Comparative Soteriologiesn Lutheran and Reformed Judaism - Research Paper Example

?COMPARATIVE SOTERIOLOGIES LUTHERAN AND REFORMED JUDAISM Brief Introduction of the Topic: By critically examining the history of the world at large, it becomes crystal clear that almost all human societies of the world maintain belief in supernatural powers in one way or the other. Consequently, the religious beliefs seek their roots in ancient times perhaps at the eve of the creation and arrival of man on the earth. Thousands of faiths are being followed by over seven billion people in the world; among which Abrahamic religions enjoy distinguished status and position on the concrete foundations of their unique ideologies, distinctive mythology and comprehensive code of spiritual and social life. These three religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, appear to be enthused by one and the same light, and share several similarities in their religious system including basic concept of God, angels, Satan, heaven, hellfire, creation, life and death, Day of Resurrection, reward and punishment, holy personalities and myth about them, need of preaching and observing of moral values in individual and collective life etc. Additionally, the notion salvation also maintains imperative place in Abrahamic religious beliefs, which is actually the by-product of the inspiration they seek from the heavenly revelation sent from the Lord for the spiritual and moral uplift of humans in this world as well as in the life Hereinafter. “Soteriological comes from the Greek soter, savior, and salvation from the Latin salus, and both have become linked historically with the specifically Christian notion of being saved by the atoning death of Christ from God’s righteous judgment upon the sinners.” (Hick 1989, 10) Salvation is a more specific form of the more general idea of being brought from an evil situation into a radically better one. Since salvation is the central concept of Christian mythology, almost all the religious activities and performances of the Christianity revolve around this very notion, though the scholars have interpreted it in quite different ways. Brief Overview of Anselm's view of Salvation: The Christians strongly believe in the concept of Original Sin, according to which every human commits sins and gets involved into deviant behavior and perversion from the noble path to be followed according to the commands made by the Deity, because of his natural tendencies towards sins. Moreover, it is the same tendency that is responsible for the expulsion of the first parents of humankind from the Eden Garden. Since Almighty God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world, and has created humans out of his own image to rule over all other creatures of the universe, the Lord does not want to humiliate and punish the humans. Consequently, He decided to bestow salvation upon humans in order to protect them from extreme agony and sufferings. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Peter in Acts 4:12, retrieved from usbible.com) However, the interpretation of the concept salvation is made in quite divergent manners among the Christian theologians and scholars, and hence, they appear to be at daggers drawn in the basic notion of this religious belief. Some of the Christians are of the opinion that since Jesus has sacrificed his life for their redemption, so they are not bound to do good only. Hence, the sacrifice made by Jesus has exempted them from observing virtuous deeds to please their Lord. Rather, they would surely enter the heavens whether they practice virtue or not at all. On the contrary, the Lutheran school of thought considers the very reality that the great sacrifice has bound the Christians to imitate the footprints of the Holy Christ by strictly observing the commands of the Lord by performing the obligations towards Him and the fellow humans. This notion is often inter-mixed with the Jewish traditions, though the Jewish scholars, refute the very idea of original sin altogether, and lay stress upon virtuous deeds while interacting with the fellow humans to obtain salvation. “Humankind, created by this one God, is inherently good. There is no original sin, no instinctive evil or fundamental impurity; human beings are made in God's image and are endowed with an intelligence that enables them to choose between good and evil. They need no mediator, such as Christians have in Christ, but approach God directly. All people--Jews and Gentiles alike--attain immortality as the reward of righteous living, although concern for life after death is an issue of minor significance for Jews.” (Mead et al 2005, 159) However, almost the same views have been expressed by St. Anselm of Canterbury in the Ransom Theory of Atonement. St. Anselm is of the opinion that Christ did not sacrifice his life to pay ransom to Satan against the misdeeds committed by the humans; on the contrary, Holy Christ sacrificed his life in order to pay the debt of honor to Almighty Lord for His countless bounties and mercies upon the humans. Since humans are not able to pay this debt, Christ offered his services to represent the entire humanity, though the humanity was not in a position for paying the same due to its impurity and inner contamination. “According to Anselm, the only way humankind could satisfy God for sin is Jesus’ self sacrifice, because only Jesus is without sin. And because Jesus is also divine, his self-sacrifice on the cross has infinite value and therefore can pay the debt incurred by humankind (because Jesus is also human). (Espin & Nickoloff 2007, 1210) Thus, not only this that humans and angels are unable to pay the enormous gratitude for the countless blessings of the Lord upon them, but also the humans cannot restrain themselves from their innate tendencies towards getting involved into sinful activities. However, there must be some great sacrifice from the sinless individual or community in order to protect the entire humanity from the misdeeds they have done by deviating from the right path of obedience and compliance to the commandments of the Lord. Consequently, salvation certainly required sacrifice to be performed for the cause of humanity. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, offered his services to receive extreme pains, torture and even death at the hands of the defiant people just for the sake of the salvation for the entire humanity at large. “After man who was intended to rule creation had fallen into sin, God chose one group, the people of Israel, for the salvation of the world. Out of this grew a smaller creative and redemptive community, the “remnant” or Kahal Jahve. Finally the remnant is summarized in and reduced to one man who assumes Israel’s role. He is the suffering servant of Yahweh described by the Second Isaiah, or the Son of Man described by Daniel. He enters history in the Son of God, Christ.” (Marty 1959, 18) Hence, St. Anselm regards the Christ’s satisfaction and subsequent crucifixion as the token of gratitude presented by a divine-human being against the mercies of the Lord upon humanity at large to nullify the huge burden of the sins, offences, disobedience and perversion committed by the children of Adam and Eve against the justified ways of the Lord . Renowned English poet John Milton has also expressed the concept of original sin in his celebrated Paradise Lost (1667) in these words: “Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, Sing Heav'nly Muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed, In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill ….” (Paradise Lost, lines 1-10) Relationship of Anselm’s Theory with Lutheran Practice of the Lord's Supper: The Last Supper maintains great significance in Christian mythology, which is attributed to the last meal taken by the Holy Christ along with his disciples at the night before his crucifixion. Actually Jesus and his disciples had taken the meal while celebrating the Passover festival. “All thirteen men who gathered in the upper room of that Jerusalem house knew every detail of the Passover celebration by heart from a lifetime of annual rituals. In some ways, it could not have been more routine, and in other ways it could not have been more significant. Jesus had plans for this Passover meal that would make it one of the most memorable nights of their life.” (Anderson 2005, 294) Different Christian sects and communities celebrate the Last Supper differently to commemorate the last night attributed to the Lord. The Lutherans, followers of the reformed doctrine named after 16th century reformer Martin Luther, celebrate the Last Supper as the thanksgiving festival. Unlike other doctrines, including the Catholics, the Calvinists and others, the Lutherans affiliate the festival with the golden words delivered by the Holy Christ, where he had declared the unleavened bread of the Last Supper as his body, and the wine (or water) consumed that event as his blood. (Corinthians, 11:24) The deep and thought-provoking meanings between the lines can be traced in the philosophical sayings of Jesus, where he aimed to state that his message must have been delivered to all those people who were not present at the eve of the last supper. Hence, by this Jesus simply meant to convey the universal message of sacrifice, chastity and particularly deep and sincere thanks to Almighty God for His countless blessings upon the humans in general. It is therefore, the Lutherans celebrate the Last Supper festival while paying their gratitude to the Lord and seek His mercies and forgiveness in this world as well as in the life Hereinafter. Additionally, the Lutherans also pray to God to protect them from sins, and are determined to give up wrong doings by expressing their sincere feelings of repentance and remorse at the Passover festival. Moreover, the Lutherans strongly believe in the real message of sacrifice made by Christ at the Cross. It was the sacrifice of a sinless, innocent divine personality that preached his followers to be obedient, complying and sacrificing towards the Creator, and noble, chaste, charitable and kind to the fellow human beings. Jesus Christ delivered his noble message in his famous Sermon on the Mount. In that famous sermon, Holy Christ announced God’s blessings to the people who are humble and meek, and always display goodness and kindness to others. Christ assured glad tidings to the humble, submissive and modest people and declares them as the blessed ones who display humility and reverence while dealing with the people at large. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:3-5: quoted in Stanton 1989, 83) Consequently, the Lutheran traditional cult maintains closest connection with the concept of redemption God bestowed upon the humans by forgiving their sins and displaying His mercies. Since the Lutherans still vehemently take the bread and water as Christ’s body and blood respectively, they express great sense of their gratitude while commemorating the Last Supper. Additionally, instead of just getting involved into the useless pursuits like whether Christ had taken leavened bread or unleavened etc, the Lutherans appear to be more interested in exploring the real message of the Lord. “In his words at the table Jesus speaks of himself not only as the paschal lamb but also as a sacrifice. In the sacrificial ritual the portion of peace offering not consumed by fire and thus not offered to God as his food was eaten by priest and people in an act of fellowship with the altar and the sacrifice. Jesus in giving the elements thus gave to his disciples a sign of their own fellowship and participation in the event of his sacrificial death.” (Mitchell 1977: retrieved from mb-soft.com) The Lutherans follow the same patterns by keeping in view that they have the responsibility to present the role model in the light of the noble character and teachings of the Holy Christ instead of celebrating the festival in dining and drinking only. The Seder Meal in Reformed Judaism in the Light of Soteriology: Reformed Judaism is attributed to the Jewish community that had attained equal citizenship rights after the French Revolution of 1789, but lost the same after Napoleon’s defeat and exile in 1815. The prudent Jewish leaders examined the entire state of affairs and concluded that their rigid behavior and strict sticking to their traditions of ancient times had created feelings of hatred for them all over Europe. Consequently, they introduced several alterations in their social norms, cultural values and customs in order to become acceptable for other communities, particularly for the most dominating and populous Christian community. “Between 1810 and 1820, congregations in Seesen, Hamburg and Berlin instituted fundamental changes in traditional Jewish practices and beliefs, such as mixed seating, single­-day observance of festivals and the use of a cantor/choir. Many leaders of the Reform movement took a very "rejectionist" view of Jewish practice and discarded traditions and rituals.” (Retrieved from jewishvirtuallibrary.org) Consequently, circumcision was declared to be optional, and Hebrew language was replaced with German. Similarly, the Bar Mitzvah ceremony was replaced with a "confirmation" ceremony, and Shabbat was observed on Sunday. All these performances were made just for the European Jews, which brought them in close connection and amicable relationship with the Christian majority. The Seder Meal is the special meal shared by the Jewish families to celebrate their redemption and deliverance from the slavery of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Reformed Jews celebrate the same with religious enthusiasm. Since Old and New Testaments narrate the detailed overview of the holy life and sacrifices made by Abraham by obeying the holy commands of the Creator, the Lord has promised him that his progeny would be the spiritual leader of the world at large. Abraham underwent all types of trials; he was thrown into the burning flames by the king Nimrod and the people of his nation expelled him from the city and he was sent him to compulsory exile; he did not have any children till the age of hundred years; but he remained as firm as the rock and could not be bent down at all. Then it was the benevolence of God which was showered upon Abraham and his progeny because of getting successful in all trials, tests and examinations. At a time when Abraham was issueless, God said to him that his progeny would be more than the stars on the sky. (Genesis, xxii: 17). Consequently, the spiritual leadership was transferred to his sons Ishmael, Isaac and the grandson Jacob from Abraham, and Jacob’s son Joseph was not only the spiritual leader, but was also bestowed with the kingdom of Egypt. Thus, the House of Jacob shifted to Egypt from their native land and ruled over the land for decades. However, the Egyptians overthrew the Israelites and turned them as slaves, where they had to make hard toil from dawn to dusk, and even their elderly, women and children were not exempt from it. The Egyptians tortured and even murdered the Israelites, and kept their women in their service. When the atrocities and cruelties reached the climax point, God sent Moses to get the Hebrews released from slavery and humiliation. Moses, the child of the Israelites but brought up of the royal family, strived to convince the Pharaoh to set his nation free by the miracles and inflictions upon the Egyptians, but the Pharaoh turned a deaf ear, and instead of setting Israelites free, increased trials on them. Thus, the Lord sent the angels to kill all the Egyptian firstborns, and to save the House of Jacob from further agony and sufferings. Moses asked his nation to leave Egypt immediately, and they took their unleavened bread and kept the remaining food with them to set out of Egypt under the command of their savior Moses. In order to commemorate the same incident of redemption and salvation, the generations of Israel have been celebrating the same for hundreds of years. The Jewish families take fifteen dishes in the same sequence as their ancestors had observed during their haphazard departure from the land. “Passover is the oldest and most important religious festival in Judaism, commemorating God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and his creation of the Israelite people. Passover is actually composed of two festivals, The Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover (which is sometimes used to refer to the single day and sometimes to the entire span of both festivals).” (Bratcher 2010, 2) Since the Jewish community had not only obtained deliverance after the long and humiliating slavery and mortification consisted of hundreds of years, but also they had found the Savior and spiritual guide in the person of Holy Prophet Moses. It is therefore the Passover festival is commemorated with unabated enthusiasm and fervor for eight days. Actually it is in Jewish traditions that God had ordered an annual reenactment of the original event of the Israelites’ leaving of Egypt forever. “After the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was observed for seven days, from the fifteenth to the twentieth of the month of Nisan. The Passover was one day and the Feast of Unleavened Bread took a week. Since these events were back-to-back, they added up to an eight-day festival.” (Anderson 2005, 295) It was the same Passover that was celebrated by Jesus Christ on his Last Supper. It is therefore the Passover is also celebrated by the Christians, though they commemorate it along with the concept of Last Supper taken by the Christ before his arrest and crucifixion. Another major reason behind the Christians’ rejoicing with this festival is this that Christ himself had celebrated the same in the company of his disciples at the attic of a house in Jerusalem in a traditional way while memorizing the deliverance of the entire Hebrew nation. Being the son of the Holy Virgin Mary as well as the descendant of the House of Jacob, Jesus celebrated the Hebrews’ deliverance of ancient era in the same lines performed by the traditional Jews. The Christians take it as the practice of their Savior, who celebrated the same even being sinless and flawless. The Lutheran’s Last Supper and the Seder Meal of Judaism: By making a close comparison of the Passover Seder Meal baked by the reformed Jewish communities with the celebrations of the Lutheran Last Supper festival, it becomes evident that the reformed Judaism has included the Christian traditional dishes too in the Seder Meal practices. Similarly, the Christians have also started taking keen interest in observing of the festivals narrated in the Old and New Testaments. The basic reasons behind for the renewal of these interests include “an increasing sensitivity to cultural and societal problems and a corresponding desire to learn about others; a renewed awareness of the importance of the Old Testament Scriptures as Christian Scripture; the willingness to find new and innovative ways to worship; and perhaps even the enjoyment that comes from acknowledging the continuity with a 3,000 year old community of faith.” (Bratcher 2010, 4) For instance, though matzah (unleavened bread the ancient Hebrews took with them while their exodus from Egypt), is traditionally baked and prepared by the Jews, it is also being observed by the Christians in the contemporary era. Another important reason behind this is the desire of bringing both these Abrahamic religions closer and closer to each other to combat with the growing challenges faced by the followers of both Judaism and Christianity. Since both these religions believe in salvation and redemption in this life and the life Hereinafter as well, they regard Moses and Christ respectively as their saviors. Moses accomplished the astonishing mission by saving his nation from the cruel clutches of Pharaoh, and his noble teachings would save the Hebrews from the punishment and penalties in the next world. Similarly, Jesus is the Savior in the eyes of the Christians, who had happily tolerated all atrocities inflicted upon him by the Jewish rulers of his time just to save his nation from the wrath of God. “The Savior, the God-man, was the self revelation of God, making evident to sinful man what God really is. The Savior also gave himself as a ransom for the lost and by doing so conquered evil in the heart of the fallen and rebellions of the Lord.” (Winter 1975, 150-1) However, celebrating the Passover festival and attributing it to both Moses and Christ has eclipsed the festival of the Last Supper to an imperative extent. Since the Christians are also attributing the Seder Meal to Christ, they pay more heed to the Christian dishes, unleavened bread and other traditional meals and the prayers specific to the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt in ancient times. Somehow, an overwhelming majority of the Christians still includes seasonal fruits, vegetable and meat in the Last Supper Festival along with the traditional Seder Meal dishes. To conclude, it becomes evident that Abrahamic religions have brightest teachings and provide a comprehensive scheme for leading a pious and successful life. However, the followers of these religions have forgotten the golden preaching of their founders of the faiths. Consequently, philosophers and saints rose to the occasion to guide them in respect of remaining adhere to the real message conveyed by the spiritual leaders of the world. Hence, the intellectuals, philosophers and scholars serve as the reformers of their nations and play decisive role in bringing valuable alterations in the spiritual, religious, social and cultural life of their nation. The same is applied with the renowned Christian reformist of 16th century Martin Luther and the early 19th century Jewish reformists, which have made their valuable contributions in minimizing the differences between the Jewish and Christian traditions by highlighting the similarities in the traditions, customs, beliefs and mythology between Judaism and Christianity. Martin Luther had laid stress upon sticking to the fundamental teachings of the Holy Christ instead of mere celebrating the festivals and getting involved into dinners and drinks only. In the same way, the Jewish scholars expressed the need for the collaboration and co-operation with the other faiths and communities of the globe in order to survive in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Judaism vehemently adheres to the belief of monotheism, and rejects the theory that God has begotten a son, who was crucified for the revocation of the punishment would be sentenced on the sinners because of the original sin committed by human beings en mass. The festivals, traditions and mythologies actually remind the followers the great sacrifices made by the founders and true followers for the survival of the faith. In addition, the celebrations are particularly supportive for bringing the followers of the Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam in close fold in order to combat with the growing challenges of the contemporary era. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Anderson, Leith. Jesus: An Intimate Portrait Bethany House Minneapolis Minnesota 2005 Bratcher, Dennis. Introduction to a Christian Seder: Recovering Passover for Christians. CRI/Voice Institute 2010 Retrieved from http://www.crivoice.org/seder.html Brondos, David A. Fortress Introduction to Salvation and the Cross Fortress Press 2007 Hick, John. An Interpretation of Religion: Human Response to the Transcendent Macmillan Press 1989 Espin, Orlando O. & Nickoloff, James B. An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies Michael Glazier Books Liturgical Press 2007 Marty, Martin E. A Short History of Christianity World Publishing Company 1959 Mead, Frank S., Hill, Samuel S. & Atwood, Craig D. Handbook of Denominations 12th edition Abingdon Press 2005 Milton, John Paradise Lost 1667/1992 2nd Edition W.W. Norton & Company Mitchell, L.L. The Meaning of Ritual 1977 Retrieved from http://mb-soft.com/believe/text/lastsupp.htm Stanton, Graham N. The Gospels and Jesus, The Oxford Bible Series, paperback, 1989 Winter, Ralph D. A History of Christianity: Beginning to 1500 Harper Publishers San Francisco 1975 Salvation: Peter in Acts 4:12 Retrieved from http://www.usbible.com/Sin/original_sin.htm Jewish Virtual Library The Origins of Reform Judaism Retrieved from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/The_Origins_of_Reform_Judaism.html Read More