The big idea is simply stated. Forgiveness, for RT, does not necessarily imply that the person being forgiven has done anything wrong. We may all have to forgive people, he argues, who have not in fact sinned against us; if we feel resentment, bitterness or anger towards people, then we need to forgive them, whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter. So I might need to forgive my wife for something even if she was not, in fact, at fault - for the sake of my relationship with her, I need to let her off the hook, even if I was wrong. And the same goes for God.
 
The problem with this, of course, is that it changes the meaning of the word “forgiveness” from the way it is used in Scripture, and threatens to distort the gospel in the process. Forgiveness, throughout the Bible, refers to an action taken by a wronged party towards one who has wronged them. It’s a word that indicates that sin, fault, blame, transgression and guilt are involved; it is an objective word (the thing which needs to be forgiven was, in fact, wrong) rather than a subjective word (somebody found it hurtful, but actually it was the right thing to do). Frankly, I’m not aware of a single place in Scripture where the word “forgiveness” is used in the way RT uses it throughout this book: as the laying aside of bitterness or resentment towards someone who has done nothing wrong, and in fact has done all things righteously, lovingly, and for our good. And that’s a big problem.
 
I do not contest RT’s point that we all, no doubt, experience disappointment with God at times, and that we need to react by glorifying him, renouncing bitterness or resentment towards him, speaking well of him in all situations, repenting if we have failed to respond in faith, and acknowledging that he is working all things for good, even when we don’t understand what he’s doing. But I would suggest that the best language for this response is not “forgiving God.” It is “trusting God.”