Name: Questions of Faith: What is Forgiveness and Why is it Good?
Start: 2025-11-05T18:30:00-06:00
End: 2025-11-05T20:30:00-06:00
Location: Culver Family Welcome Center

Questions of Faith: What is Forgiveness and Why is it Good?

Join us for our second event in the Fox Valley as part of our NEW community lecture series, "Questions of Faith".
Our speakers will address the question "What is Forgiveness and Why is it Good?" As Christians, we are forgiven by God and commanded to forgive those who trespass against us. But what does this mean? Is forgiveness always good or the right thing to do? How do we know? Dr. Robert Enright, a pioneer in the study of forgiveness and its many dimensions, will share what research shows us about forgiveness as a moral virtue. He will describe the power of forgiveness to transform our own hearts, our relationships, and even our communities through forgiveness education. A local pastor, Fr. Chad Magnuson, will give us a glimpse into the theological underpinnings of forgiveness and why it is good, as it flows from the heart and character of God. A Q&A moderated discussion will follow the speakers.
Check-in and a reception with light appetizers will begin at 6:00 p.m., with the lecture starting *promptly* at 6:30 p.m. The event will take place in the Culver Family Welcome Center on campus at U.W. — Oshkosh.
Contact [email protected] with any questions.
Robert Enright, Ph.D. is a Professor of Forgiveness Science within the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a licensed psychologist. He is the first to publish a scientific study on the topic of person-to-person forgiving in 1989. He is the founder of the International Forgiveness Institute, a non-profit organization established in 1994 dedicated to disseminating knowledge about forgiveness and peaceful community renewal through forgiveness. For decades, he has focused on the importance of forgiveness within the human heart, families, religious communities, schools, workplaces, medical settings, shelters for those without homes, correctional institutions, and world conflict zones.
Chad Magnuson, Ph.D. an Oshkosh native, is the rector (lead pastor) of Church of the Incarnation in Appleton, WI. After earning his Ph.D. from UW-Madison in 2009, studying forgiveness under Dr. Enright, Chad enjoyed teaching psychology for 9 years at a Christian university. A surprise call from the Lord to pastoral ministry led Chad and his family on an adventurous journey of God-dependence and Gospel risk to plant a church in the Fox Valley during a pandemic. After a long season of intellectualism, workaholism, and self-reliance brought him to a breaking point, he found healing and transformation through the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and the historic Church. He’s passionate about helping others find that same freedom and healing in Jesus.