Redemption - Personal Or Universal?

[glintofpewter]

I don't read The Garden of Eden story as a fall; redemption salvation are words I would rather not use. ( I'll save my rant for another time.)

 

From an Eastern Orthodox view with which I am enamored at the moment

 

If man did not have the image of God in himself, he would not be able to seek its prototype. Each of us is an image of God, and God is our prototype. The image seeks the prototype, and only when it finds it does it find rest.

. . .

 

"The primary objective of human life is to unite with God (Theosis); so any action or even thought that estranges us from God is a sin. As St. Paul tells us, “The sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 16:56); sin has no legalistic dimension, it is

simply estrangement from Life.

 

The Biblical words that are synonymous and descriptive of Theosis are: adoption, redemption, inheritance, glorification, holiness and perfection.

"THEOSIS THE TRUE PURPOSE OF HUMAN LIFE”, ARCHIMANDRITE

GEORGE, SEPTEMBER 2006, “MELISSA” EDITIONS, ASPROBALTA 570 21, TEL.

23970 23313 IN 3000 COPIES AS A PUBLICATION OF THE MONASTERY OF ST.GREGORIOS OF MT. ATHOS ISBN: 960-7553-26-8

 

I like soma's description of what I understand to be the connection between the personal and universal movements and which I understand as: If we experience God's presence/love for us personally we will express God's love for Creation.

 

. . . because I have a personal relationship with Christ. I can love Him and serve Him and serve his creation. When I quiet my mind in mediation I come to the Universal God where I remember what God is like in the present. I feel the Creator and Creation are one and the same. I gain a momentum in silence that I can use to serve the Creator in Creation.

 

which, for me, leads to tariki's

 

The name of the game for me, is Grace and Mercy. Infinite Compassion.

. . . and to me this would be to follow in the footsteps of divinity.

 

 

Take care

 

Dutch

[Neon Genesis]

I think that salvation is both personal and global. Salvation is personal in the sense that religion can change people's personal lives like cases where people give up alcoholic addiction through Alcoholic Anonymous. But salvation is also global in that religion can also be used for good purposes like charity and how liberal religion has provided a supportive community that has helped people who have lost their previous church family for expressing an unpopular idea. In the gospels, Jesus commands his followers to evangelize the gospel but in John 10, he explains what that gospel is. It's not the typical idea of winning theological arguments or converting someone to your religion but it's about bringing life to people so that they may have it abundantly.