جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "luther" در نشریات گروه "ادیان و عرفان"

Salvation is a fundamental issue in Christianity. Due to original sin, man has lost his relationship with God and has descended from Heaven. Restoring this relationship leads to saving man from a state of descent. The way of salvation in Christianity is explained in different ways. In Paul's writings, free grace by Christ saves man. In the theology of the fathers, including Augustine, grace replaces the human will, which by his descent has lost the power of right bias, and calls him to salvation. Martin Luther, as the Augustinian theologian, sees man as essentially a corrupt and sinful being who is saved only by grace and faith, not by doing good deeds. Therefore, he can enjoy the righteousness of Christ in faith only by trusting in divine promises. Aquinas, on the other hand, sees man as a rational and good-natured being who progresses towards faith with an innate tendency to virtue. Faith is a rational trust in which man has an active presence by believing in propositions and participating in grace. This article examines Luther and Aquinas' views on salvation and the role of man in it through a descriptive-analytical method and concludes that different understandings of human ontological status are directly related to their approach to the issue of salvation and faith. Luther considers man to be in a passive state whose salvation is communion with Christ. Aquinas, in contrast, gives man an active role that his good deeds along with grace can be effective in the process of salvation.

In the early years of 1520s, reformists'' thoughts and views were discussed in England, which paved the ground for its people''s massive dissatisfaction at Catholic Church. The rise of reformists and their gaining power in some regions which were under the domination of Pope decreased Pope''s power to a large extent. Although England was the first country which had a strong and stable kingship, the conflict between king and Pope resulted in the establishment of an independent Anglican Church. Anglicanism is an independent and separate sect and belongs to no other Christian sects like Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. In many parts of the world, Anglicans are combined with liberal Protestant churches. Given the many political, educational and occupational similarities between Anglicans and liberal Protestants, the former is classified as a part of the latter. Today, Elizabeth II is the formal leader of Church of England.

In Islamic and Christian theology faith is defined as an inner assent. This assent, as a divine grace, grants to man's heart the hope of being blessed in this mundane world and eternal happiness in the Hereafter. As a result, man loses his selfishness and submits his desires to God's will and commands, moreover, when he reaches a higher place, God’s will would be manifested in his all existential aspects. Muhammad Ghazzālī and Martin Luther, as two influential Islamic and Christian thinkers, look at faith as such. By referring to their theological works, this essay reaches the conclusion that according to them faith is an inner assent which is given to man’s heart as a divine gift and grace. In this respect both thinkers have a common view.