Forgiveness of Sins

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course will be divided into two parts. For the first half of the course, we will consider the relationship of mercy to justice. Our point of departure will be the classic description of the character of God in Exodus 34:6-7, in particular, the mercy that God shows to a thousand generations in contrast to the justice he will mete out to the third generation. How should we understand the juxtaposition of these contrasting features of the Godhead? At least a dozen different Biblical texts make reference to the verses from Exodus and we will trace how they deepen and widen the matter. In the second half of the course, we will consider the most famous story of sin and forgiveness in the Old Testament: the story of David and Bathsheba. We will consider how it is related to Psalm 51, the Psalm appointed for Morning Prayer every Friday morning. We will conclude with a consideration of the paragraphs of the Catechism dedicated to the “Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation” and how it relates to the Biblical texts we have read over the semester.