The “Church” of Pragmatic Forgiveness

A philosophy for the modern world

Calling all thoughtful people!

Photo by Raghav Modi on Unsplash

If you value:

1. Happiness over suffering.
2. Public evidence over prophecy and sacred documents.
3. Pragmatic solutions over self-righteous punishments.

And if you believe:

1. Happiness is literally the meaning of life.
2. There is no evil other than suffering itself.
3. Free will is a myth, and a vector for biased judgements.

You may be a pragmatic forgiver.

We forgive because we recognize that nobody controls their circumstances. Nobody truly deserves happiness. But neither does anybody deserve to suffer. Because we’re all merely seeking happiness in a life we don’t control.

And we’re pragmatic because we know that forgiveness does not imply passive acceptance, and because we refuse to encourage any sort of punishment, shaming, or reprisal that does not explicitly offer a likelihood of improved community happiness as a result.

If you agree — or disagree — with these precepts, let me know in the comments. I’m very interested in finding others who share my basic views, or who would be willing to offer thoughtful critiques.