Divine grace

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"God's grace" redirects here. For the Bernard Malamud novel, see God's Grace.

Divine grace is a theological term present in many religions. It has been defined as the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation;[1] and as an individual virtue or excellence of divine origin.[2]

Christianity

Main article: Grace (Christianity)

Grace in Christianity is the free and unmerited favour of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowing of blessings.[3] It is God's gift of salvation granted to sinners for their salvation. Common Christian teaching is that grace is unmerited mercy (favor) that God gave to humanity by sending his son to die on a cross, thus delivering eternal salvation. This definition does not cover all uses of the term in scripture. For example Luke 2:40 (King James Version) "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." In this example when using the definition of grace to mean unmerited favor it does not make sense that the sinless Christ would need this. Equally how can one fall short of grace (Galatians 5:4) or meekness attract it and pride repel it (James 4:6) if it is unmerited. James Ryle has suggested "Grace is the empowering Presence of God enabling you to be who He created you to be, and to do what He has called you to do." Alternatively Bill Gothard has suggested "God's grace gives us the desire and the power to do his will."[4] Both of these definitions make good sense of the word grace throughout the Bible.

In the New Testament, the word translated as grace is the Greek word charis (Greek χάρις), pronounced khar'-ece, for which Strong's Concordance gives this definition; "Graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude)" [5][6] A Greek word that is related to charis is charisma (gracious gift). Both these words originated from another Greek word chairo (to rejoice, be glad, delighted).[7] In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term used is chen [8][9] (חֵן), which is defined in Strong's as "favor, grace or charm; grace is the moral quality of kindness, displaying a favorable disposition".[10] In the King James translation, Chen is translated as "grace" 38 times, "favour" 26 times, twice as "gracious",[11] once as "pleasant",[12] and once as "precious".[13]

Within Christianity, there are differing concepts of grace. In particular, Catholics and Protestants use the word in substantially different ways. It has been described as "the watershed that divides Catholicism from Protestantism, Calvinism from Arminianism, modern liberalism from conservatism".[14] Catholic doctrine teaches that God has imparted Divine Grace upon humanity, and uses the sacraments to facilitate the reception of his grace.[15] Protestants, generally, do not share this sacramental view.[16] In the Catholic Church a state of grace is granted by God from baptism firstly,[17] instead of plainly by faith, and from the sacrament of reconciliation after if a mortal sin is committed.[18] A mortal sin makes the state of grace lost even if faith is still present.

Hinduism

Main article: Kripa (philosophy)

Hindu devotional or bhakti literature available throughout India and Nepal is replete with references to grace (kripa) as the ultimate key required for spiritual self-realization.[19][additional citation needed] Some, such as the ancient sage Vasistha, in his classical work Yoga Vasistha, considered it to be the only way to transcend the bondage of lifetimes of karma.[20] One Hindu philosopher, Madhvacharya, held that grace was not a gift from God, but rather must be earned.[21]

Islam

Dr. Umar Al-Ashqar, dean of the Faculty of Islamic Law at Zarqa Private University in Zarqa, Jordan, wrote that "Paradise is something of immense value; a person cannot earn it by virtue of his deeds alone, but by the Grace and Mercy of Allah." [22] This stance is supported by hadith: according to Abu Huraira, prophet Muhammad once said that "None amongst you can get into Paradise by virtue of his deeds alone ... not even I, but that Allah should wrap me in his grace and mercy."[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ OED, 2nd ed.: grace(n), 11b
  2. ↑ OED, 2nd ed.: grace(n), 11e
  3. ↑ OED, 2nd ed.: grace(n), 11a
  4. ↑ Gothard, Bill. "Grace and Faith". 
  5. ↑ Strongnumbers.com Grk 5485
  6. ↑ Strong (2001) Grk entry number 5485 (p. 1653)
  7. ↑ Strong (2001) Grk entry numbers 5486 and 5463
  8. ↑ Blue Letter Bible entry for Strongs Hebrew term 2580, Blue Letter Bible institute, retrieved 2011-01-01 
  9. ↑ Biblestudytools.com "Chen"
  10. ↑ Strong (2001) Hebrew entry number 2580 (p. 1501)
  11. ↑ Proverbs 11:16 and Ecclesiastes 9:11
  12. ↑ Proverbs 5:19
  13. ↑ Proverbs 17:8
  14. ↑ Charles C. Ryrie, The Grace of God (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963), pp. 10-11.
  15. ↑ http://www.saintaquinas.com/Justification_by_Grace. html
  16. ↑ http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Heaven_-_Heaven_in_Protestant_Christianity/id/1292134
  17. ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1992. Vatican City-State. "Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith." 
  18. ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1446. The Vatican. "Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace."" 
  19. ↑ Descent of divine grace The Hindu, June 30, 2005.
  20. ↑
  21. ↑ Great Thinkers of the Eastern World, Ian McGreal.
  22. ↑ Bassam Zawadi; Mansur Ahmed, Answering Common Questions on Salvation That Christians Pose to Muslims, retrieved 2011-01-01 
  23. ↑ "Chapter 15: None Would Attain Salvation Because of his Deeds but it is Through Lord's Mercy, Number 6764", Sahih Muslim, Book 39, University of Southern California center for Jewish-Muslim engagement, retrieved 2011-01-01 

Sources

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