Misunderstanding Forgiveness

Firstly, a very happy new year to you. As mentioned previously, we moved house in December, and we’ve only very recently managed to get the internet working in in our new place, hence the lack of posts. I hope you had a very pleasant Christmas and New Year.

I also achieved my adjusted target, as per my last post, of writing at least something each and every day during November. I didn’t win NaNo, but I achieved my lesser, personal target.

Right, now that’s out of the way, time for today’s post.

I’ve just got back from the supermarket (and want to write this while it’s fresh in my mind). On the way out, I glanced at the newspaper headlines, and my eye was caught by that of the Daily Star in particular. If you don’t live in the UK, you might be unfamiliar with this publication, but it is amongst the more egregious of our several populist tabloid ‘newspapers’.

The headline that caught my attention was this: EVIL BLACK CAB RAPIST’S SICK CLAIM- WORBOYS: GOD HAS FORGIVEN ME.

The whole article can be found on their website, if you want to read it.

It may not surprise you to discover that this headline frustrated and infuriated me, as it attacks the very heart of my faith. If you are not aware, John Worboys is a convicted serial rapist who assaulted a vast number of women whilst working as a London taxi driver. His crimes have been proven, and admitted. That much is certain. Papers like the Star revel in emotive and emotionally manipulative language, but even the most cautious of commentators would have to admit that his crimes were indeed evil.

What I take issue with is the assertion that his claim that God has forgiven him is ‘sick’. It is, after all, the very essence of Christian belief. To quote the hymn, ‘the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives’.

Does Worboys truly believe? Has he truly repented, confessed his crimes before God and thrown himself on God’s mercy and salvation? Is he indeed a changed man who fully repents of his crimes and is now determined to live a better life? Or is it, as the article claims, merely a cynical ploy to accelerate his release from prison? I have no idea, and no way of finding out.

Worboys will, I assume remain on a sex offenders register, and I imagine the terms of his parole will be strict. I will acknowledge that steps need to be taken to ensure that he doesn’t pose a continued threat to others. Sadly we cannot simply take him at his word and hope for the best. That would be utterly negligent. However, beyond that, I would prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt. Past crimes don’t remove the (sadly increasingly eroded) principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.

And why is his claim ‘sick’? Because of the nature of his crimes? They were heinous and disgusting, probably deserving of significantly more than the eight years of prison time that he has served. But his claim to God’s forgiveness is the very core of my faith. The idea that even a man like Worboys can, if he truly repents, be forgiven, be remade, be reborn, washed clean, is the absolute fundament and foundation of my faith. It doesn’t matter how many talents he owes, the debt can be forgiven. And that goes for each and every one of us, no matter how great or small our transgressions might be.

From the article; “He thinks he is born again since embracing religion and that he has been forgiven. He says he is a changed man – but how can this be proved?” 

Very simply. Watch him. Watch the life he leads, the actions he takes, the things he says. If he has indeed been remade, it will be obvious. Is he different to the way he was before? Then he has changed. Might he backslide? Perhaps. From the article I understand that there is an effort to have him charged with further crimes that came to light since his imprisonment. If these crimes are proven, then it will only be justice if he serves a further sentence for them.

But don’t label his forgiveness sick. It isn’t. It represents hope. In fact, it represents the only hope any of us have. You may not find it pleasant to be compared to a convicted serial rapist, but we are all in the same boat. We have all fallen short of God, we all owe debts we have no power to repay, and we have all been offered an unlimited forgiveness and eternal redemption. That is the core of Christianity, it is the purpose of the crucifixion, it is the Promise of God. That the Daily Star completely fails to understand this is no great surprise, but it also says far more about them than it does about Worboys, if he is indeed being honest.

I have no way of knowing, but I will assume that he is until he shows otherwise. And if he isn't? If he's lying, and cynically using that hope of God's promise to deceive his way out of serving part of his sentence? Then even now, God's forgiveness is not beyond him. It is never too late, and there is no-one so evil or so far gone that they are beyond God's reach, if only they wish to be helped.

“Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”