This page was created on January 26, 2005
This page was last updated on January 26, 2005

—Overview
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

The film does not ask us to forgive Walter, but it does call us to question the extent to which we continue to punish people long after they have done wrong. To be sure, someone needs to keep an eye on Walter. But at the same time, the lack of support from nearly the whole community only adds to his feelings of alienation and need to experience some form of love. That is not to say that we bear responsibility for recidivism of molesters; that is their responsibility. But we often let our feelings rule such situations.
--Darrel Manson

ON FORGIVENESS AND LOVE
Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.
--Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004)

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
--Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.
--Francis Maitland Balfour

As hard as it may be for us to fathom, God is willing to forgive even those like Walter if they seek God’s forgiveness. One of the qualities of God’s grace is that it is available even when the world is unwilling to offer grace. Walter is deeply in need of such grace. Perhaps it is God’s grace that is allowing Walter to keep ahead in his struggle.
--Darrel Manson

JESUS AND FORGIVENESS
(Adapted from Holman Bible Dictionary)
Jesus is the perfect and final Sacrifice through which God’s forgiveness is mediated to every person (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 10:11-12). The connection of Jesus with forgiveness is seen in His own self-understanding. According to the Old Testament, only God could forgive sins; yet Jesus declared that He could do so, and He did (Mark 2:1-12; John 8:2-11). He saw His own death as the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial system. At the Last Supper He spoke of His death as “my blood of the New Testament [covenant]” (Mark 14:24). Jesus Himself is the unblemished Sacrifice (Isa. 53:3-7), offered once for all (Heb. 9:28) not by a human being, but by God Himself in Christ Jesus for the sins of mankind (Heb. 9:14; Rom. 3:25; Acts 13:38). Forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ is available for everyone who truly repents (Luke 23:39-43; John 8:2-11). This is the message of the early church. The promised new age has arrived; old things have passed away (Acts 2:36-39; 3:13-19, 26; 5:31).

THE IMPORTANCE OF FORGIVING OTHERS
(Adapted from Holman Bible Dictionary)
As a part of His teaching about human need for forgiveness and the means of receiving it, Jesus spoke of the human dimension of forgiveness. A firm condition for the receiving of God’s forgiveness is the willingness to forgive others. In the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:12; Luke 11:4) and the parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matt. 18:12-35) Jesus clearly indicated such is the case: “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15). The forgiven life is the forgiving life.

Human forgiveness reflects our experience and understanding of divine forgiveness. Love, not wooden rules, governs forgiveness (Matt. 18:21-22). Jesus powerfully demonstrated this teaching on the cross, as He asked for forgiveness for His executioners (Luke 23:34). Paul reminded the church at Ephesus of both the grounds of their forgiveness and the basis on which they must forgive one another (Eph. 4:32).

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