Descriptions of Salvation

I was recently asked "what descriptive word for salvation (justification, redemption, ransom, etc) you prefer and indicate its usefulness in today’s world."

There is of course an assumption that salvation is necessary, and the concept of salvation is useful to society today. Looking at the world from a multicultural and pluralistic perspective I cannot start out with that assumption. As is required from different cultural contexts, translation of words into other words that can be meaningful is necessary to bridge understanding among different groups of people. The word salvation, as well as most of the words describing salvation is so laden with history and assumptions that its mere use negates its usefulness to many.

The use of the word ransom has such negative connotations in society today. The concept of redemption although a more commonly used phrase today presupposes sin and guilt. I like the Hebrew concept of sin described as “missing the mark”. Thus sin is not living up to fullest potential as humans, or in the manner that God has called us to. Most humans do not consider themselves sinful (whether they are or not). If one does not consider themselves sinful, there is nothing to be redeemed from. Therefore I do not think most people would react to this description. I feel the description of justification will not be useful because it is a theological construct for Christian Salvation that does not have the same impact in the Vernacular. In our culture the use of the word justified indicates that someone’s actions were correct. If someone needs to be saved, they are being saved because they did something wrong. Therefore intuitively the use of this word does not resonate for me. I like the description that described justification as “a change of status in our relationship with God”. I think this is an important concept. At some point in our life we need to come to an understanding for ourselves separate from what we have been indoctrinated with in our youth. Relating it to salvation, though is a challenge as I think our relationship with God changes over time and that would mean there would be multiple salvations.

The first description I feel would be useful would be re-creation When I first thought of this I looked at the word as recreation as in leisure activities. Immediately I thought what a unique theological concept. Salvation through leisure. And although I came back to reality after a moment, the thought of taking time to enjoy the splendors of the world that God created could be a form of salvation, and certainly something that people could relate to. I do find it interesting that the words are homographs, but I do think the concept of re-creation is something that people can relate to. People have experienced creation within their lives. People have created children, shelters, food, and artistic expressions of ideas. This last is one of the things that make humans uniquely human. Humans have also had the opportunity to re-create their lives. We use the phrase second chance, or a do-over. We are constantly changing our lives, every day with every decision we make. People have the opportunity to re-create their view and perspective on the world every day. Seeing the world through the perspective of others can help us better reconcile differences with others (reconciliation is another description of salvation that is useful, although I think it is a subset of re-creation.) Even people who have had horrible experiences in this world can and often do use those experiences to change the world and help others avoid the same experiences. I think this is another factor in the development of salvation that is critical when we recreate while working with others.

If we were made in the image of God, why would we not have the same ability (on a smaller scale) to create and recreate? I believe in the Unity of God with all of God’s creations, and if we are one with God, we should have the ability to create. And just as God had the ability to create, God also had the ability to destroy such as displayed with the Flood. Yet always in the Jewish Scriptures, God recreated humans, or allowed humans to re-create themselves and try again and again, after each failure, to try to rise up again to strive for the maximum potential of humanity.

I was moved by a statement attributed to the Cappadocians that When God assumed a human form and nature, the purpose was not only to participate in human life, but also “to enable man to participate in divine life”. God did participate in human life in Genesis directly and though human actions throughout the Jewish Scriptures. Although I would argue that the divine spark is within each human being, although that is different and not as comprehensive as participating in divine life.

Another important description of salvation is deliverance and liberation. I think this description is something that people can relate to. Many people have felt the sting of oppression and marginalization in some way in their lifetime. Dealing with this is the great need for religion. Salvation can be seen as the hope for deliverance and liberation from oppression. As the world becomes more connected, people will become more aware of the disparity in power which will create conflict. Such conflict will lead to the need for reconciliation amongst all people. I like the concept which speaks of both vertical and horizontal elements of reconciliation. I think before we can reconcile with God, I think humanity needs to reconcile with each other. I think both humanity and God need to meet halfway in the abyss. I think it will take entering into the abyss for humans to reconcile with each other. Entering into the abyss is a matter of unconditional trust. It is a trust that there is a purpose in the universe and that purpose is working towards justice for all. I believe that by entering the abyss in search of reconciliation and justice within humanity, we will find our reconciliation with God and only then will we have salvation.