Who are we? Remembering and forgetting in the reparation of communal identity

Abstract

This article offers a review of Kierkegaard’s inverse dialectic of forgiveness. It interprets his use of remembering and forgetting in the inverse dialectic as an ethical axiom, shifting the dialectic into an interpersonal register by invoking his concept of the upbuilding quality of love. It concludes with three insights into how this inverse dialectic might be useful within a congregation struggling with the reparation of communal identity in the wake of denominational votes concerning gay and lesbian ordination.