Introduction
This paper will initially provide an objective look into two author’s works on Salvation. The information is taken from Transforming Power – Dimensions of the Gospel, Part One, The Doctrine of Salvation, written by French Arrington, Ph.D. and Alister E. McGrath’s, Theology The Basics, Chapter Five, Salvation. I will then deliver a subjective review of my personal thoughts on both and then culminate with my opinion as to which one provided the most impactful argument. I will first look at Arrington’s work.
The Doctrine of Salvation
Arrington bases his work on the following summary, “Salvation begins with God’s call, accepted by repentance and faith. It reaches its goal in glorification. The entire process is according to God’s plan. When the outcome is glorification, it cannot be traced ultimately to human merit, but only to God’s saving grace, manifested through the Cross” (85).
In his introduction, Arrington reviews the Biblical doctrine of salvation and how that it is the heart of the Christian faith. He asserts that the significance of Soteriology is to show all that God has done to set us free from the bondage of sin and guilt in order to bring us to the glorious condition of blessedness that Christians enter when Christ returns from heaven (21). In the New Testament, Arrington states that the words save and salvation have a wide range of meanings. Those meanings include strong physical components in that faith in Jesus saves and that salvation offers options such as deliverance from enemies and bodily health but it is predominately used in the New Testament as delivering us from sin. His focus is on how God used Christ and his death at Calvary and that the writers of the gospels utilize narratives on the P...
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...me ideology of Christ and how he was the only one that could fill the need for the perfect sacrifice. Again, Christ fulfills the prophecy of the Old Testament perfectly. One of the main points I liked from McGrath was his thought on Christ and His giving and making sense to the Christian way of living. It made me reflect on what the world must have been like in His day and how this Man above all men, walked the walk and talked the talk being the ultimate example of WWJD. Then, He gave His life on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice.
This thought along with McGrath’s writing being much more concise and to the point makes me select it as my favorite.
Works Cited
McGrath, Alister. “Theology – The Basics.” 3rd ed. West Sussex, U.K., Wiley-Blackwell 2012
Arrington, Ph. D, French. “Transforming Power – Dimensions of the Gospel.” Cleveland ,Tn., Pathway Press 2001
Wuthnow, R. (2009). Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches. California: University of California Press.
Guretzki, David. “What Does It Mean For Evangelicals To Say They Are ‘Save’.” One In Christ 46.1(2012): 79-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 April 2014.
Salvation is an important part of the Catholic religion. As a non-religious student, I have had to rely heavily on the definition of Salvation from the teachings in my class. With the aid of The Bible, C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity, St. Athanasius’ writing on Incarnation, and the “Class Notes on Salvation, I have been able to grasp an understanding of what Salvation is. At first, I believed that Salvation was a simple definition. I thought that Salvation was accepting Jesus Christ so that all of one’s sins are washed away. However, Salvation is much more than that. After multiple classes, I have learned that Salvation is essentially God’s plan to save humans by cleansing humans from Original Sin by using mechanical techniques such as becoming a finite being and dying for humans to live an indisputably whole life. After looking at the Fall, Lewis argues that sin affects the character of the fallen individual. Because of Original Sin, it can be said that human beings are corrupted in the mind which can be seen as a punishment in itself. With the understanding of Salvation, Catholics view Salvation by understanding the two sides of Salvation, Justification and Sanctification.
Engagement with others is the most fertile ground for spiritual growth. Yet, salvation cannot come through individual questing nor good works in the community of the world alone. Salvation can only come when the journey and the work become
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
14 Jonathan T. Pennington. Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew. (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2009), 214.15 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 101.16 Frank J. Matera. Passion Narratives and Gospel Theologies: Interpreting the Synoptics Through Their Passion Stories. (New York: Paulist Press, 1986), 115.17 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 229.
"EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 & 2." EXPLORING THEOLOGY 1 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.
“The atonement made our salvation possible” (Erickson 1998:799). I think this line cements the centrality of the atonement to the Gospel, we could even say from the above statement...
...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.
Reese, William J., Emily Dykman, Michael Lopez-Kaley, and Laura Nettles. Christian Theology: Scripture, Tradition, and Practice. Kearney, Neb.: Morris Pub., 2012. Print.
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The Doctrine of Salvation (Soteriology). God provides us with everything we need; we see this in Genesis where he provided Adam with everything he needed. Jesus became a man by reincarnation; a verse to support this is John 1:14 “
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