Description

In this issue of The Mockingbird, we’re looking long and hard into this well of forgiveness—into where it finds its toughest opponents, when it works and when it doesn’t, and how it shows up in our closest human relationships. We have interviews with the bestselling author Philip Yancey and the Norwegian warden of the “Nicest Prison in the World,” Arne Nilsen. We have the pleasure to republish a short story by the legendary O. Henry, more than 100 years after its original publishing. And we have essays that cover the gamut—essays on the risk of forgiveness, on marital forgiveness, on the idea of self-forgiveness, on forgiveness in the midst of culture wars.

It’s a lot to digest, so we hope you’ll take it slow. We’ll forgive you if you don’t, though.

Ethan Richardson, Editor

Contents

Opener: A Cop Out in the Woods

A Losing Economy: Getting Real About the Risk of Forgiveness by Ethan Richardson

Confessional

Grace in an Age of Fear: A Conversation with Philip Yancey

For the Record: 13 Non-Don Henley Forgiveness Songs by David Zahl

Hearts and Crosses by O. Henry

Hearts, Crosses, and the Character of Forgiveness by Will McDavid

For the Record: Broadway Musicals, The Unforgiving Reformation, Bookshelf

Forgiveness Through Deep Breathing (Or What Mr. Miyagi Taught Me About My Inner Life) by Aaron Zimmerman

Human Inside: Meet the Warden of the World’s Nicest Prison

Everything from Zero: Voices from the Tunisian Revolution by CJ Green

For the Record: The Best Anti-Commencement Speeches by Matt Schneider

A Forgiveness Observed: Grace, Memory, and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby by Michael Leary

Blood on the (Dance) Floor: A Sermon by David Zahl