Foundational for our hope, however, is that our Judge will be none other than our Savior.
The Hope of Eternal Life
We can entrust the judgment of our lives to the one who died for our trespasses and rose for our justification cf. If Scripture is rich in affirmations of eternal life as the hope of humanity and the goal of God's redemptive work, it is equally clear that the goal of eternal life can be missed as a result of human sinfulness. So, for example, the willful rejection of the Word of God is said to make one unworthy of eternal life Acts The opposite of the hope of eternal life we may call the possibility of eternal loss.
Scripture is vivid in its imagery conveying the possibility of eternal loss. The New Testament uses the name Gehenna, usually translated as "hell," to denote a place or state of punishment for evil. In the Gospel of Mark Jesus speaks of Gehenna as a place of "inextinguishable fire" where "their worm never dies" Mk. The imagery is drawn from Old Testament texts such as Isa. Numerous other New Testament passages use the symbolism of fire to speak of the punishment that awaits evildoers Mt.
When we turn to the Pauline and Johannine literature, we find further admonitions regarding the possibility of eternal loss. For example, in Romans 2: God "will repay according to each one's deeds: The author of 2 Thess. The frequent use of fire imagery in the New Testament in connection with the punishment of evildoers raises the question of its theological significance. Since God himself can be called the "consuming fire" Heb. If the hope of eternal life means hope for the recovery of unending communion with God, the possibility of hell and eternal loss is the possibility that a human can, through sin, become fully and finally lost to eternal communion with God.
The reality of hell was simply assumed through much of Christian history. Theologians discussed hell, but there were few doctrinal controversies. The most significant exception was the debate over the heritage of Origen within Eastern Christianity. Origen taught that the punishment for sin, the fires of hell, aimed at rehabilitation and purification, which raised the question whether all persons, including the fallen angels, may at some time be purified and enter blessed glory.
In the mid-sixth century, Origenist teachings about last things were condemned in a series of anathemas that originated with the Emperor Justinian. Explicitly condemned was anyone who taught that "the punishment of the demons and of impious men is temporary, and that it will have an end at some time, or that there will be a restoration apokatastasis of demons and impious men.
As seen in the above discussion of judgment, medieval teaching in the West assumed the possibility that judgment could lead to the damnation of some persons. That hell is eternal for those within it was explicitly taught by the Fourth Lateran Council The Lutheran Reformers accepted without debate the traditional teaching of hell and the possibility of damnation. The Augsburg Confession asserts in Art. XVII that when Christ returns for judgment, along with giving eternal life to elect believers, he will "condemn the ungodly and the devils to hell and eternal punishment.
In the Large Catechism he admonishes parents who do not bring up their children in godliness: Post-Reformation Lutheran theologians agreed on the existence of hell, the nature of its punishments, and, with few exceptions, its duration for all eternity. The punishments are both bodily and mental, being felt in different degrees according to the gravity of the person's sins. More recently, the German Lutheran Evangelischer Erwachsenenkatechismus understands hell as the self-enclosure of the human person against God, the life of the person who, "since he will receive nothing, rather wishes to live on the basis of himself.
Hell is less a divine condemnation than a result of our own decision. To deny hell and affirm universalism would be incompatible with the teaching of Jesus and of the majority of the New Testament. The Council of Trent spoke once of fear of hell as a motive for imperfect contrition, but offered no account of hell and the punishment of eternal loss. First, to clarify Christ's descent into hell, the Catechism states that what is properly called "hell" is not the temporary dwelling of the pre-Christian righteous, to which Christ descended, but is instead "that most loathsome and dark prison in which the souls of the damned are tormented with the unclean spirits in eternal and inextinguishable fire.
Then, in its account of Christ's return to judge the living and the dead, the Catechism dwells on the sentence with which Christ the Judge, according to Mt. Their heaviest punishment comes from being told, "Depart from me," to suffer an eternal pain of loss in banishment from the sight of God. Being relegated to "eternal fire" indicates the sense of pain that they will suffer without end. Then, the punishment of hell was "prepared for the devil and his angels," showing that the lost lack kindly companionship since they are forever with wicked demons. The documents of Vatican Council II do not use the word "hell," but the reality is treated in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church , where it inculcates a spirituality of watchfulness, so as to be ready for acquittal by Christ the coming judge "and not be ordered, like the evil and lazy servants see Mt.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church treats hell in a section of the article of the Creed on life everlasting. From the consideration that union with God is incompatible with grave sins against God, our neighbor, or ourselves, it follows that hell is the condition of those who definitively exclude themselves from God and his mercy. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" 1 Jn. Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren Mt.
To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire. In these recent texts, Lutherans and Catholics alike stress the possibility of hell as the result of a self-imprisoning of sinners in their own independent isolation.
The seriousness of sin means that such a possibility cannot be excluded. While unqualified universalism, the affirmation that all persons will be redeemed, is rejected by the official teachings of the Catholic and Lutheran traditions, theologians continue to discuss the question of the breadth of Christian hope. Even if a firm belief that all will be saved does not accord with biblical and normative teaching, can the Christian nevertheless hope for the salvation of each individual and for the salvation of all?
This question, vigorously discussed over the last century, can here be only briefly analyzed. Both Lutheran and Catholic traditions teach that God's saving will extends to all persons. In Catholic teaching, this assertion is made more than once by the Second Vatican Council. Within the Lutheran tradition, debate about the universal saving will of God arose in debates over election.
The Formula of Concord affirmed that God "wants no one to be lost but rather that everyone repent and believe on the Lord Christ [Rom. Sinful human rejection, not insufficiency of the gospel or of God's will to save, is responsible for those who may be lost.
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The impetus for a discussion of a hope for universal salvation among Catholics and Lutherans came from the work of the Reformed theologian Karl Barth and, in particular, his Christocentric understanding of election. If God's election of Jesus Christ is the foundation of God's saving will and if that saving will is supreme, how is eternal loss possible? On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of relevant biblical texts, Barth concludes that the possibility of final loss cannot be ruled out, but also that the final reality that some will be lost also cannot be affirmed.
He emphasizes the universal divine will to save, the absence of New Testament teaching that any one in particular other than the Devil is lost, and hope for others as an aspect of love for others. The church has always believed that such a universal salvific will on God's part has an ample efficacy. The Church has never once declared the damnation of a single person as a concrete fact. But, since hell is a genuine possibility for every person, it is not right. Debate over this question has been less vehement in Lutheran circles, but the idea of a universal hope has been common.
Already in the s, Paul Althaus argued that one cannot exclude the possibility of the salvation of all. If I can hope for my own salvation, there is no one for whom I also cannot hope. Our churches affirm the possibility of eternal loss, that human persons could be removed from the presence of God for all eternity. The possibility of loss is not to be ascribed to any will of God to damn some while redeeming others.
God wishes the salvation of all. The possibility of loss points to the importance of a living faith in God. Those who refuse God's mercy can only live in the hell of their own self-enclosure. What is opposed to God cannot enter God's kingdom. Our churches also pray for all people.
In accord with such prayer, this dialogue affirms the hope that no one will be lost from the community of the saints. We are confident in entrusting every person to the one Judge who died for their sins. The ultimate hope of Christians is the triumph of God's will to bless creation through unity with Christ and the Spirit.
The day will come when all things are subjected to Christ and God will be "all in all" 1 Cor. Every tear will be wiped away; death shall be no more Rev. In the new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven, God will dwell with humanity Rev. The advent of this final and definitive kingdom of God, its relation to history, the interpretation of the difficult biblical discussions of the "signs of the end," the nature of the resurrection, and other related topics have been matters of intensive theological discussion from the beginnings of the church, but have played little role in Catholic-Lutheran disputes.
Lutherans and Catholics have a common doctrinal heritage on these questions and have permitted a broad range of freedom for varying detailed theological views. The discussion below will not attempt to cover these issues in their range and depth, but only note points where our traditions have made firm definitions and especially note the final and perfect communion of the saints, which forms the end of our fellowship in this world and the background for our discussion of other topics.
In various places New Testament authors use the term "heaven" or "heavenly" to refer to the "place" or state in which the faithful achieve eschatological perfection. Such conformity to Christ entails bearing the image of the heavenly Christ. Paul speaks elsewhere of the transformation, effected by Christ himself, that will enable such conformity 2 Cor. Since Christ is the image of God par excellence 2 Cor. Paul understands this transformation, which will reach completion only in the eschaton, to be underway even now, as Christians, through the Spirit of Christ, are already being transformed in the direction of their ultimate glory 2 Cor.
Thus the eschatological transformation will be the perfection of a change begun already in this life. The author of Hebrews also writes of the perfection that is obtained in heaven.
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Perfection could not be obtained until Christ came and offered a perfect sacrifice for sin Heb. Once this sacrifice was made, the righteous of all generations were made perfect Heb. The righteous dead who have been so perfected dwell in heaven or in the heavenly Jerusalem Heb.
This is the heavenly city that God has prepared for the faithful of all generations Heb.
This promised rest in heaven is the goal of all of history. The faithful of all generations share in this promised rest together Heb. The book of Revelation presents a vision of a new heaven and a new earth, and of a new Jerusalem, hidden in heaven and to be revealed at the end of time. This heavenly Jerusalem will be a place of purity, where sinners will not enter Rev. Those who enter the city will be able to eat of the tree of life Rev. The New Testament foresees not only the transformation of humanity in the resurrection, but also the transformation of all of creation and its release from suffering Matt.
While at least one New Testament text speaks explicitly of a coming kingdom of God on earth Rev. The main emphasis in New Testament texts regarding the final kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven does not fall on its location but on God's triumph over death and evil, God's gathering of the redeemed, and the communal nature of the kingdom, with the redeemed dwelling with God, with Christ, and with each other forever Matt.
Theological interest in the end of time, the resurrection, and the final reign of God waxed and waned in the church in during the patristic and medieval periods. Very few matters, however, were doctrinally defined. An exception is the insistence that humanity will receive at the resurrection the same bodies they possessed in this life, although transformed. This identity between the earthly and risen body was taught by the Eleventh Regional Council of Toledo, Spain and then repeated by the Fourth Lateran Council The precise nature of the identity of the earthly and resurrection bodies was never defined, however.
This article was accepted by the Catholic response at the Diet of Augsburg and these topics figured neither in further Catholic-Lutheran controversies nor in the intra-Lutheran arguments leading up to the Formula of Concord. Luther's catechisms speak of the end as the time when the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification begun in us at baptism is perfectly complete. In the presentation of the third article of the Creed, the Small Catechism stresses the gifts of the Spirit in this life and then ends: The Large Catechism similarly stressed the constant work of the Spirit in this life: On the Last Day, that work is finished.
Later Lutheran theologians continued to teach that the eternal and supreme happiness of heaven consists in the person seeing God "face to face" and being filled with joy. This enjoyment of God will not be disturbed by "carnal attachments," for union with God will bring "complete rectitude of will and appetite.
Some theologians taught that the essential blessing of knowing and seeing God will be given to all the blessed without variation, but other aspects of heaven will be experienced in varied degrees of splendor and glory, according to different levels of capacity that were formed in this life. Lutheran theology of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries developed an idiosyncratic theology of the nature of the final kingdom of God.
While individuals would rise with their bodies, the remainder of the world would not be transformed, but simply annihilated. Only the non-fallen angels and redeemed humanity would be taken into glory. This view, while widely taught, was never held to be a matter of doctrine and mostly disappeared. The Council of Trent gave no developed account of heaven as the state of our eschatological perfection. The Catechism of the Council of Trent , on the article "life everlasting," explained that this is not only continued existence, but also "that perpetuity of happiness which is to satisfy the desires of the blessed.
Drawing on Chrysostom and Augustine, the Catechism describes the happiness of eternal life as both exemption from all evil, such as hunger and thirst, tears, sorrow, and death Rev. On the latter, tradition sanctions a basic division between essential beatitude and accessory happiness, which the Lutheran textbooks also taught. Essential beatitude consists in knowing God and Christ Jn. Accessory happiness follows from the vision, in glory, honor, and peace cf. The Second Vatican Council emphasized the orientation of the church toward God's kingdom, of which it is the "seed and beginning.
For when Christ appears and the glorious resurrection of the dead takes place, the brightness of God will illuminate the heavenly city and the Lamb will be its light see Rev. Then the whole church of the saints in the supreme happiness of love will adore God and "the lamb who was slain" Rev. The main account of heaven in the Catechism of the Catholic Church comes in explaining the creedal article on life everlasting. The essential point about heaven is that "those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God forever, for they 'see him as he is,' face to face," as indicated in 1 Jn.
This fulfillment centers on being with Christ and living in him, in which the redeemed find their own identity , for "the life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ" Catholics and Lutherans confess together a common conviction that the triumph of God's grace will be consummated in a perfect communion of love, justice, and peace.
All the redeemed will exist in harmony with God and with one another in a radically transformed world. This hope is significant for our ecumenical efforts. As is often said, our divisions do not reach to heaven. We began this chapter with an assertion of our common hope. The detailed elaboration of the witness of our two traditions that has followed provides a firm foundation for that assertion. Catholics and Lutherans are united in their hope for a future whose name is Jesus. This shared hope was asserted in an earlier round of this dialogue at a crucial juncture.
In its important thesis statement on justification, Round VII of the dialogue affirmed: This agreement is both at the level of foundations, in our common focus on God's act in Christ and the Spirit, and also at the level of many details. Traditional Disputes within the Context of our Common Hope. Together Catholics, Lutherans, and many other Christians share a sure and certain hope of eternal life in fellowship with the Triune God.
In the topics discussed — death, intermediate states, judgment, hell and heaven — Lutherans and Catholics clearly have had only minimal disagreements. This shared framework forms the context for a consideration of the limited but historically significant disputes to be considered in this chapter: Any ecumenical judgment on the weight of the differences between our traditions in these areas must consider both sets of issues. If we die still deformed by sin, but will finally live before God fully transformed into what God intends for humanity, then some sort of change or transformation must occur between death and entry into eschatological glory.
In this sense, the general topic of "purgation" is unavoidable. What is the nature of this transformation? Lutherans and Catholics have given conflicting descriptions of this transformation from the earliest years of the Reformation. The questions for this dialogue concern the nature of the divergent answers and whether they represent a church-dividing difference, i.
We seek here to answer these questions. No biblical text uses the word "purgatory," but various passages state or suggest that only the pure or holy will enter the presence of God. Jesus says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" Mt. The seer of Revelation says that nothing unclean will enter the heavenly Jerusalem They will see God's face At the final union of the church with Christ, the church is presented as a bride dressed in pure linen, symbolizing the righteous deeds of the saints The author of 1 John declares that "when [Jesus] is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure" 3: The author of Hebrews calls on his readers to pursue the holiness "without which no one will see the Lord" The most important texts that have been cited to provide biblical support for purgatory, however, are 2 Macc.
Because of hermeneutical or interpretive difficulties, they deserve more extensive discussion. The first text, chronologically, is the deuterocanonical 2 Macc. Some Jewish soldiers under the command of Judas Maccabeus bury their fallen comrades. They discover under their tunics "sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia," which means that these Jews were guilty of idolatry.
The soldiers pray for their dead comrades, that their sin might be blotted out. Judas takes up a collection and presents a sin offering in Jerusalem. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.
But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin. The significance of this text for the doctrinal status of belief in post-mortem purgation depends in part on the canonical authority of 2 Maccabees for our two traditions, a question that cannot be resolved here. The second text is 1 Cor. Paul points out that he and Apollos are merely servants of God, so that they are "not anything" 3: Indeed, their work will be judged by God.
Paul uses an architectural metaphor to make his point. Evangelists must exercise care in how they build upon the foundation of the church, which is Jesus Christ 3: If the evangelist's work has been of fine quality, symbolized by gold, silver, or precious stones — materials that will withstand a testing fire — the builder will receive a reward. If this work has been of poor quality, symbolized by wood, hay, and straw — materials that will be consumed in a testing fire — the reward will be lost, although the builder will be saved.
Several elements in this text are open to an interpretation that may go beyond their original context, and these are the elements that contributed to the use of this text in connection with purgatory. The fire, which in this text functions as a testing fire, in later tradition came to be understood as a purgative fire. The words "each" 3: The image of being saved "as through fire," which in the original context refers to the salvation of the evangelist, came to be applied to the salvation of individual Christians through a final, purifying fire.
The third text appears in Mt. The synoptic parallels read: The main point of Jesus' saying seems to be the difference between sins that can be forgiven and sins against the Holy Spirit, which cannot be forgiven. In the Markan version the reference to the eternal nature of such sin underlines the absolute impossibility of forgiveness. The Matthean reference to the age to come seems to serve the same function. At most the text of Matthew leaves open the question of the possibility of forgiveness of other sins in the age to come.
In reflecting on the foregoing discussion, we call attention to certain hermeneutical questions that arise in the use of biblical material to provide support for belief in purgatory. These include 1 the relationship between the original meaning of a text and meanings derived from a text over the course of the history of its interpretation esp.
Sometimes Eternity Ain’t Forever: Aiónios and the Universalist Hope | Eclectic Orthodoxy
For example, can we assume without further argument that the testing fire of 1 Cor 3: Beliefs and practices related to a post-death purgation have a long and complex history. By the beginning of the third century, Tertullian was writing of suffering after death which could be relieved by the intercession of the living, and Clement of Alexandria was teaching about post-death punishments that serve to heal departed souls. Augustine, however, substantially contributed to the development of the doctrine of purgatory. In Book 21, he asks whether divine punishment beyond death is strictly retributive, the just consequence of earlier sin, or also purgative and remedial.
A remedial punishment would clearly end if and when it brings about its intended improvement. Some punishments within this life are remedial. Augustine believes the same is true of some post-death punishment. For, as I have said, what is not forgiven in this life is pardoned in the life to come, in the case of those who are not to suffer eternal punishment.
Only those who die in Christ, however, suffer such remedial, non-eternal punishments: There are, of course, certain souls for whom the prayer either of the church or of some devout individuals is heard. These are the souls of those reborn in Christ whose lives in the body were not so evil that they are reckoned unworthy of mercy, but were not so good as to be found not needing such mercy.
And so, even after the resurrection of the dead, there will be some who, after enduring the pains suffered by the spirits of the dead, will be granted mercy and so not be cast into everlasting fire. For it would never have been said rightly that some would be forgiven neither "in this world nor in the world to come" [Mt.
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The fire Paul refers to in 1 Cor. There is an interval between the death of the body and the last day that is set for damnation and remuneration after the resurrection of all bodies. In this interval of time the spirits of the dead may be supposed to suffer some kind of fire. This will not be felt by those who in their lives and loves on earth built no structure of wood, hay, and straw that will burn up, whereas others will feel this fire since they brought with them such structures. They may feel this only after death, or both then and here on earth, or only during life.
The fire would be a transitory tribulation that burns away the venial worldliness not incurring damnation. I do not reject this idea, because perhaps it is true. Augustine suggests different forms that this fiery tribulation might well take, such as death itself, persecution, or the impact of the Antichrist. The crucial issue is how one has loved Christ and others. If Christ has had the first place, then imperfect human affections for others can be purged away.
Post-mortem purgation by fire, a hypothetical possibility for Augustine, became a matter of certainty in Gregory the Great's Dialogues , Book 4, early s , which was a widely influential account of faith and doctrine on life after death. Each person will meet the Judge just as he or she was at death. But "as one is at death" is not as simple as it might seem. Still, one must hold credendus est that there is to be a cleansing fire before judgment, in regard to certain minor faults that may remain to be purged away.
For Truth [Christ] says that "if anyone blasphemes against the Holy Spirit he shall not be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come"? From this we learn that some sins can be forgiven in this world and some in the world to come. For, if forgiveness is refused for a particular sin, we conclude logically that it is granted for others. This must apply, as I said, to slight transgressions, such as persistent idle talking, immoderate laughter, or blame in the care of property.
All these faults are troublesome for the soul after death if they are not forgiven while one is alive. Gregory added a later brief remark, however, that "generally. The first centuries of the second millennium saw developments both in doctrine e. The penitential system as it developed during this period formed the context within which purgatory was understood and addressed. Teachings about purgatory only became the object of dogmatic teaching, however, in the reunion discussions with the Orthodox at the Second Council of Lyons and the Council of Ferrara-Florence The Greeks, like the West, had the practice of offering alms, good works, and prayer, especially the Eucharist, for the dead.
Nevertheless, they considered the Western development of a doctrine of purgatory an innovation when they first encountered it. They had no teaching of purgatory as a place or distinct state and were deeply suspicious of the image of purifying fire, which for them was associated with Origen's teaching of a fire that would ultimately purify and redeem all humanity and even the devil.
While the teaching adopted by both councils, in almost identical words, embodies the core of the Western teaching, it carefully sought to meet Orthodox concerns. The term "purgatory" as the name for a place or state was avoided and no mention was made of "fire. The Council of Trent was similarly reticent. The brief Decree on Purgatory teaches only "that purgatory [ purgatorium ] exists, and that the souls detained there [ ibi ] are helped by the prayers of the faithful and most of all by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar.
An important assumption of this teaching, mentioned in the teaching of the Council of Florence, is spelled out in a canon of Trent's earlier Decree on Justification: Trent's limited teaching was repeated in the Catechism of the Council of Trent and in the Profession of Faith of the Council of Trent , which asserted: The Lutheran Confessions are uniformly critical of the doctrine of purgatory.
Their primary interest in the doctrine, however, is its relation to the proclamation of the gospel and its effect upon the article of justification. When the Confessions discuss purgatory, their concern is dominantly with the practices associated with purgatory: In response to these practices and in line with their understanding of the gospel, the Confessions, and the Lutheran Reformers more generally, not only rejected these perceived abuses, but indicated an alternative understanding of how the justified are perfected for glory by death and resurrection, without working out all the details.
For complex reasons rooted in the Saxon strategy at the Augsburg Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, the Augsburg Confession as presented at the Diet contained no reference to purgatory. The most explicit discussion of purgatory in the Confessions comes in the Smalcald Articles, II, 2, which addressed the mass as sacrifice. Purgatory, "with all its pomp, requiem Masses, and transactions, is to be regarded as an apparition of the devil for it obscures the chief article Behind Luther's typically extreme language, however, a more nuanced understanding is elaborated.
In a revised version of the article, Luther added a discussion of the authority of Augustine claimed for the doctrine. Augustine's word, lacking support from Scripture, may be tolerated and whether the dead may be commemorated at the sacrament. The existence of purgatory is not dogmatically denied. Rather, 1 the existence of purgatory is not taught by Scripture and thus cannot be binding doctrine, and 2 belief in purgatory is now hopelessly bound up with unacceptable practices.
A belief that could be discussed in principle is concretely objectionable because of its associations. These associations, however, were not just with what could be called abuses, but with the developed penitential system and the idea that satisfactions were still owed for forgiven sins. That the justified must still suffer for their sins, even for forgiven sins, was not denied by the Reformers. Not even Peter Lombard speaks this way about satisfactions" Apol. More decisively, the Confessions argue that the proclamation of free forgiveness is obscured by an emphasis on satisfactions still owed after forgiveness.
The criterion consistently applied is whether the gospel of free justification and forgiveness is communicated: For the Confessions, the sufferings that follow forgiven sin are understood in relation to one of the most fundamental soteriological categories of the Reformation: Penance is "a putting to death and a raising to life" Apol. What had been understood in a juridical model of punishment and satisfaction is reconceived in the model of ongoing death and resurrection.
Rather there is in a formal sense a punishment in repentance because regeneration itself occurs through a continuous mortification of our old nature" Apol. In a reversal of stereotypes, the medieval forensic understanding of ongoing suffering as temporal punishments for past venial or forgiven mortal sins is replaced on the Reformation side by a transformational understanding of the afflictions of daily life as the ongoing slaying of the old person who continues to live within us. The penitential side of the Christian life is understood as the ongoing struggle with the old person within us, who must be slain daily.
The Christian must finally be purged of this old self; this old self must be fully slain. How and when is that purgation completed? The Confessions present no extended argument in answer to that question, but assumed is the finality of bodily death and resurrection. The old self is finally purged in the death of the body and the new self is pure in its bodily resurrection. Thus, Luther says in the Large Catechism: Now, however, we remain only halfway pure and holy" LC, II, Death completes the process: Why assume that the old self is finally purged in death and not in a process that extends beyond death?
The Confessions give no systematic answer. At one point, Melanchthon finds a non-juridical purgation beyond death less objectionable. This theology is not fully spelled out and has at least two variants. Frequently, the ongoing presence of the old self is tied to the ongoing life of the flesh, with which sin is bound up. For Melanchthon, "sin still remains present in the flesh" Apol.
Luther is more detailed in the Large Catechism.
The Formula of Concord varies the argument, stating that original sin so pervades the self that: The heat of fiery love for the divine Other has grown tepid, even cold. The love of God for his own sake, which ought to burn brightly in the depths of men's souls, has been replaced with a love for finite, created objects: God, then, by such an attitude, is subjectively relegated to a position below those things he himself has made!
While we ordinarily receive the infused theological virtues of faith, hope and charity through the sacrament of Baptism as we are incorporated into Christ and given the incomparable gift of the Holy Spirit, it is perhaps easier to allow these sublime and supernatural gifts to wane than we would like to admit. Are we burning with faith, hope and charity?
If not, why not? These are questions upon which our ongoing life in eternity might well hinge; therefore it would be quite insane to dismiss them. Here we arrive at an important aspect of our Christian faith: We can hardly expect God to constantly look upon us with favor and shower us with his blessed gifts if we repeatedly ignore his love and make no effort to give of ourselves in return. Perhaps we have all had the experience of knowing someone who has lost the faith they once had.
Very often, such a tragedy takes place in stages and over an extended period of time as the heart is gradually transformed into stone through sin and disrespect for God. Whatever the case, it is crucial to treasure our faith for the magnificent gift it is, respond to God's grace, live a life of zealous holiness and charity, and unceasingly adore God in prayer for his life-giving gifts of love. Further, an awareness of the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence within should be unceasingly fostered through prayer, for those in a state of grace are God's sanctuary in the Spirit see 1 Cor.
If we find ourselves frequently forgetting for an extended period of time the fact that God is immanently present, if we have become largely unaware that God is indeed sustaining us moment by moment, and if the resurrection seems more a fantasy than a future reality, then perhaps our priorities are distorted and our life has taken a wrong turn.
If that should be the case, what is to be done? It must be remembered that life in and through and with God is a particular way of life: It is a life lived in intimate union with a Person -- not simply with a "something. If we are not living this Christian way of life, then it is time to reverse course.
Like the lost son, it is necessary to take stock of a dire situation, recognize its futility and dangerous nature, and thus return with profound sincerity and humility to the Father, that he may place a ring on our finger and sandals on our feet, that the fatted calf may be killed and the celebration begun see Lk The Holy Father asks us if the Christian faith is for us today a life-changing and life-sustaining hope.
That is a profound and serious question; one which each of us must ponder in his or her own heart. Bartels is a Catholic writer who knows his Catholic Faith is one of the greatest gifts a man could ever receive. He is a contributing writer for Catholic Online. Visit him also at catholicpathways. That priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness in their pastoral work, may find help and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord and in their friendship with their brother priests.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four canonical Gospels On Palm Sunday, we celebrate the first joy of the season, as we celebrate Our Lord's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem where he was welcomed by Holy Thursday is the most complex and profound of all religious observances.
It celebrates his last supper with the disciples, a celebration of Passover On Good Friday, each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Holy Week Easter is the principal feast of the ecclesiastical year. Leo I calls it the greatest feast, and says that Christmas is celebrated only in preparation for Easter Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours or Passion of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion For most people the easiest practice to consistently fulfill will be the traditional one, to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year.
During Lent abstinence from meat on Fridays is obligatory in the From the humorous to the bizarre, people have had interesting Lenten experiences. Tell us about what you are going to give up for this Lenten Year Being aware of this does not diminish the experience but intensifies it. For instance, I remember seeing Leonard Cohen on what turned out to be his final tour.
Both he and the audience knew this might be the last time he played for us. That gave the occasion an emotional depth that made it profoundly moving and unforgettable. Would we even have gone if we could have expected him back until and beyond? When we desire indefinite life we seem to be in denial of the essentially transient, impermanent nature of everything, especially of ourselves.
To even imagine eternal life we have to assume that we are the kinds of creatures who could persist indefinitely. But contemporary philosophers, neuroscientists, psychologists and the early Buddhists all agree that the self is in constant flux, lacking a permanent, unchanging essence. Put simply, there is no thing that could survive indefinitely. Take this seriously and you can see how the idea of living for ever is incoherent. If your body could be kept going for a thousand years, in what sense would the you that exists now still be around then? It would be more like a descendant than it would a continuation of you.
I sometimes find it hard to identify with my teenage self, and that was less than 40 years ago. If I change, I eventually become someone else.