Author Archives: abfifer

Forgiving a Murderer

January 14, 2019 – 9:22 am

Almost 19 years ago, four white teenagers assaulted an older black man in Grand Rapids, torturing him until he died. Willie Jones was a GM retiree who had just finished bowling when the teens beat him up, stuffed him in the trunk of his own car, and drove the car around until the next morning, […]

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Christian Mediation in Clergy Abuse Cases?

January 9, 2019 – 8:23 pm

Could Christian mediation help with the Catholic Church’s clergy abuse cases? Christian mediation differs from standard mediation in that it consciously incorporates Christian principles into the mediation process, promoting not only resolution of the dispute but also reconciliation of the relationship, to whatever degree is appropriate. Far from settling with a compromise, Christian mediation has […]

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Kiss Goodbye to “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”

December 29, 2018 – 5:47 pm

Peacemaking includes being able to admit being wrong. So stories of people who publicly acknowledge being wrong are encouraging and instructive. Recently, author Joshua Harris has acknowledged that the popular book he wrote some twenty years ago, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, was not only naïve but in some cases caused harm, and asked his publisher […]

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When You Should Not Say You’re Sorry

December 18, 2018 – 9:40 am

Interesting blog by Amy Sereday recently on mediate.com regarding apologies: sometimes, saying “I’m sorry” is not the best thing to say. Some people over-use “I’m sorry,” as if they’re apologizing for things for which they’re actually not sorry and indeed may have no control over. Her example was saying you’re sorry after receiving unfair or […]

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I Apologize for Being 14

December 10, 2018 – 8:18 pm

Shortly after winning the Heisman Trophy this weekend, football player Kyler Murray issued an apology for tweets he had written a few years ago, that were considered by some as “anti-gay.” Here’s Murray’s apology: “I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from when I was 14 and 15. I used a […]

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