The Practice of Forgiveness in an Unforgiving World – Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts

We’re honored to learn from Dr. Matthew Ichichashi Potts about his book, Forgiveness: An Alternative Account, which is focused on understanding the practice of forgiveness in an unforgiving world.

In this episode, Dr. Potts shares:

• When forgiveness causes emotional distress
• Common misunderstandings about forgiveness
• When forgiveness causes shame for victims of abuse or trauma
• How does forgiveness help us love our enemy
• Forgiveness is an alternative to systems of justice that demand retaliation
• How can marginalized populations forgive systems of oppression?
• Charleston church attack and stories of forgiveness
• How to think about forgiveness (when you don’t want to forgive)
• Anti-Nazi theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler

Matthew Ichihashi Potts, MDiv ’08, PhD ’13, was appointed the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church and the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in 2021. Matt has served on the faculty at Harvard Divinity School since 2013, and has focused his teaching on sacramental and moral theology, ministry and pastoral theology, religion and literature, and preaching.

He is the author of two books, Cormac McCarthy and the Signs of Sacrament: Literature, Theology, and the Moral of Stories (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Forgiveness: An Alternative Account (Yale University Press, 2022). He has also published scholarly essays in several leading journals and invited essay collections, and he sits on the editorial board of the journal Literature and Theology. He is also co-host of the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text.