Soteriology

Soteriology (/səˌtɪəriˈɒlədʒi/; Greek: σωτηρία sōtēria 'salvation' from σωτήρ sōtēr 'savior, preserver' and λόγος logos 'study' or 'word') is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many religions.Thus, the fundamental reason that the precise identification of these two kinds of clinging to an identity – personal and phenomenal – is considered so important is again soteriological. Through first uncovering our clinging and then working on it, we become able to finally let go of this sole cause for all our afflictions and suffering. Soteriology (/səˌtɪəriˈɒlədʒi/; Greek: σωτηρία sōtēria 'salvation' from σωτήρ sōtēr 'savior, preserver' and λόγος logos 'study' or 'word') is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many religions. In the academic field of religious studies, soteriology is understood by scholars as representing a key theme in a number of different religions and is often studied in a comparative context; that is, comparing various ideas about what salvation is and how it is obtained. Buddhism is devoted primarily to liberation from suffering, ignorance, and contaminated rebirth. The purpose of one's life is to break free from samsara, the cycle of compulsory rebirth, by attaining moksha and nirvana. Many types of Buddhism, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana (or Tantric), emphasize an individual's meditation and subsequent liberation from samsara, which is to become enlightened. However, the Pure Land traditions of Mahayana Buddhism generally focus on the saving nature of the Celestial Buddha Amitābha. In Mahayana eschatology, it is believed that we are currently living through the Age of Dharma Decline, a period of 10,000 years where the corrupt nature of the people means the teachings of the Buddha are not listened to. Before this era occurred, the Bodhisattva Amitābha made 48 vows, including the vow to accept all sentient beings that called to him, to allow them to take refuge in his Pureland and to teach them the pure Dharma. It is therefore considered ineffective to trust in personal meditational and even monastic practices, but to only trust in the Primal Vow of Amitābha. In Christianity, salvation is the saving of human beings from sin and its consequences. It may also be called 'deliverance' or 'redemption' from sin and its effects. Variant views on salvation are among the main lines dividing the various Christian denominations, being a point of disagreement between Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as within Protestantism, notably in the Calvinist–Arminian debate. These lines include conflicting definitions of depravity, predestination, atonement, and most pointedly, justification. According to Christian belief, salvation is made possible by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which in the context of salvation is referred to as the 'atonement'. Christian soteriology ranges from exclusive salvation:p.123 to universal reconciliation concepts. While some of the differences are as widespread as Christianity itself, the overwhelming majority agrees that salvation is made possible only by the work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, dying on the cross and being resurrected from death. Soteriology is discussed in Hinduism through its concept of moksha. “In India,” wrote Mircea Eliade, “metaphysical knowledge always has a soteriological purpose.” Moksha refers to freedom from saṃsāra, the cycle of death and rebirth. Islamic soteriology focuses on how humans can repent of and atone for their sins so as not to occupy a state of loss. Muslims believe that everyone is responsible for their own actions. So even though Muslims believe that Adam and Hawwa (Eve), the parents of humanity, committed a sin by eating from the forbidden tree and thus disobeying God, they believe that humankind is not responsible for such an action. They believe that God is fair and just and one should request forgiveness from him to avoid being punished for not doing what God asked of them and for listening to Satan.