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Etymology
SoteriologySoteriology is the study of salvation. Soter, meaning savior, and logos meaning word, reason or principle. Many religions give emphasis to salvation of one form or another, and as such have their own soteriologies. Some soteriologies are primarily concerned with relationships to, or unity with, gods; others more strongly emphasize cultivation of knowledge or virtue. Soteriologies also differ in what sort of salvation they promise. SoteriologiesChristian soteriology focuses on the role of God in Jesus Christ saving people. Islamic soteriology focuses on how humans can repent of and atone for their sins so as not to occupy a state of loss. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God, meant to bring one in union with God. Hinduism, which teaches that we are caught in a cycle of death and rebirth called samsara, contains a slightly different sort of soteriology devoted to the attainment of moksha, meaning liberation. For some this liberation is also seen as a state of closeness to Brahman. Jainism emphasizes penance and asceticism meant to lead to a liberation and ascendance of the soul. Buddhism is in a real sense devoted primarily to soteriology, i.e. liberation from suffering, ignorance, rebirth. Epicureanism is primarily concerned with temperance and simple life as a means to the absence of pain or freedom from anxiety (αταραξία) and Stoicism is concerned with the cultivation of virtues such as fortitude and detachment to improve spiritual well-being. Shinto and Tenrikyo similarly emphasize working for a good life by cultivating virtue or virtuous behavior, and many practitioners of Judaism also emphasize morality in this life over concern with the afterlife. In Falun Dafa (Traditional Chinese: 法輪大法) salvation refers to cultivation practice, or xiu lian, a process of giving up human attachments and assimilating to the Buddha Fa(佛 Fǒ, 法 Fǎ), or the fundamental characteristic of the universe, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance (真 zhen, 善 shan, 忍 ren). ChristianityPassages in Christian ScripturesThe New Testament contains 138 verses that, in English translation, use the words "salvation" (45), "save" (41) or "saved" (52). The following are some of the New Testament passages most cited in this regard. Interpretation of them varies.
In some nine verses, the Book of Ecclesiasticus or Wisdom of Sirach (considered by Orthodox and Catholics to be Scriptural), while not using the words "save" or "salvation", places a heavy emphasis on the importance of almsgiving, saying that performing this act can atone for sin, eg. Sir 3:30, "Water extinguishes a blazing fire: so almsgiving atones for sin." Similarly, sin is spoken of as being atoned for by sacrifice, as in Leviticus 16:30 - "On this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord." Roman CatholicismRoman Catholics believe[1] "Man stands in need of salvation from God,"[2] and "Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that guides him and the grace that sustains him."[3] It was for our salvation that "God loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins; the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world, and he was revealed to take away sins."[4] "By his death (Jesus, the Son of God) has conquered death, and so opened the possibility of salvation to all men."[5] Jesus has provided the Church with "the fullness of the means of salvation which [the Father] has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession".[6] Baptism is necessary for salvation.[7] And the sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn."[8] But these are not the only sacraments of importance for salvation: "The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation."[9] This holds especially for the Eucharist: ".Every time this mystery is celebrated, the work of our redemption is carried on and we break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ."[10] At the same time, however, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that through the graces Jesus won for humanity by sacrificing himself on the cross, salvation is possible even for those outside the visible boundaries of the Church. Christians and even non-Christians, if in life they respond positively to the grace and truth that God reveals to them through the mercy of Christ may be saved. This may include awareness of an obligation to become part of the Catholic Church. In such cases, "they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to remain in it."[11] Because of the freedom with which he is endowed, man can refuse God's offer of salvation in Christ, what the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls "God's plan of love"[12] The Catholic Church thus teaches that salvation to eternal life is God's will for all people, and that God grants it as a free gift, a grace, through the sacrifice of Christ. Man cannot, in the strict sense, merit anything from God.[13] It is God who justifies, that is, who frees from sin by a free gift of holiness (sanctifying grace, also known as habitual or deifying grace). Man can accept the gift God gives. Man can also refuse the gift. Human cooperation is needed, in line with a new capacity to adhere to the divine will that God provides.[14] The faith of a Christian is not without works, otherwise it would be dead.[15] In this sense, "by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone,"[16] and eternal life is, at one and the same time, grace and the reward given by God for good works and merits.[17] Faith, and subsequently works, are a result of God's grace - thus, it is only because of grace that the believer can be said to "merit" salvation. ProtestantsSome Protestants hold to a similar Catholic "faith plus works" salvation theology. Others believe that the Bible proclaims a rigidly Sola Fide ("faith in Jesus Christ alone")-based salvation without works. There is a complementary Protestant doctrine that the Bible proclaims salvation by "grace alone" (see Five solas). Especially in some interpretations of Calvinism this is extended to mean that God saves people (or condemns them) by freely granting or withholding his grace. This view does not exclude faith or works, as one must have faith to be saved (though it is viewed as God-given), and true believers will do good works. CalvinismThe TULIP acronym is a summary of the Five points of Calvinism: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, Perseverance of the Saints; Double Predestination and best-of-all-possible worlds are often added.[3] Salvation is appointed to the elect before the foundation of the world, and the entire process of being born again or adoption is done by the Holy Spirit alone, because the belief that faith is impossible by the unregenerated and is a works-based religion. "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us [2] for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,"Ephesians 1:4-5; "And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." Romans 8:30. Paul's allusion to God as the potter molding men as the clay into whatever he wishes without consent is the clearest explanation in Romans 9:1-29 See also Ephesians 2:8-10;Ephesians 2:1; John 10:25-30; Isaiah 53:12 (many not all); Romans 3:11. ArminianismLike Calvinists, Arminians agree that individuals are born sinners and are in need of salvation. They also agree that one is saved by accepting Jesus Christ's gift of salvation. However, they argue that the believer has free will and that one can lose one's salvation if one does not maintain it by continued faith in Jesus. Arminians distinguish between loss of faith and sin and believe that sin alone cannot result in the loss of salvation. However, John Wesley taught that that continued backsliding could inevitably lead to loss of faith, and consequently salvation, if left uncorrected. Arminian belief suggests an emphasis on maintaining faith by outward signs such as through communion with fellow believers. In that sense, it is similar to Catholicism in that Catholics do not overtly recognize the salvation of any who are not in communion with the Catholic Church. Arminianism may lend respectability to faithful churchgoers who have not accepted salvation while disparaging some who have but who have "lost their faith" by disagreeing with church leadership. The Arminian emphasis on free will, or more properly, free choice is important in salvation. If one has free choice, it is important for each individual to choose to accept the gift of salvation. The fact that an individual is baptized or associates with saved people does not mean that he has accepted salvation. Calvin wrote of predestination as though some groups were predestined to be saved while others were not. Such belief implies that being part of an allegedly predestined group saves one. Free choice is also an important Protestant concept in establishing the authority of the believer. It allows one to decide on one's own what the Scriptures say. One does not have to accept what the Pope or Calvin or another church authority says. Those in the Reformed Protestant camp frequently attach the label "Semipelagianism" to Arminian ideas. Many Arminians disagree with this generalization and consider it a libel against Jacobus Arminius, John Wesley, and the many other Arminians who maintain original sin and total depravity. Eastern ChristianityEastern Christianity was much less influenced by Augustine, and even less so by either Calvin or Arminius. Consequently, it doesn't just have different answers, but asks different questions; it generally views salvation in less legalistic terms (grace, punishment, and so on) and in more medical terms (sickness, healing etc.), and with less exacting precision. Instead, it views salvation more along the lines of theosis, a seeking to become holy or draw closer to God, a concept that has been developed over the centuries by many different Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Christians. It also stresses Jesus' teaching about forgiveness in Matthew 6:14-15: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." See also Sermon on the Mount. The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church, known also as The Catechism of St. Philaret [4] includes the questions and answers: "155. To save men from what did (the Son of God) come upon earth? From sin, the curse, and death." "208. How does the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross deliver us from sin, the curse, and death? That we may the more readily believe this mystery, the Word of God teaches us of it, so much as we may be able to receive, by the comparison of Jesus Christ with Adam. Adam is by nature the head of all mankind, which is one with him by natural descent from him. Jesus Christ, in whom the Godhead is united with manhood, graciously made himself the new almighty Head of men, whom he unites to himself through faith. Therefore as in Adam we had fallen under sin, the curse, and death, so we are delivered from sin, the curse, and death in Jesus Christ. His voluntary suffering and death on the cross for us, being of infinite value and merit, as the death of one sinless, God and man in one person, is both a perfect satisfaction to the justice of God, which had condemned us for sin to death, and a fund of infinite merit, which has obtained him the right, without prejudice to justice, to give us sinners pardon of our sins, and grace to have victory over sin and death." Christian Science and SalvationThe Christian Science textbook defines "Salvation" as follows: "Life, Truth and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, and death destroyed." (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 593, by Mary Baker Eddy.) New ChurchIn the New Church salvation is seen as the process of spiritual rebirth, rather than an instantaneous event. Christ is not seen as an atoning sacrifice to appease an angry Father, but is seen as Jehovah, God Himself, come to subdue the Hells, make His Human Divine, and redeem people's freedom to believe in Him and follow the path of salvation He has laid out. This path is seen in the model of His life on earth. It is still believed that a person is saved by Divine grace, but that one has the choice and must stop doing evil actions in order to receive this grace. "He who would be saved, must confess his sins, and do repentance. To confess sins is to know evils, to see them in oneself, to acknowledge them, to make oneself guilty and condemn oneself on account of them. Done before God, this is to confess sins. To do repentance is to desist from sins after one has thus confessed them and from a humble heart has sought forgiveness, and then to live a new life according to the precepts of charity and faith, He who merely acknowledges generally that he is a sinner, making himself guilty of all evils, without examining himself,--that is without seeing his sins,--makes a confession but not the confession of repentance. Inasmuch as he does not know his evils, he lives as before" (The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, para. 159-162). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints defines the term salvation in two distinct ways, based on the teachings of their modern-day prophet Joseph Smith, as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. The general Christian belief that salvation means returning to the presence of God and Jesus Christ is similar to the way the word is used in the Book of Mormon, wherein the prophet Amulek teaches that through the "great and last sacrifice" of the Son of God, "he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; ... to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice;" (Alma 34:14-16) Amulek teaches that the garments of the righteous "should be made white through the blood of the Lamb," and teaches the importance of sincere prayer, service to others, and thanksgiving as aspects of preparing to meet God and be saved. (Alma 34:32,38,39) The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi teaches the importance of following the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized, receiving the baptism of fire by the Holy Ghost, and pressing "forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:13,16,20) Latter-day Saints also believe that those who did not have a chance to be baptized in their mortal life will be able to get that chance through baptism for the dead, as Joseph Smith taught in D & C 128 Joseph Smith describes a vision of the degrees of glory in Doctrine and Covenants 76, wherein he sees that those who have done good works, comprising many of mankind who lay claim to the mercy of Jesus Christ, will receive higher glories in eternity than those who committed murder or did not repent of other major sins during this life. This latter group will suffer anguish and torment because they did not avail themselves of Christ's atonement, but they will eventually be redeemed from the torment of hell after they fully repent and call upon Christ to save them; yet, such salvation is to a lesser glory than they might otherwise have received, comparative to the brightness of stars versus the brightness of the moon or of the sun. (D & C 76:71-112) JudaismRabbinic Judaism teaches that "Every Jew has a share in the world to come (the afterlife)" (TB Sanhedrin 90a), and also that "the righteous people of other (non-Jewish) nations...", those who follow the elementary morals embodied in the Seven Noahide Laws, "...have a share in the world to come" (Tos. Sanhedrin 13, TB ibid. 105a). Although a person who sins may be punished either in this world or the next, punishment in the next world is in most cases limited in duration to 12 months (Mish. Eiduyot 2:10). Complete loss of a share in the afterlife (or, alternatively, eternal punishment; TB Rosh Hashanah 17a) is imposed for only a small number of very serious sins, most of which have to do with heresy. Even then a person can regain his share in the world to come through repentance and atonement. E. P. Sanders describes this overall view of salvation as "covenantal nomism". Some Jewish denominations disagree with Rabbinic Judaism regarding the nature or importance of the afterlife. For them, the "world to come" may not be a significant focus of religious thought, since they emphasize that Judaism concentrates on the here and now. See also Jewish Encyclopedia: Salvation, Judaism and Christianity, Jewish principles of faith. Islam
According to all the traditional schools of jurisprudence, faith (Iman) ensures salvation. There are however differing views concerning the formal constituents of the act of faith. "For the Asharis it is centred on internal taṣdīḳ[internal judgment of veracity], for the Māturīdī-Ḥanafīs on the expressed profession of faith and the adherence of the heart, for the Muʿtazilīs on the performance of the 'prescribed duties', for the Ḥanbalīs and the Wahhābīs on the profession of faith and the performance of the basic duties."[18] The common denominator of these various opinions is summed up in bearing witness that God is the Lord, L. Gardet states.[18] There are traditions in which Muhammad stated that "No one shall enter hell who has an atom of faith in his heart" or that "Hell will not welcome anyone who has in his heart an atom of faith" however these passages are interpreted in different ways. Those who consider performance as an integral part of faith such as Ḵh̲ārid̲j̲īs, consider anyone who does a grave sin to be out of faith, while the majority of Sunnis who view works as merely the perfecting the faith, hold that a believing sinner will be punished with a temporary stay in hell. Still there are disagreement over the possibility of a believing sinner being forgiven immediately (e.g As̲h̲ʿarīs) and in full rather than undergoing temporary punishment. (e.g. Māturīdīs)[18] Some, but not all, Muslims also believe that those who have heard the messages of a prophet of God (Moses, Jesus or Muhammad) but chosen not to follow will receive eternal damnation in hell. Eastern ReligionsAdherents of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism do not believe in salvation in the sense understood by most Westerners. They have no explicit Hell to be saved from or Heaven to be saved to. They believe in reincarnation after death. According to this belief, one's works or karma allow one to be reborn as a higher or lower being. If one is evil and has a multitude of bad works, one is likely to be reborn as a lower animal, possibly a worm. If one has a multitude of good works or good karma, one is likely to be reborn as a higher being, perhaps a human with higher status or in a higher caste. Eventually, however, one is able to escape from the cycle of death and rebirth and achieve salvation through the attainment of the highest spiritual state. This state is called Moksha or Mukti in Hinduism and often called Nirvana in Buddhism. This state is not one of individual happiness, but a merging of oneself with collective existence. In some beliefs, this existence is identified with God. HinduismSalvation is the soul's liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth and attainment of the highest spiritual state. It is the ultimate goal of, where even hell and heaven are temporary. This is called Moksha (Sanskrit: मोक्ष, liberation) or Mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति, release). Moksha is a final release from one's worldly conception of self, the loosening of the shackles of experiential duality and a re-establishment in one's own fundamental nature, though the nature is seen as ineffable and beyond sensation. The actual state of salvation is seen differently depending on one's beliefs.
In Hinduism, moksha occurs when the individual soul (human mind/spirit) or atman recognizes its identity with the Ground of all being - the Source of all phenomenal existence known as Brahman. The religion recognizes several paths to achieve this state, none of which is exclusive. They are the ways of selfless work (Karma Yoga), of self-dissolving love (Bhakti Yoga), of absolute discernment & knowledge(Jnana Yoga), and of 'royal' meditative immersion (Raja Yoga). BuddhismLiberation, called Nirvana in Buddhism, is seen as an end to suffering, reincarnation and ignorance. The Four Noble Truths outline some of Buddhist soteriology: they describe suffering (dukkha) and its causes, the possibility of its cessation, and the way to its cessation, i.e. the Noble Eightfold Path, which includes morality and meditation. The means of achieving liberation are further developed in other Buddhist teachings. They are expressed in very different terms by Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhists. Redemption
Redemption is a religious concept referring to forgiveness or absolution for past sins and protection from eternal damnation. Redemption is common in many world religions and all Abrahamic Religions, especially in Christianity and Islam. In Christianity redemption is synonymous with salvation. See also
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