By the way of comparison, in Christianity, Jesus died as a sacrifice for humanity. Hebrews 9:15 reads, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Authorized King James Version).
In other words, His sacrifice set humanity “free from the sins”, and therefore God grace can forgive humanity when they do sin. This is related to the Christian afterlife because a person’s sin directly affects their relationship with God. His Final Judgement will decide one’s fate to either Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell. Life is essentially a test in Christianity, and the purpose of the test is to attain God’s grace to receive a seat in Heaven. Buddhist afterlife is hand-in-hand with enlightenment and liberation. The ultimate purpose is to break free from Samsara and the suffering that come along with it. When enlightened, a person will have perfect knowledge and compassion in a place called Nirvana. Buddhism encourages us to find our own paths to enlightenment. A fundamental difference between Christianity and Buddhism is highlighted when regarding liberation, salvation and enlightenment. A more ‘humanistic’ view of life and the individual journey through it is evident in the lived practice of Buddhism, and Confucianism. Confucianism is like Judaism in the fact that the religion does not focus on the
When he sacrifices himself, he is achieving salvation because he is on the
To show that God means well, he sacrificed His only Son, this sacrifice is the beginning of a new love, a love that allows humanity to rekindle their faith. Through baptism, individuals can thus start a new life. However, this new life has its own challenges, but God promises that the Spirit will be there to guide them through the tribulations. In essence, through Jesus Christ and the Spirit, humanity has been provided with a new chance, a chance to become righteous. Righteous comes with a prize, eternal life, while sin leads to eternal death.
The suffering of the Savior accomplished many things. Jesus was sacrificed in our place to make us righteous before God (Substitution - 2nd Cor. 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24, Galatians 3:13; Isaiah 53:6). Also, God Himself paid as a ransom the price of human sin and purchased sinners to Himself through the death of Christ (Redemption - 1 Peter 1:18-19). Furthermore, God satisfied His own righteousness and His own wrath in Jesus’ sacrifice (Propitiation - Romans 3:25 - 26; 1 John 2:2 and 4:10). Jesus also positioned men back on friendly terms with God and now “we are no longer under the supervision of the law” (Reconciliation -
He died for our sins. He did no wrong but still suffered. Earley also stated,
One similarity that exists in all major world religions is the importance placed on sexual intercourse and/or the lack of such actions. Some religions stress the procreative powers of sex as a symbol of its holiness, while others see sex as a method by which religious people channel the mystic powers of spiritual deities. Two religions, Christianity and Buddhism, both historically champion asceticism, and specifically celibacy, as the most enlightened and holy state of being. They do this, however, in two very different ways. Celibacy is revered in Christianity because of a long-standing anxiety of impurity and a great power imbued in sexual action, while Buddhism exalts celibacy’s unconditional departure from all finite attachments.
Jesus is God and therefore is able to pay the price for all the sins of humanity. His ability comes in His sinlessness and infinity, “he took on himself all the debt that sinners ought to pay, and this when he himself owed no nothing, so that he could pay the debt for the others who owed it and could not pay.” Jesus owed nothing to God, for He is God and He is sinless. Yet, God’s loving nature gives Him His ability. His infinity pays back humanity’s
It affirms that God attributed the sins and guilt of humankind to Jesus, Who in place of man, received that punishment that humanity would have otherwise deserved. Jesus’ actions signified the payment of the sins of humankind, which settled both the righteousness and wrath of God so that sinners could be forgiven without God Himself compromising His holy standard. In essence, according to the penal substitution theory of the reformers, Jesus died in place of man, in the process accounting for the sins of man and bearing them. The act of Jesus taking the sins of man indicates that Jesus carried the cross of every believer, setting him free and safe from all the penal demands of God’s law. In this context, the holiness of God and the righteousness of His law are accounted for by the substitution. Notably, in modern theology, the penal aspect has been a stumbling block despite being regarded as one of the dominant atonement in the bible. According to the model, Jesus paid man’s ransom on his crucifixion. However, this view only works because Christ was paying man’s penalty. Therefore, Christians should be inspired by the self-sacrifice acts of Jesus on the cross. In addition, Jesus’ death and resurrection implied significant victories over death, hell, and sin in our union with him and God. Lastly, God accomplished his mission to reconcile the world with Him despite various trespasses by
The Christ of the Covenants demonstrates the relationship between five covenants God instigated with Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David in the Old Testament, and how they are reflected in Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection in the New Testament. In answering four basic questions, I discovered this main idea to be true time and time again. Robertson exhibits his vast knowledge of the subject with a concisely structured index outlining one clear point for the entire novel.
John the Baptist tells the people to prepare the way of the Lord by receiving baptism and repenting their sins. This is occurring because Jesus is about to begin his public ministry. These people are seeking a different path not to any earthly location but instead to the afterlife in God’s heavenly kingdom.
According to our text, Huston Smith believed that all religions were essentially the same, whereas Stephen Prothero believes that they are all fundamentally different. These two differing opinions can be looked at further by comparing two of the world religions: Christianity and Buddhism. I believe that all religions are a mixture of both; religions are essentially the same and are also fundamentally different. Christianity and Buddhism both have similar aspects within them, and they have different aspects as well. In order to make sense of the world, one needs to have knowledge of religion and the implications it has on society (Prothero).
Jesus’ death and resurrection redefined humanity by breaking the death grip of sin and allowing his believers to be heirs with him. Jesus says in John 8:34, “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin’”. Since all has sinned and fallen short to the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23), humanity was destined to be enslaved to sin and die in it since the fall of man. It is impossible, in the past and the present, for a human to live without sin. And because God is fair, and the wages of sin is death, there had to be some sort of sacrifice for the sins of the world because if there was not, the whole earth would perish. As mentioned earlier, Jesus was the only man capable to live
23: 34). God sacrificing His only son’s life for people proves that God loves His people. In relation to Jesus’ statement in John 15:12-13; the greatest love, the crucifixion of Jesus shows that Jesus loves human beings and regard them as friends. The crucifixion is significant in that it represents the importance of forgiveness and second chances. By having Jesus die on the cross, God offered humanity a second chance to live a holy life. Living a holy life means forgiving those who transgress against us just as God forgave us. Therefore, through crucifixion, God led by example by doing what He requires from
“’Worldwide, more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group,’ said a new comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.” (Harper). Within the top five most popular religions, Christianity was found to be at the top with Buddhism ranked number four. There are millions of human beings participating in these religions and humans might wonder how they compare. When a human being explores Buddhism and Christianity, they will find that the importance of a spiritual master, shared values, and the follower strive to be enlighten. Buddhism and Christianity have an abundance of similarities within the religions, the fundamental differences in the view of God, salvation, and reincarnation ultimately outweigh their likeness.
Moreover, each of these covenants has “it’s own character and scope; and each prepares for and provides the found for, the next”. Alexander and Baker hold fast in agreement and proceed to say, “ Yet the faith and varied responses of the ancestors and Israelites are best grasped in relation to covenant making, covenant breaking and renewals of covenant”. The narrative of the Pentateuch has a progressive nature, as do the covenants made between people and God.
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all my