“I do not believe in forgiveness as it is preached by the church. We do not need the forgiveness of God, but of each other and of ourselves.”

—  Robert G. Ingersoll

&quot;What Must We Do To Be Saved?&quot; (1880) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38801/38801-h/38801-h.htm Section XI, &quot;What Do You Propose?&quot; <br class="br">Context: I do not believe in forgiveness as it is preached by the church. We do not need the forgiveness of God, but of each other and of ourselves. If I rob Mr. Smith and God forgives me, how does that help Smith? If I, by slander, cover some poor girl with the leprosy of some imputed crime, and she withers away like a blighted flower and afterward I get the forgiveness of God, how does that help her? If there is another world, we have got to settle with the people we have wronged in this. No bankrupt court there. Every cent must be paid.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I do not believe in forgiveness as it is preached by the church. We do not need the forgiveness of God, but of each oth…" by Robert G. Ingersoll?
Robert G. Ingersoll photo
Robert G. Ingersoll439
Union United States Army officer 1833–1899

Related quotes

Mitch Albom photo

“It’s not just other people we need to forgive. We also need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done.”

Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie

Variant: We need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done. You can't get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened.
Source: Tuesdays with Morrie

Clive Staples Lewis photo

“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.”

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) Christian apologist, novelist, and Medievalist

Letter (19 April 1951); published in Letters of C. S. Lewis (1966), p. 230

“Wherever we go we do harm, forgiving
ourselves as wheels do cement for wearing
each other out. We set this house
on fire, forgetting that we live within.

(from "To a Meadowlark," for M. L. Smoker)”

Jim Harrison (1937–2016) American novelist, poet, essayist

Dag Hammarskjöld photo

“"To forgive oneself"—? No, that doesn't work: we have to be forgiven. But we can only believe this is possible if we ourselves can forgive.”

Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961) Swedish diplomat, economist, and author

Markings (1964)

William Wordsworth photo

“The best of what we do and are,
Just God, forgive!”

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Romantic poet

Thoughts suggested on the Banks of the Nith.
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Alice Munro photo

“We say of some things that they can't be forgiven, or that we will never forgive ourselves. But we do--we do it all the time.”

Alice Munro (1931) Canadian novelist

Source: Dear Life: Stories

Laisenia Qarase photo

“For Christians, the rules are clear. They are under order to forgive. We must follow those orders, no matter how difficult they appear. If we do not forgive, God will not forgive us. That is the beginning and the end of it.”

Laisenia Qarase (1941) Prime Minister of Fiji

Additional remarks about the proposed Reconciliation and Unity Commission, Address to the nation at the National Day of Prayer in Fiji combined church service http://www.fiji.gov.fj/publish/page_4615.shtml, Post Fiji Stadium, Suva, 15 May 2005

Newt Gingrich photo

“There's no question that at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate. And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn't trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them. I found that I felt compelled to seek God's forgiveness. Not God's understanding, but God's forgiveness. I do believe in a forgiving God. And I think most people, deep down in their hearts hope there's a forgiving God. Somebody once said that when we're young, we seek justice, but as we get older, we seek mercy.”

Newt Gingrich (1943) Professor, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

2011-03-09 interview with David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network, quoted in * 2011-03-09
Gingrich: Past Adultery 'Partially Driven By How Passionately I Felt About This Country' (Video)
Eric
Kleefeld
Talking Points Memo
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/gingrich-past-adultery-partially-driven-by-how-passionately-i-felt-about-this-country-video.php
2011-03-31
2010s

“It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.”

Steve Maraboli (1975)

Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 80

Garrison Keillor photo

“Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.”

Garrison Keillor (1942) American radio host and writer

Source: Leaving Home‎ (1987), p. 9
Context: Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough. Thank you for the rain. And for the chance to wake up in three hours and go fishing: I thank you for that now, because I won't feel so thankful then.

Related topics