This article studies the complexity of understandings of forgiveness among a sample of Black and White South Africans within the context of an empirical intercultural Bible reading process. We will first focus on the foundation upon which the study is predicated—namely that the social imagination of forgiveness is deeply contested among South Africans. Next, we will discuss the approach that the study took to gather the necessary data, and analyse the theological views of forgiveness among the participants in the study. Finally, we shall discuss some of the primary findings of the study. These show that social identity plays a significant role in shaping theological hermeneutics. Black and White participants hold diverse, and even conflicting, expressions and expectations for forgiveness. These are characterised as predominantly social and political for the Black participants, and predominantly individual and spiritual for the White participants.

本文研究了在跨文化的经验性圣经阅读过程中，南非黑人和白人南非人对宽恕的理解的复杂性。我们将首先关注该研究的基础，即南非人对宽恕的社会想象力进行了激烈的争论。接下来，我们将讨论该研究采用的收集必要数据的方法，并分析研究参与者之间的宽恕的神学观点。最后，我们将讨论该研究的一些主要发现。这些表明社会身份在塑造神学解释学中起着重要作用。黑人和白人参与者对宽恕持有多种多样甚至冲突的表情和期望。