Virginia Commonwealth scholar to lecture on science of forgiveness

The free-admission presentation will be held at 1 p.m. and is titled "Helping People Forgive: What Science Can Tell Christians to Help Them Put Their Painful Past in the Past." Registration for the Zoom webinar is available at https://bit.ly/3S4qCxH

“I'm going to argue that such a scenario rarely if ever happens in the life of real scientists." -- Dr. Everett Worthington, Jr.

Over four decades Worthington has developed the REACH model to teach people how to forgive and created the “Hope-focused” model in couples counseling. He has published hundreds of scholarly articles based on extensive studies and clinical trials and authored 37 books on forgiveness and related topics, such as reconciliation, humility, and justice.

Currently he is engaged in what he terms “game-changing research” using his intervention model. The study involves 4,400 participants from six sites scattered across five countries on four continents and is being submitted for publication.

“People often think that a scientist pursues truth by following a rigid ‘scientific method’ and removing all personal feelings and values from the pursuit. Furthermore, hard work and true grit pay off in scientific break-throughs,” said Worthington in commenting about his upcoming talk. “I'm going to argue that such a scenario rarely if ever happens in the life of real scientists. As a Christian and a scientist, I have studied forgiveness since the mid-1980s and been blessed to contribute to both the basic and clinical science of forgiveness. I'll share my journey. It is peppered with values. It is empowered by strong emotions. It is characterized by seeing God's hand working unexpectedly.

“This is not a journey of steady accretion in which I as scientist build block by block until a mature scientific understanding exists. Rather, this is about life. It involves being taught by patients I've counseled, graduate students I've worked with, personal disasters and losses, and surprising offers of generosity. It is the life of a flesh-and-blood scientist who attempts to relate humbly to God's creation and piece together a story that will help people all over the world forgive.”

Originally planning a career in nuclear engineering and business, Worthington earned a master’s degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was admitted into Harvard Business School. The draft changed these plans, and after being commissioned as a naval officer, he turned his attention to psychology, earning his doctorate at the University of Missouri and joining the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University soon after graduation. In the ensuing years his interest in marriage and Christianity launched him into the field of couples counseling and eventually into the study of forgiveness.