Salvation - Summary Theology: the basics PDF

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Salvation: This chapter is introduced by breaking down the word “salvation” as one that is not bound to religious context and is actually used in a general sense to refer to the “human quest for liberation” or emancipation. While many other religions do speak of salvation as a concept that varies in the form it takes and how it is achieved in each religious culture, Christian theology’s idea of it is distinct and the rest of the chapter tells how. Pauline images of salvation: Paul’s letters provide a look at a few examples of salvation, existing in every tense, as a release from danger or captivity or deliverance from some form of illness, with Augustus of Hippo describing salvation as a hospital, filled with people who are healing. Another way that Paul depicts salvation is by referring to Christians as adopted children of God, in the same way that Jesus is, who can receive glory after suffering as He did. Thirdly, Paul depicts salvation as justification through faith, by which we are acquitted of our sins and made righteous by God simply through believing in Him. Lastly, he explores salvation as redemption, in which Christians are redeemed of their sins by act of Jesus’ sacrifice. The problem of analogy: salvation as ransom: This section discusses the previously mentioned notion of the use of images in order to help Christians get a better understanding of God and Jesus. Here, the same idea is revisited but this time, using the analogy of a “ransom” to refer to Christ’s sacrifice of His life for us in exchange for our chance at salvation. Three interpretations are then offered for the word “ransom”: liberation, payment and someone to whom the ransom is paid. Explanations in the New Testament of Jesus’s sacrifice seem to align with this idea of Him offering himself in order that we be offered eternal life, his own life presuming the role of payment for our own liberation. However, that still leaves the question of who the debt is being paid to, with some writers, such as Origen, speculating that the devil is the recipient. Others such as Gregory the Great took this idea further, insisting that God offered Jesus, a sinless, divine being in the form of a sinful human, as bait for the devil. In falling for the bait, he overstepped the boundaries of the supposed agreement between him and God and forfeited His rights over the fallen humanity. However, this notion paints God in a manipulative, conniving light, contrary to His relative good nature. Still, support for the notion was said to be found in Rufinus of Aquileia’s exposition of the Apostle’s Creed, as well as in the book of 1st Peter, the hymn “Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem,” and Piers the Plowman. This section was interesting as it offered a narrative for the sacrifice of Jesus in a way I had never heard before, envisioning the devil as the keeper of fallen humanity and Jesus as the bait that God used to get them back. However, it seems, to me, too dramatized to imagine that it is a realistic telling of the relationship between God and the devil. Theories of atonement: Because there was no English translation for the word “reconciliation,” William Tyndale created the word atonement, which in a nonreligious context means reparations for a

wrongdoing, to refer to the benefits that Jesus offers Christian through his death on the cross. By definition, the word acts as an analogy for Jesus’s sacrifice for humans. The book says that this way of examining Christian thought is referred to as “the doctrine of the work of Christ.” Perhaps it is because I haven’t finished the chapter yet as I write this, but this section feels like an unrelated blip in relation to the rest of the chapter, so I look forward to understanding why it was seen as necessary to include. The cross as sacrifice: As opposed to other sacrifices that are discussed in the Bible, Jesus’s sacrifice of His own life on the cross is widely believed to be the ultimate, most perfect sacrifice. In other instances of ritualistic sacrificial ceremonies, such as that of an animal, the sins of the person performing the sacrifice still remained and were only purged until it was time again for the next sacrifice. However, as Athanasius would convey and write about in his Festal Letters, Jesus’s sacrifice was unique in that it accomplished a complete and permanent purging of all sins. Likewise, Augustine of Hippo elaborated this point further, by concurring that Jesus’s sacrifice of Himself is most noble because whereas he could have found another person or thing to go in His place or could’ve allowed Himself to be a recipient of the sacrifice rather than the sacrifice itself, he chose to assume the role as the ultimate mediator between humankind and the divinity of God by dying so that we might have eternal union with God as he does. Hugh of St. Victor agreed with this sentiment, adding that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice because his humanity allowed us to resonate with the sacrifice itself and his divinity, although in human form, made it possible for us to be made clean and unified with God. I agree that the idea of Jesus being a human sacrifice is what allowed Christians to truly resonate with His action. It is marvelous to think that had any other sacrifice been made, the effect would not have been had the magnitude to reconcile our sins forever. The cross as a victory: This way of looking at the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross views His triumph over sin, death and the devil on our behalf as a victory for humankind over the forces of evil that terrorized us. In exploring this idea, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo envisioned humankind as trapped or imprisoned by sin and death, with Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross as our liberators. It then proceeds to compare this victory to that of a war hero, who is showered with praise and glory, a theme that then made its way into the hymns of Christian churches. The book recounts the story of hymn writer Fortunatus preparing to receive fragments of the cross, and the hymn he wrote for the parade of sorts that ensued, which sang the praises of Jesus’s miraculous sacrifice. Lastly, it is noted that the hymns of Christian churches served as more than songs, but more as statements of important themes of the doctrine, made memorable by their recitation in the form of song. This section uses what I found to be one of the best analogies that has been put forth so far for the role of Jesus to His believers, a hero of our war against sin and evil. The cross and forgiveness:

This section begins with harsh criticism by Anselm of Canterbury of the lack of information and detail provided in the story of Jesus’s sacrifice, specifically the lack of explanation given as to why God would wish to redeem us and what Jesus’s role was in the process of redemption. In order to start to understand these issues, he developed an approach to Christ’s actions which envisioned the creation of humankind as designed so that we are allowed to always have a relationship with our creator. However, sin becomes a barrier, which Jesus’s sacrifice remedies in order that we may be in fellowship with God forever. This implies that Jesus’s role and His sacrifice were imminent and destined in order for our existence in relation to God to be as it should. That said, it is thus in keeping with God’s good nature to redeem us in order to remain consistent in who He is and to respect the order of His creation. Anselm describes sin as disobedience and offensive to God, which he had to remedy in order to permit a fellowship with us. This remedy, he calls “satisfaction.” Since we as humans cannot remedy our sins as only God is able to, Jesus, as the only being to manifest God’s divinity in the form of flesh was obligated to act as the remedy between our sin and disobedience and a renewed fellowship with God. He was the only answer which was capable of remedying our sins in the magnitude that was required and, as Aquinas helped argue, His divinity allowed Him to possess that magnitude as the God incarnate. However, unlike Anselm, Aquinas highlights the importance of Christ’s humanity as more than a means by which he paid the price for our sins. Lastly, it is noted the three ways in which believers relate to Christ: participation (which says that through our participation in faith, we are able to share in Jesus’s life and, too, claim His victories), representation (which says that Jesus represents God’s covenant to the church) and substitution (which sees Jesus as bearing the burden of our sins on the cross in place of us, for us). Salvation, sin, and Christ: Sin, the main factor that separates humanity from God, is remedied in salvation, as aforementioned, and acts as its opposite. Examples such as guilt versus forgiveness and illness versus healing act as examples of this. In a trifecta of roles, Christ’s remedies sin and salvation by acting as the prophet, priest and king in order to transform human nature and defeat sin and death. These three roles were seen as reflected in the gifts brought to Jesus by the Magi. By Turretini’s philosophy, Jesus assumed these three roles by showing God to us, leading us to Him and joining us together with Him, respectively. This idea became popular. This reminds me of the recurring idea of three in Christianity, namely most prevalent in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is impressive to see this tied together once again, here. Salvation, Christ and the redeemed life: Without Christ’s redemption, it is a popular belief that Christian life and existence would not be possible. Two ways in particular are pointed out for how Christian life is shaped by Him: the goal of Christians to be as Christ-like as possible and our outward actions acting as a reflection of our inward relationship with Him. This provides a good close to the chapter by once again affirming that Christianity would not exist without Christ’s redemption. Engagement with a text:

This section uses Augustine of Hippo’s text to examine the duplicity of Jesus, his ability to be both the lamb in his pureness and innocence, but also the lion in His courageousness. This, to me, was a good reflective piece as it ties together the duplicity of Jesus’s humanity and divinity. Content Question: What is the meaning of atonement offered in the chapter? Content Question: Who was Anselm and what was the basis of his contribution to theological thinking? Discussion Question: Why do you think that Jesus was required to make the sacrifice on our behalf? Why couldn’t God redeem us of our sins Himself or accept other forms of sacrifice as adequate? Discussion Question: Which analogy for the cross was most beneficial in your understanding of the sacrifice?...