It has interested me over the past few years to see a growing trend for groups to offer “apologies” to other groups or individuals who may not even be alive, for sins that were not committed by the apologizing group. The whole truth about confession and forgiveness is horribly muddled in the whole process:
- Biblically speaking, confession is always by an individual for that individual’s sin.
- Biblically speaking, confession is always a recognition and admission that a sin has been committed and that restoration of relationship and fellowship is desired.
- “Apologies” give the appearance of confession without an actual admission of guilt (strictly speaking, the primary meaning of “apology” is a justification or defense of one’s actions or beliefs).
- It is impossible to seek forgiveness from someone who is dead (though it may be wise to seek personal forgiveness from his remaining family, if that is still possible).
I note all this, because we have another example of such an apology — this time a senior official of the Anglican Church “apologized” to Charles Darwin, concluding with this statement —
Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still. We try to practice the old virtues of ‘faith seeking understanding’ and hope that makes some amends.
There are many problems with such an “apology” (read through the list above to see how this does not fit a biblical view of genuine confession and repentance). And even more, it falls into the trap (again) of assuming the validity of a theory of the world that had (and has) at it’s core a desire to remove the authority of God from life.
Yesterday, Al Mohler weighed in with his thoughts on this apology. His commentary is well worth reading and heeding.
Words of Grace 