In the Christian religion, like many others, the belief in a single, ultimate, powerful being is upheld and practiced. However, unlike other monotheistic religions, the Christian belief in God is expressed in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This aspect of Christianity is very unique and is part of what defines it. Although some people may think so, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three separate beings. They are united as one in the Trinity, the same all-powerful God. God is the creator of all and the reason for our salvation as humans. “On the Incarnation” by St. Athanasius is a book explaining the Trinity and the process by which our Savior, Jesus Christ the Son, was revealed to us and how he redeemed us.
In the first chapters of “On the Incarnation”, St. Athanasius discusses the creation of humanity (and all other things). Another point of discussion in the first pages of this book is the fall of humanity and the foundation of our need for salvation. “In regard to the making of the universe and the creation of all things there have been various opinions, and...some say that all things are self-originated and, so to speak, haphazard.” (Athanasius 2) There are many different viewpoints describing Creation, but all are contradictory to the fact that the world and all things in it were created by the Word of God. (Athanasius 3) Evidence of this is demonstrated by the intricate order of all things. Every creature, every plant, every human has a purpose and place in nature. Even inanimate, unintelligent matter functions naturally and sustains itself along with other things transitively. God created Adam and Eve in His image and with creation came their original holiness. They lived in harmony with God ...
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...s 33) In fact, it would make sense to become human, the very thing that is in need of salvation in the first place. The sun need not be saved, nor the grass or insects that walk peacefully upon it.
In conclusion, the Incarnation was a direct road leading to our salvation through Jesus’ teachings, through His death and then through His resurrection. Jesus continues to administer his saving work upon us everyday as part of the Holy Trinity, one with God in heaven. Christ makes himself known to all, no matter the circumstance. Through the Incarnation our sins were absolved and death was defeated. We are able now to continue after earthly life to the kingdom of heaven to live forever with God.
Works Cited
St. Athanasius. On the Incarnation. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, n.d. Web. .
“The word "Incarnation"comes from the Latin words "in" and "carnis" which means “flesh."" Flesh is the solid part of our being, the part that we can see and touch, in contrast to our mind, soul, and spirit” According to John 4:24, God in his natural form is a spirit. In God’s plan of salvation, “it was necessary for the Son of God to be revealed to humankind in ways that they could see and touch, and so the Incarnation was a part of the plan-- placing the eternal, immortal, invisible Son of God in a body of flesh”(Lehigh, David). According to the Catholic Church, “The Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human.
When we watch any military motion pictures or documentaries we perceive that youthful troopers are taught that they ought to be prepared to give up their life whenever for their country. What does self-sacrifice actually mean? It’s an ability to willingly give up something good for something better. Envision a soldier fighting in the war where he has to establish a hard decision which includes either to relinquish his life to spare thousand different lives or be narrow minded and let others bite the dust. What do we anticipate from the soldier? Nearly all of the people will concur that he will give his life, and it’s true that he will as it’s his task to defend his nation. It’s not a child’s play to sacrifice happiness and spirit; one requires a large deal of strength and courage to act thus. Mot of the savants believes that one can’t evaluate the strength of someone by merely expecting at their physique, only by the readiness of self-sacrificing themselves for the betterment of others. In the movie Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring directed by Peter Jackson, the main character Frodo Baggins, his companions Marry and Pippin and a wise wizard Gandalf self-sacrificed their comfort, serenity and life in order to successfully complete their quest and to stop Sauron from crushing the Middle Earth. Sometimes individuals face compelling circumstances in their lives where they need to make life altering choices. The film proposes that by the act of self-sacrifice one can achieve internal strength that may have never existed before.
That we are all descendants of the first human being, which God created, Adam. And that we all live through Adam’s sin; therefore, we all live with his guilt (Enns, P., 2012). Thus, we as humans were born into sin and slavery, but Got sent his only son, Jesus Christ who saved us and set us free from that misery. So we are now set free from God 's condemnation of his law and no longer have to fear death anymore (Scott, J., 2001). I perceive that since Jesus died on the cross for us in a sense, we died with him too, and were risen as brand new from death just as he was. So now we are to live our life to resemble the kind of person Jesus was that is the ultimate fight we have in this world as human beings (Mills, A. M., 2010). "For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless the death [principle] reined from Ada until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam 's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come" (Rom. 5:13,
There are so many connections in this world. People have no idea how each religion has so many ties to one another. Even religions that you would never think intertwine in fact do. How it that we know what is expected of us and how is it that we know the true power of God’s love for us. Think of the relationship between incarnation and atonement. First what does each one mean and how are they similar and how they are different. First you have to look at each one separate. First you must understand each term to then be able to see how they are connected to each other. There are many versions of incarnation and atonement but with the Christian religion to be more specific, these ideas are very much connected. Saint Anselm, a very intelligent
In the book, Athanasius of Alexandria explores the topic and the reasons why the incarnation of God had to occur. Athanasius starts the paper by introducing people to the tremendous power God has over the World. Athanasius writes that the only reason for God to manifest in a human body is for the salvation of all humanity. Athanasius relates salvation and creation by stating that God has employed the same agent for both.
The doctrine of incarnation is a fundamental teaching in traditional Christianity, stating that Jesus Christ and God are one, as the Son is the Father incarnated in human flesh. This affirms that Jesus is paradoxically both fully God and fully human. While there is abundant evidence in the Bible to support the belief in the doctrine, and it is the widely accepted view, still opposition has come against incarnation, branding it intrinsically contradictory. In “Homoousios with the Father” Heron discusses the necessity of incarnation through the study of the word ‘homoousios’; the word provides basic understanding of Jesus’ oneness and equality with God. This sameness is not something that can be comprehended; the attempt to convey the relationship
Religion is a time old method used universally to express beliefs and help us understand some mysteries of life before time, in the present, and the future life, or afterlife. Although, it is not that simple to comprehend. Over time, it has morphed and evolved into ideas and traditions completely different from what was previously known and taught. One of the biggest changes of all time in religious history was brought about when Jesus Christ, Son of God, became flesh here on Earth. Not only did this bring change, but it also caused many conflicts and doubts. In the book On The Incarnation Saint Athanasius resolves some of these issues and heresies by providing counter arguments to prove Jesus’ full humanity and divinity. He discusses religious affairs both in favor of the incarnation and those opposed to believing it, showing them the flaws in their ways.
When God created the world “by faith is we understand that the world were framed by the word of God, so that the things which we see how did not come into being out of things which had previously appeared” (Athanasius...
Dhanpat Rai Shrivastava was born on July 31, 1880 in the small village of Lamahi, located near the city of Banaras in India. Although born into the Hindu Kaystha caste, made up of professionals including writers, doctors and lawyers, his family was poor. His father was a low paid postal employee. His mother died when he was only eight years old. His father remarried, but Dhanpat Rai did not like his stepmother. He studied Urdu and Persian, languages used in literature and administration in 19th century North India at a nearby school. He recalles his childhood fondly in one of his stories, so it is fairly safe to assume that he was a happy and well cared for child.
In the Bible there is no passage of Scripture that demonstrates and explains the full doctrine of the Trinity and thus it has been the intention of theologians and the early church doctrines to try to render an understanding to the enigma of ‘One God’ (Fortman, 1972).The slow evolution of the doctrine of the Trinity from its beginning is a result of the constraints of linguistic and theoretical theology (Hunt, 2004). The purpose of this report is to outline the historical evolution of understanding of the Trinity from the New Testament to the present day. The Apostolic Fathers clearly indicated and presented evidence of their belief in the ‘three pre-existent beings’. Most of them were clear in their divinity of Christ, but did not define the distinct personality of the divinity of the Holy Spirit and did not have an evident understanding of ‘divine person’ and ‘divine nature’. The Apostolic Fathers indicated clearly and gave evidence of their belief in the ‘three pre-existent beings’.
In the end, we may indeed recognize that in some areas God’s given revelation leaves us with questions, such as how we are to explain the paradoxical hypostasis of Christ’s full divinity and humanity. However, we must also remain grateful for the revelation which remains unambiguous, such as that which explains how Christ took our place of death in order to satisfy God’s wrath, that we might receive righteousness and live with Him forever. Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the salvation brought to us through the person and work of Christ!
This paper is a general theological descriptive research on salvation. Also, is how an individual may get to salvation plus some of the diverse Christian beliefs on the redemption order. This author attempts to show the reader a tiny sample, of a far-reaching subject, salvation, but God, the Rock, loves the world, and he is beyond it all, and he sent his son Jesus to save, reveal and restore the world. The paper 's base ideas are coming from the volume "The Mosaic of Christian Belief" by Roger Olsen.
While Paul does not specifically address mankind’s origins, Romans alludes to the acceptance that God created the
A simple definition of sacrifice is to give up something for the sake of something else, whether it is for another human life, for an idea, or even for a belief. “She was 17 years old. He stood glaring at her, his weapon before her face. ‘Do you believe in God?’ She paused. It was a life-or-death question. ‘Yes, I believe in God.’ ‘Why?’ asked her executioner. But he never gave her the chance to respond. The teenage girl lay dead at his feet.” (DC Talk 17) This example of a sacrifice really happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, on April 20, 1999. In the story Iphigenia and in today’s society, justification can be found in favor of the sacrifice of life for the lives of others, for the sake of one’s country, and for one’s religious beliefs.
Without really understanding it, Verity began running towards the teenager. Her legs, so unsteady that they couldn't hold her just a few moments ago, now felt as strong as steel. She could run forever. The teenager looked half unconscious, but he gripped the baby tightly in his arms, as if afraid to let go.