Teshuva as Confession of Sin: Jewish Guilt or Christian Absolution with Dr. Tanya White

Religion has been accused of many evils. One of them being the disproportionate obsession with sin, remorse and shame. Today we know that shame and guilt can have many unhealthy psychological consequences for the individual. How do we square the negative affect of shame with the process of repentance? Is there a difference between the Christian and Jewish perspectives on the penitential aspect of religion? Using a wide variety of sources from the Bible and ancient commentaries to modern psychologists and popular writers such as Erich Fromm, Brene Brown and Sheryl Sandberg we will go on a journey of exploration into how guilt and shame can be used constructively towards the transformation of the self.