Reconciliation

In religious traditions the term reconciliation refers to making the effort to heal or restore a broken relationship.

Outline two methods by which a major world religion offers its members an opportunity for reconciliation

• Catholics confess their sins to a priest, believing that Jesus gives the priest the power to forgive sins
• When Catholics confess to a priest, they are in a symbolic way expressing their sorrow to the community and to the person they have committed the wrongdoing to
• Through the words and actions of the sacrament, the priest offers forgiveness on behalf of God and the Christian community
• In Judaism, Yom Kippur is a religious festival that offers its members an opportunity for reconciliation
• Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish year
• It is the day when Jews make amends to God for what they have done wrong
• They tell God they are sorry and ask God to forgive them for their sins
• Jews fast all day
• They try not to eat or drink for 24 hours
• Fasting is a symbolic act
• It helps everyone to focus on their mind on what is important in life
• Jews spend most of the day in the synagogue

Explain two reasons why reconciliation is seen as important by members of a world religion

• Reconciliation is seen as important in Christianity because the Catholic Church recognises that sinful behaviour hurts everyone, not just the other person, but the whole community
• In the Roman Catholic Church tradition, the sacrament of Reconciliation heals and restores broken relationships, bringing people back to God and to one another.
• Catholics confess their sins to a priest, believing that Jesus gives the priest the power to forgive sins
• When Catholics confess to a priest, they are in a symbolic way expressing their sorrow to the community and to the person they have committed the wrongdoing to
• Through the words and actions of the sacrament, the priest offers forgiveness on behalf of God and the Christian community

Describe one way in which a world religion offers its members an opportunity for reconciliation

• In Judaism, Yom Kippur is a religious festival that offers its members an opportunity for reconciliation
• Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish year
• It is the day when Jews make amends to God for what they have done wrong
• They tell God they are sorry and ask God to forgive them for their sins
• Jews fast all day
• They try not to eat or drink for 24 hours
• Fasting is a symbolic act
• It helps everyone to focus on their mind on what is important in life
• Jews spend most of the day in the synagogue.

Outline the understanding of forgiveness found in the teaching of a major world religion that you have studied

• Forgiveness means to have pity and to be willing to excuse someone's mistake or wrongdoing
• Christians believe that they must follow the teaching of Jesus and forgive those who hurt or offended them
• Jesus taught forgiveness through his parables, miracles and table fellowship
• Jesus told his followers that God is forgiving
• Christians believe that they must forgive others
• This belief rules out revenge
• There is no place for revenge in the Christian moral vision
• Christians try to forgive those who have hurt or offended them