Twenty years ago, books on forgiveness were relegated to the religious section of libraries and book stores. Today serious scholars explore the dynamic of acknowledgment, contrition and forgiveness as an antidote to endless cycles of revenge and retribution. Michael Henderson, a British journalist and author, has described this dynamic at work in countless situations through four books on the subject. His latest, No Enemy to Conquer: Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World, published by Baylor University, "shows the real muscle behind forgiveness," according to Publishers Weekly. Several short essays in the book place the evidence collected by Henderson in the context of contemporary conflict resolution scholarship. In one of these, Jonathan Sacks, Chief Orthodox Rabbi of Great Britain, makes an unexpected claim:

"Retaliation is the instinctual response to perceived wrong. Historic grievances rarely are forgotten. They become part of a people's collective memory....... A note of injustice not yet avenged is written into the script, which is then reenacted at moments of crisis. It is this that makes forgiveness so counterintuitive an idea. It is more than a technique of conflict resolution; it is a stunningly original strategy."

Henderson will illustrate this insight with selected examples from his writings, followed by comments from the discussants.

Speakers

• Michael Henderson
  Journalist and author, United Kingdom
• Joseph V. Montville, Discussant
  Retired US diplomat
• Margaret E. Smith, Discussant
  American University
• David Smock, Moderator
  Vice President, Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, U.S. Institute of Peace