Ep 1398 | Heresy? Alisa Childers Addresses Her “Forgiveness” Controversy
Alisa Childers discusses her controversial statements about biblical forgiveness, clarifying that forgiveness requires repentance from the offender and is an interpersonal exchange, not merely an internal emotional process. She distinguishes between biblical forgiveness and the 'therapeutic forgiveness' model that has influenced churches through self-help culture.
Summary
The episode opens with Alisa sharing pregnancy updates at 34 weeks and discussing the unpredictability of her delivery timeline based on her previous pregnancies. She announces her upcoming appearance at Share the Arrows conference and promotes sponsors.
The main segment addresses backlash Alisa received for stating that biblical forgiveness cannot be offered to someone who hasn't repented, using Candace Owens as an example. Alisa clarifies that her comments were misinterpreted as endorsing unforgiveness or grudge-holding, which she explicitly rejects. She explains that 'therapeutic forgiveness'—a self-help movement concept that emphasizes emotional release and internal processing—has infiltrated churches and created confusion about what biblical forgiveness actually is.
Alisa argues that biblical forgiveness, as demonstrated in Luke 17, is a specific solution to a specific problem: when someone sins against you and repents, you offer them pardon from the moral debt created by their sin. This is fundamentally relational and requires both parties. She distinguishes this from other biblical commands like praying for persecutors, blessing those who curse you, and loving enemies—which Christians should practice regardless of repentance, but which are separate from the act of forgiveness itself.
Using Jesus's prayer on the cross ('Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do') and Stephen's dying prayer as examples, Alisa argues these represent Jesus and Stephen's heart posture of willingness to forgive and hope for repentance, not declarations of unconditional forgiveness. She emphasizes that if Jesus had authoritatively declared the crucifiers forgiven without repentance, it would imply universalism—salvation without faith in Christ.
Alisa then discusses why women may be more susceptible to therapeutic deception within churches. She argues that while women's empathy and intuitive nature are strengths, these qualities can become vulnerabilities when they prioritize feelings over objective truth. She warns against confusing discernment with gut feelings, emphasizing that biblical discernment requires testing all things against Scripture as an objective standard.
The conversation concludes with Alisa affirming that despite hormonal and physical challenges unique to women across different life stages, the Holy Spirit is not limited by these factors, and women are equipped with the same power, love, and self-control as men to align with truth.
About this episode
Allie is joined by Alisa Childers who was recently caught up in controversy online surrounding the topic of forgiveness. Alisa appeared on Alex Clark’s podcast, Culture Apothecary, where she was discussing the topic of forgiveness and repentance. Many found a specific clip pulled from the show confusing and began to jump to the conclusion that Alisa was promoting the idea that Christians can harbor bitterness and unrepentance towards others. Allie invites Alisa onto Relatable to clarify what she meant and explain what biblical forgiveness looks like as seen in scripture. They discuss therapeutic forgiveness vs biblical repentance, what it looks like to forgive someone who does not repent, and why women are more susceptible to manipulation because they are more emotionally driven. Do you have a question for Allie? Leave a voicemail at 844-755-5252 Share the Arrows 2026 is on October 10 in Dallas, Texas! Tickets are on sale now at: https://sharethearrows.com Share the Arrows is sponsored by: A'del Natural Cosmetics: AdelNaturalCosmetics.com Range Leather: RangeLeather.com/ALLIE We Heart Nutrition: WeHeartNutrition.com – Time Codes 00:00 Intro 0:54 Pregnancy Update! 7:30 God’s Plan Cannot Be Hindered 12:16 Controversy With…Alisa Childers? 22:13 Alisa Provides Clarity 32:27 Therapeutic vs Biblical Forgiveness – Today's Sponsors: World Watch News | Visit worldwatch.news/allie or use promo code “ALLIE” to start your free trial today. A’del Cosmetics | Visit https://AdelNaturalCosmetics.com and enter promo code RELATABLE for 20% off. Pre-Born | To donate, dial #250 and say the keyword “BABY.” Or visit https://Preborn.com/ALLIE . Seven Weeks Coffee | Go to https://sevenweekscoffee.com and save 15% forever when you subscribe, plus get a free gift with your order! Use code ALLIE for an extra 10% off your first order. Episodes You May Like: Deconstruction: Where It’s from & How to Stop It | Guest: Alisa Childers | Ep 1048 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2-yVF1t_zc Just Asking Questions: A Response to Candace Owens & a Biblical Approach to Investigation | Ep 1266 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q01g03147eY Biblical Forgiveness: The Mercy of Brandt Jean | Ep 171 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAX54cNnGOc --- ► Buy Allie's book "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": https://www.toxicempathy.com ► Buy Allie's book "You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love": https://alliebethstuckey.com/book ► Subscribe to the podcast: iTunes: https://apple.co/2UVssnP Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2FwkXxj ► Connect with Allie on social media: https://twitter.com/conservmillen https://www.instagram.com/alliebstuckey/ https://facebook.com/allieBlazeTV/ ► "Relatable" merchandise — use promo code ALLIE10 for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey
Key Insights
- Alisa argues that 'therapeutic forgiveness' entered churches through the self-help movement and teaches that forgiveness is primarily an internal emotional release rather than a relational act requiring repentance.
- She claims that biblical forgiveness is a specific interpersonal exchange where one party offers pardon to another party who has repented, not a unilateral internal process.
- Alisa contends that Jesus's prayer on the cross was not a declaration of unconditional forgiveness but rather a petition for God to bring the gospel to those crucifying him, offering them the opportunity to repent.
- She distinguishes between forgiveness and other biblical commands like praying for enemies and blessing persecutors, arguing these are often conflated but are separate practices.
- Alisa asserts that teaching unbiblical forgiveness models places harmful burden on abuse victims to measure their healing by emotional feelings rather than by biblical criteria.
- She argues women are more susceptible to deception that exploits empathy and feelings because they naturally attune to individual emotions, which can lead them to prioritize compassion over objective truth.
- Alisa claims that discernment is not a gut feeling but requires testing all things against Scripture as an objective standard, and women must practice this discipline especially given hormonal cycles.
- She states that the Holy Spirit and the gospel promise believers freedom from being ruled by their flesh, including hormonal influences, giving them capacity to align with truth regardless of physical circumstances.
Topics
Transcript
There is a therapeutic version of forgiveness that actually came into the church through the self-help movement. What it essentially teaches is that forgiveness is largely just like a solo act that you do in your own mind and in your own heart with the purpose of giving yourself a kind of emotional release from the pain that you have being sinned against by another person. That's something that you just have to do really hard work inside of yourself to forgive them. Sometimes I think we mistake some of the other commands in the Bible, like pray for those who persecute you, bless those who curse you, love your enemies. Those are things that are good and we need…
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