An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

Repentance and Forgiveness
Repentance and forgiveness are at the heart of Christian practice, offering 
a chance of renewal. In services, the congregation confess their sins and 
are then absolved by the priest. Sometimes in order to move towards 

---

Fruits of Spiritual Experience
229
peace in the world, people need to say sorry on behalf of nations, even if 
they personally were not involved in the deed. Such acts pave the way for 
forgiveness and are not exclusive to Christianity.
An organization for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East, 
Jerusalem Peacemakers recently hosted an event about work being done 
to help build bridges between Syria and the West, Building Bridges for 
Peace with Syria, with Marc Gopin, 9 January 2008. This is the report:
At the same moment that the Prime Minister of Israel was hosting a 
dinner for President George Bush and Israel’s top politicians just a few 
blocks away, we hosted over 40 Israelis and Palestinians for a peace 
gathering and discussion with Rabbi Prof. Marc Gopin. Marc Gopin is 
the James Laue Professor of World’s Religions, Diplomacy and 
Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. Marc Gopin shared 
about his mission of reconciliation and recent journeys to Syria.
Invited by the Syrian government, Marc Gopin has been the only 
American rabbi to address the Syrian nation. Marc Gopin reported: 
‘we have in the last three years set up over five conferences and 
press conferences in Damascus, as well as at some universities on the 
issues of interfaith tolerance and interfaith cooperation in building 
civil society. All were broadcast on Syrian television and sometimes 
Al Jazeerah.’
On a journey to Aleppo in 2006, Marc Gopin was invited to be a 
guest of honor in the central mosque in Aleppo by his friend the mufti 
of Syria. After the mufti gave the Friday speech at the mosque he 
pointed out one man in the audience, an Iraqi refugee who had been 
tortured by American soldiers in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. 
In front of 2,000 people, Marc Gopin made a gesture of apology as a 
religious leader from America, to this man. The mufti asked his follow-
ers to record this moment. It was recorded on people’s cell phones and 
broadcast all over Syria. The leader of Syria responded that was more 
important as a gesture of reconciliation than any speech by the US 
president.