I think there is a difference in types of forgiveness, which muddies the
discussion of religious perspectives on forgiveness. There is the type in
which God forgives our sins. Only he can do that, and it doesn't necessarily
mean that we will not suffer earthly consequences of those sins; rather, it
means that he no longer holds them against us when accounting for our
salvation.

Then there is the type of forgiveness that we are called to practice and to
give one another in the world. To me, the function of this forgiveness is to
do something for me rather than for the one I forgive. When Jesus told the
disciples to forgive "seventy times seven," I think he meant to go beyond
what seems reasonable, or to stop trying to quantify forgiveness. He knew
that the act of forgiving does good for the forgiver, allowing him to avoid
being dominated and emotionally consummed by anger and hatred. One of my
favorite quotes says, "Holding onto bitterness and resentment is like
swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die." Forgiving allows
us to let go of the anger and resentment we hold for others, which hurts us
more than them and interferes with our ability to revel in our worship and
relationship with God. It also facilites our becoming emotionally healthy.
Forgiveness is different from reconciliation; sometimes it is better for
people to not reconcile or ever be around each other again, but for his own
good the one wronged could forgive and move on. When I work on forgiveness
with clients, we talk about knowing you've truly forgiven when you can
honestly wish the other person well rather than having negative feelings
evoked upon seeing or hearing of them.

So in Wiesenthal's story, the act of forgiving the Nazi would not have
absolved the Nazi of his sins - that would be between him and God. Gaining a
person's forgiveness would have helped the Nazi feel better on a human
level, and could be looked at as a step toward acknowledging a wrong and
making retribution. But more than that, forgiving would have been an act
that would have affected Wiesenthal's heart, as he let go of anger and
hatred toward the Nazis. To me, that would be nearly impossible to do during
the actual imprisonment.

Rich