Meet Jonathan
Speaker. Researcher. Writer.
My journey has taken me from the biological sciences and physiotherapy into scientific research, biblical scholarship, psychology, theology, and, more recently, into some of the most difficult questions surrounding hatred, violence, trauma, and forgiveness.
It eventually led me to write Hating and Forgiving.
I have spent much of my life trying to understand people: how we think, why we behave as we do, how we respond to suffering, and—perhaps most importantly—how we can become more like Jesus.
Why did you write Hating and Forgiving?
The journey began with an unexpected request.
Some friends living in Rawalpindi asked me to present, via Zoom, a Christian approach to PTSD, anxiety, and depression to local, low-income Christians in northern Pakistan. These remarkable people were experiencing intense and violent persecution, yet had minimal access to mental health professionals such as counselors and psychologists.
As I researched the psychological literature for non-pharmacological ways of helping to alleviate these symptoms, I discovered something that fascinated me: forgiving others can have profound psychological benefits for people experiencing anxiety and other mental health difficulties. And this appears to be relevant to people whether or not they have a belief in the spiritual world.
I became increasingly excited about the connection between this therapeutic approach and Jesus' command for his disciples to love their enemies. That excitement grew when the response from the Christian community was so positive.
Later, I was invited to Ukraine to speak about PTSD and other mental health difficulties to various Christian communities. Naturally, I began asking whether forgiving enemies might also have relevance for people living in this very different cultural and political environment.
It was in Ukraine that I was first asked to provide a written resource to help Christians understand that Jesus' commands about loving our enemies are achievable—that following them can bring us into closer harmony with him and may also contribute to better mental health.
As soon as I began writing, I felt an urgency to complete the project. I became passionate about making it practical, while at the same time wanting it to be as comprehensive and well researched as possible.
That became Hating and Forgiving.
What is your professional and research background?
I love research. It has been an essential part of both my professional life and my life as a follower of Jesus.
My initial tertiary qualifications were in the biological sciences, and it was during this period that my love of research really took off.
Science: B.Sc. (Hons), followed by work in Australia and Malaysia.
Health: B.Physiotherapy, followed by more than 30 years as a physiotherapist in private practice.
Research and teaching: I have published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, presented at local, national, and international conferences related to physiotherapy, and delivered lectures by invitation to physiotherapy and exercise science students.
Research has never been something I have regarded as separate from my Christian faith. For me, asking difficult questions, examining evidence carefully, and being willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads are all part of taking truth seriously.
What does a passion for Jesus and research look like?
My love of research has been driven by my love for Jesus and for people—and, in turn, my love for Jesus and people has continually driven my research.
This interplay was behind an eight-year journey exploring the reliability of the New Testament as an accurate record of what Jesus Christ said. That journey culminated in Echoes of Jesus: Does the New Testament Reflect What He Said?
The book is now in its second edition and has been translated into Arabic, Russian, and Ukrainian.
There is a natural continuity between my two books. If the New Testament is a reliable account of what Jesus said, then those who claim to follow him cannot simply walk away from his commands to love and forgive their enemies.
I have also been privileged to be part of an outward-focused church with its own army of volunteers. Bridgeman Baptist Community Church in Brisbane has been my spiritual home for more than thirty years.
What have I learned from working internationally?
Apart from working in Malaysia for two years, I have taught in Moldova, Pakistan (via Zoom), Russia, the Solomon Islands, and Ukraine.
My wife and I have served in Ukraine for six months since 2024. During that time, I have been invited to speak about forgiving others in many towns and cities, including Kyiv, Poltava, and Zaporizhzhia.
These experiences have taught me something important.
People from remarkably different cultures and circumstances who want to follow Jesus face the same fundamental question: How do we love people who hate us?
That question becomes particularly difficult when the people who hate us have harmed us, threatened our families, persecuted our communities, or are actively trying to kill us.
I have become convinced that Christians need to know that Jesus' radical and seemingly impossible commands to love those who hate us are achievable. They need to understand when to do this, what forgiveness actually means, and how to begin the journey.
Why is Hating and Forgiving needed today?
Many Christians misunderstand the difference between forgiving and reconciling. They also misunderstand what forgiveness does—and does not—mean according to Scripture.
When forgiveness and reconciliation are conflated, particularly in situations involving victims and perpetrators, people can understandably despair of ever being able to obey Jesus' command to forgive their enemies. This is especially true after heinous crimes or during war.
There are also very few cross-cultural accounts of Christian victims who have forgiven after experiencing extreme violations. As a result, many Christians around the world have little evidence that forgiving violent enemies is actually possible.
The problem is compounded by influential voices who teach that Christians do not have to forgive their enemies, or that hatred can be an acceptable response to violence.
Hating and Forgiving addresses these claims directly.
It offers a scripturally grounded and psychologically informed argument for why hatred should not be the final destination for someone who has endured violence or trauma.
The book also addresses a particularly difficult question for Christians serving—or considering serving—in wartime combat and national defence forces:
How can a Christian fulfil and excel in military duties without being motivated by hatred?
This is not an easy question. Christian soldiers may be required to use lethal force to protect others from violent enemies. Yet Jesus' command to love our enemies does not disappear when we put on a uniform.
In Hating and Forgiving, I explore how these apparently conflicting obligations can be understood together, drawing on Scripture, psychology, military ethics, and evidence and perspectives from credible sources within the armed forces of various countries.
I believe this is an important conversation—not only for soldiers, veterans, and military chaplains, but also for pastors, victims of violence, survivors of trauma, and anyone struggling with hatred toward another person.
Ultimately, Hating and Forgiving takes violence seriously while offering a practical path away from hatred.
My own journey down the river of forgiveness.
There is one thing I don't want readers to assume about me: that I write about forgiveness because I have somehow mastered it.
I haven't.
My first significant journey down the river of forgiveness was more like falling off a cliff. It ended badly—for me and for those I took with me.
It was particularly shameful because I had only lost money.
That experience is one reason I am in awe of people who have succeeded in forgiving their enemies after experiencing heinous violations. Their journeys have challenged me deeply.
I hope Hating and Forgiving helps people who have been hurt, betrayed, violated, persecuted, or traumatized—whether or not they believe in the spiritual world.
I hope it helps them see that forgiveness is achievable.
I hope it helps them want to forgive.
And, perhaps most importantly, I hope it helps them understand when forgiveness is called for, what it really means, and how to begin the journey.
My hope is that, together, we can learn to swim the river of forgiveness toward an ocean free of hate.
An endorsement of Hating and Forgiving
“I have been researching forgiveness as a Christian scholar for over ten years, and I am genuinely impressed by the depth of Jonathan Clerke’s work. Hating and Forgiving correctly captures forgiveness as loving one’s enemies at a time when many approaches emphasize forgiveness primarily for one’s own benefit. Drawing on philosophical, theological, and psychological perspectives, the book offers a rich and integrated account of forgiveness. Obeying Jesus’s command to love our enemies can feel daunting, or even outrageous, but Jonathan Clerke compellingly presents forgiveness as something we both can and ought to practice for our spiritual health. He also provides excellent tools to help readers swim in the river of forgiveness toward an ocean free of hate. This is a must-read for anyone seeking to engage deeply with Christ’s call to love.”
— Jichan J. Kim, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
