Redemption (theology)

Am I not a man emblem used during the campaign to abolish slavery in the United States.

Redemption as a theological concept is found in several different religions. In Buddhist theology it encompasses a release from worldly desires. As a Christian theological term, it refers to the deliverance of Christians from sin.^[1] In Judaism, redemption can refer both to the Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt, and deliverance from exile.

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Buddhism

In some forms of Buddhism, redemption is inherent in the discipline of giving up attachments to desires:

While other religions view the satisfaction of certain desires as the mark of salvation, Theravada Buddhism teaches that the extinction of desire is the prerequisite to salvation. While other religions hold up eternal life as the consequence of redemption, the redemptive goal of Theravada Buddhism is release from any and all forms of life. While other religions provide assistance to man in his quest for redemption, Theravada Buddhism teaches that in this quest one can rely on no one and on nothing but oneself: neither gods nor priests, neither church nor sacraments, nor faith nor works are of any avail.^[2]

Other disciplines are not so desolate, and "each Buddha and Bodhisattwa is a redeemer", assisting the Buddhist in seeking to achieve the redemptive state.^[3] The assistance rendered is a form of self-sacrifice on the part of the teachers, who would presumably be able to achieve total detachment from worldly concerns, but have instead chosen to remain engaged in the material world to the degree that this is necessary to assist others in achieving such detachment.^[3] In varieties of Buddhism that include ideas of reincarnation, this relationship may be predestined from earlier life-experiences.^[3]

Christianity

In Christian theology redemption is an element of salvation that broadly means the deliverance from sin. Leon Morris says that "Paul uses the concept of redemption primarily to speak of the saving significance of the death of Christ."^[4] The English word redemption means 'repurchase' or 'buy back', and in the Old Testament referred to the ransom of slaves (Exodus 21:8).^[5] In the New Testament the redemption word group is used to refer both to deliverance from sin and freedom from captivity.^[6] Theologically, redemption is a metaphor for what is achieved through the Atonement.^[6] Therefore there is a metaphorical sense in which the death of Jesus pays the price of a ransom, releasing Christians from bondage to sin and death.^[7] Most evangelical theologians and Protestant denominations, however, reject the idea of Origen who held that redemption means that in the atonement God paid Satan with the death of Jesus.^[8]

Controversy

Redemption during life, redemption at Death, and redemption after death are topics of major and ongoing disagreement in the history of the Christian churches.^[9]

Judaism

In Judaism, (Hebrew ge'ulah), redemption refers to God redeeming the people of Israel from their various exiles.^[10] This includes the final redemption from the present exile.

In Hasidic philosophy parallels are drawn between the redemption from exile and the personal redemption achieved when a person refines his character traits.

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