before pardoning us unconditionally. In repentance, we must experience genuine remorse for the wrong we have committed and then convert our penitential energy into positive acts.

Islam speaks about two elements of forgiveness: God’s forgiveness, human forgiveness. We need both, because by doing wrong in relations with one another, we damage our relationship with God. Put another way, repentance is a two-stage process. First, a negative stage – ceasing to do evil and, secondly, a positive stage – doing good. As the Quran says, “Whosoever repents after his crime and does righteous good deeds, then verily, Allah will pardon him and accept his repentance.”

This is where those of us who envelop ourselves in public cries of sorrow fail. We fulfil the first stage and cease from evil. However, we don’t begin the second stage: to direct our penitential energy towards acts of goodness.

Christians derive their notion of repentance from the example of Jesus. In the Gospels, Jesus depicts God as a father who welcomes home his prodigal son returning in sorrow for his misdeeds. His teaching on repentance emphasises first the mercy of God over the judgement of others and suggests that the social condition of the sinner neither guarantees nor inhibits true repentance. This is illustrated by his forgiveness of prostitutes and adulteresses who turn from sin or tax collectors and brigands. The Greek term for repentance in the New Testament is metanoia, or “a change of heart”. It is not equivalent to mere remorse, which must precede it.

Repentance is central to Judaism too. Jews even dedicate the 10 days between the Jewish New Year and the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – to repentance. One of the unusual aspects of the New Year is that it is not celebrated with inebriation, parties, streamers and loud music; rather, it is a period of sober introspection. It represents the crossing of the threshold from the past to the future and serves to increase awareness of human dependence on God.

Penitential energy is summarised in one Hebrew word, Teshuvah, which literally means returning. The motion of turning implies that sin is not an immovable stain but a straying from the right path and that by the effort of turning, the sinner can redirect her destiny. “Return unto Me and I shall return unto you,” says the Lord, according to the prophet Malachi.

True repentance is no mere momentary spasm of remorse to be proclaimed aloud, until it is safe to creep out again. To be worthy of the name, repentance must influence and leave its mark in terms of character, action and life. True repentance ends with a life change which must be based upon a real transformation rather than a flimsy but eloquent, public apology.

In practice, this means that we should not only acknowledge our sin before God, but should also apologise to the person we have offended. Moreover, such an apology demands a positive response from the offended party. Judaism, Christianity and Islam teach that the person who has received the apology should forgive the penitent. Once remorse has been shown, and repentance offered, both the offender and the offended must move on.

We often fail to appreciate that the gulf between the sinner and sinned-against is not as great as we may like to think. Think of someone caught speeding – could it not have been you? It might well have been me. Next time you watch someone offer words of contrition and express penitence for their action, carefully consider your response to these acts of remorse. Don’t delude yourself that you – or I – are any better.

And remember this line from the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.”

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Written and presented by Dr Ed Kessler MBE, founder and director of the Cambridge-based Woolf Institute, this compelling guide to religious belief and scepticism is a must-read for believers and nonbelievers alike.

Founded in 1998 to explore the relationship between religion and society, the Woolf Institute uses research and education to foster understanding between people of all beliefs with the aim of reducing prejudice and intolerance.

Says Dr Kessler: “Latest surveys suggest that 85 per cent of the world’s population identify themselves as belonging to a specific religion, and in many parts of the world the most powerful actors in civil society are religious. Understanding religion and belief, the role they play and their impact on behaviour and decision-making is, therefore, vital.”

Dr Kessler – who was awarded an MBE for services to interfaith relations in 2011 – is an affiliated lecturer with the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University, a principal of the Cambridge Theological Federation and additionally teaches at the Cambridge Muslim College.

He says: “This A-Z of Believing aims to show how the encounter between religions has influenced and been influenced by the evolution of civilisation and culture, both for good and for ill. I hope that a better understanding of believing will lead people to realise that while each religion is separate, they are also profoundly connected.”

Next week is: S is for Sex

Listen to each episode of ‘An A-Z of Believing: from Atheism to Zealotry’ on the Woolf Institute podcast site or wherever you get your podcasts