Contemporary Soteriology

[Trustful]

I am not sure where to leave this question

I am looking for Church’s documents (good Catholic websites) which speak about contemporary Soteriology. I know… the language is heavy , so in simple words, it is about our sweet loving Jesus and His saving works.

‘Soteriology’ is another word for saving works of Jesus

Thank you.

 

[coracobb]

I am not sure where to leave this question

I am looking for Church’s documents (good Catholic websites) which speak about contemporary Soteriology. I know… the language is heavy , so in simple words, it is about our sweet loving Jesus and His saving works.

‘Soteriology’ is another word for saving works of Jesus

Thank you.

Search under ancient fathers writings or teachings

 

[Trustful]

I did write few things and I do not mind to share with others.

First part:

Contemporary Soteriology and its Principles

Soteriology is both a special field of sacred doctrine, and a special focus of theological research. It considers the saving works of Jesus Christ, who delivers mankind from sin and restores man to divine grace. Here is a brief analysis of contemporary Soteriology, first revealed in New Testament, then preached and developed into various themes.

Soteriology in New Testament

God, by revelation, comes to meet His sinful people; He comes in friendship and with salvation. Although the savific elements in the plan of building this divine friendship could be as wide as revelation itself, for theological usage, the term Soteriology is applied mostly to the study of God’s saving action in and through the work of the Incarnate word. For “God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” (John 3:15-16).

The New Testament writers present rich images that captured the effect of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Starting with the soteriological elements found in Pauline writings, the leading concepts are:

1. Justification - which is unmerited and free gift of God’s grace, given through faith, won through the death and resurrection of Christ.
2. Reconciliation – which is God’s initiative in bringing sinners through Christ from a state of enmity, to friendship with him (Rom 5:10). In Christ, the salvific goodness of God is present to humanity and gives men the grace of divine sonship (Gal 4:6). Jesus becomes a friend of sinners and dies for them.
3. Redemption – Christ paid ransom to set us free from slavery. (1 Cor 6:20).
   Elements of Paul’s Christology from which soteriology takes roots are: Christ, the New Adam, the first born of many brethren; “Empting” of oneself in order to be filled with Christ (Phil 2:6-7a); and Cosmic dimensions of Christ’s death and resurrection (Colossian 1:15-20).

The sacrificial love of Christ is also the center of Soteriological theme in the general Epistles. Peter describes Christ’s death as a sacrifice of atonement, “who himself bore our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died in sin, might live to justice” (1 Peter 2:24). On one hand Peter’s soteriology is very close to Paul’s, on the other, his words about “the Lamb without the blemish and without the spot” carry over into the sphere of Johannine ideas. According to John’s account Christ is “the atoning sacrifice for our sins”, “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29, 36). The Epistle to the Hebrews views Jesus’ death for our salvation as the mystery of Sacrifice, Christ, the high priest offering Himself as an expiation (Heb 2:17). “Although he was the Son of God, he learned obedience from the things that he suffered, and when perfected, he became to all who obey him the cause of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:8-9). His priestly office will persist into eternity.

Later I will post the next part.

 

[Trustful]

Here is the second part of what I researched and wrote on this subject:

Christ delivers from sin and evil!

“Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Sin and evil are not a part of God, however evil does exist in the world and it is very real. Many Saints and theologians have tried to understand the reasons to why this evil has such a strong hold on human life, but their insights are not fully satisfying and some are even challenging. Father Aidan Nichols explains that if theodicy, the problem of evil, could be solved to our satisfaction, there would be no need for salvation as presented in Christian revelation .

“O happy fault, that merited to have such and so great a Redeemer!” Had it not been for the sin of Adam, we would not have ‘needed’ or ‘necessitated’ Jesus Christ. God in His deep compassion does not leave us orphans in our struggles, but He offers help, and He comes in Christ to repair our own, and the world’s defects. His divine actions are often hidden from human eyes, but known to our spirits through faith. To those who believe in Christ, the message of the Cross becomes their power and the hidden wisdom of God, to others the message of Christ is often simply just foolishness.

**Different Models found in contemporary Soteriology **

In the history of Christian thought on the redemptive work of Christ, various kinds of soteriology have been constructed. Their principles differ as theologians take points of departure from different phases in the salvific work of Christ, starting from His Incarnation to His life at the right hand of the Father. Such points of departure set up divergent currents of thought in Soteriology.

The following four models take their roots from Patristic Church, and have been enriched over the centuries:

1. Illumination- Christ the Teacher, H.E.W. Turner and Clement of Rome write of the process of taking on the mind of Christ. The word of Jesus possesses a twofold function: the dynamic function of bringing salvation, and the function of instruction. Jesus shows us the face of God, and at the same time he offers us an authentic interpretation of man.
2. Recapitulation- “Christ became what we are, to enable us to become what He is”, explains J.N.D. Kelly. Theory of a Christ-centered view of history and theology that joins creation with redemption.
3. Victory over the devil- classic idea of Atonement, a divine conflict and victory as described by Gustaf Aulen in his famous work Christus Victor.
4. Deification- the process of becoming Godlike. The revelation in Christ is a certain extension of the life of the Divine Persons to human creation. The concept very central to Orthodox theology and spirituality and perhaps not embraced fully in our Western Church. It is closely related the concept of recapitulation, a divine exchange.

Soteriology is a work needing to be done continually by the Church through its reflection, both on the deposit of faith, and on its living experience of the mystery of salvation itself. For those who love Christ, it is their hope that such reflection will bring a deeper love for our Savior, Jesus Christ, whom the Father sent in order to bring the broken world into His loving presence for all eternity. What a loving God we have!

Since I asked help on this subject I thought that I might share my insights

God bless