A Shared Story for Reconciliation-Which Story? Conclusive Reflections
[Article]
Abraham van de Beek
Leiden
Brill
In cases of severe conflicts, e.g. in South-Africa during the time of apartheid or in Indonesia during the war of Independence, people are deeply wounded. Both victims and perpetrators bear memories of the past as heavy burdens that close the future for them. They keep their stories silent in order to not be confronted with the past. Telling the story seems to open up the future, but, in the end, it turns out that victims and perpetrators cannot develop a shared story. Only death can deliver them from the past. Christian faith proclaims the death of human beings in the death of Christ. It opens a new future in the resurrection of a new being. In cases of severe conflicts, e.g. in South-Africa during the time of apartheid or in Indonesia during the war of Independence, people are deeply wounded. Both victims and perpetrators bear memories of the past as heavy burdens that close the future for them. They keep their stories silent in order to not be confronted with the past. Telling the story seems to open up the future, but, in the end, it turns out that victims and perpetrators cannot develop a shared story. Only death can deliver them from the past. Christian faith proclaims the death of human beings in the death of Christ. It opens a new future in the resurrection of a new being.