Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty - Thesis Example

Download file to see previous pages All of these are grounded on the supposition that Jesus Christ is the son of God that was sent to save humanity. Yet, there are many fundamental differences between these churches that cause social and personal conflicts such as the concept of redemption and the Christian Liberty. This paper will examine those two topics comprehensively. First, this paper will examine how Christianity defines theology and how it is supposed to be achieved. Second it will examine the contextual meaning of Christian Liberty and how its concept affects contemporary social issues. Introduction to Theology of Redemption Literally, redemption means to buy back or repurchase (Wrigth 80). This is clear from the words of the Old Testament, in which the word redemption is used to refer to the ransom of slaves (Green 69). Redemption isn’t a new concept to theology. Several religions have some form of redemption practice or belief. Other religions have a broader meaning for redemption. More often, it is related with a person overcoming their shortcomings as a being in order to attain an exemplary position. In Buddhism, for example, giving up attachments to material desires is known as redemption while the Judaic belief system regards redemption as the act of bringing back of Israelites from their exile. Modern Christian theology regards redemption as a form of deliverance from sin which is an important element of salvation. However, the arrival of Jesus Christ provided a whole new meaning to the concept by providing a new context. The supposed betrayal of Adam and Eve became the all-encompassing sin and Jesus Christ was the way out of it (Hladky 108). He presented a greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, thus obtaining eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12; Colossians 1:14). Upon Jesus Christ’s death, redemption went beyond slaves but it is also about salvation from sin. Origen’s Theory of Redemption When we consider the theory of redemption, it isn’t possible to have a discussion without considering the concepts of Origen Adamantius. He is often attributed to controversial notions like universal reconciliation, universal salvation and other heteroclite views but the author Fredrick W. Norris wrote a book The Westminster handbook to Origen in the year 2004 and wrote that such an attribution would be entirely erroneous (Das 157). Origen proclaimed the diversity and radical nature of views about the soul (Deeway 79). He claimed that the soul is infinite with no beginning or end. It can, however, vary in strength depending on the decisions made from the previous life. The previous life will determine one’s current life.   This concept was widely accepted until Emperor Constantine took over the church in the year 325AD. Much later, the Emperor Justinian condemned this philosophy in 553 AD and the Church has since criticized the basis of Origen’s theory. There is a great debate on whether his parents were actually pagans or Christians because his theories and completed works have always been grounded on debatable claims and concepts (Drane 84). This resulted to a lot of controversies. He became popular but he also had to face some terrible animosity from the Bishop of Alexandria named Demetrius at the time. The story of his dispute with the Valentinian doctrine follower is a well known anecdote and it took place when Origen was preaching at Caesarea Palestinae but he went to Greece to meet the follower of Valentinus Candidus. The doctrine basically indicates that salvation and damnation are ...Download file to see next pages Read More