Abstract

The words “atone” and “atonement,” if employed at all in these days of somewhat loose morals, tend to refer to an action to make up for some misdeed. One realizes that what one did was wrong, and one may “repent” or at least feel regret, so that apology, perhaps restitution, is appropriate; maybe even some sort of “penance”, i.e., a task or sacrifice to show the reality of one’s regret. There is a related meaning listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, namely the reconciliation of two people or parties in some kind of conflict or estrangement. Apology, restitution, or penance are intended to promote at-one-ment, but there is no..