Divine grace
Divine grace is a
Eastern religions
Hinduism
Buddhism
While many
Abrahamic religions
Judaism
In Judaism, divine grace is an attribute of the God of Israel that signifies his chesed (loving-kindness and mercy) for his chosen people and his compassion for sinners, the weak, and the less fortunate. Divine grace is granted even to those unworthy of it. In the Old Testament, the prophets promise divine grace for penitent Jews.[8]
In the Talmud, divine grace is designated by the term "mercy," which is in contrast to divine justice. The divine name Elohim implies mercy, while the Tetragrammaton implies justice. Grace, according to the Jewish sages, is given to merciful people, students of the Torah, and people whose ancestors or descendants merited grace for them. Righteous people can change divine justice to divine mercy.[9]
While medieval Jewish philosophers did not mention divine grace, the Jewish liturgy includes many references to it, especially on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The God of Israel is called merciful in many prayers, including the Wehu Raḥum, Ahabah Rabbah, and Shemoneh 'Esrch.[10]
Western Christianity
Grace in Christianity is the free and unmerited
Within Christianity, there are differing concepts of how grace is attained. In particular, Catholics and Reformed Protestants understand the attainment of grace in substantially different ways. It has been described as "the watershed that divides
In another example, for Catholics, the
In the
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew term used is chen[25][26] (חֵן), which is defined in Strong's as "favor, grace or charm; grace is the moral quality of kindness, displaying a favorable disposition".[27] In the King James translation, chen is translated as "grace" 38 times, "favour" 26 times, twice as "gracious",[28] once as "pleasant",[29] and once as "precious".[30]
Islam
The Quran says "God is the Possessor of Infinite Grace" [33] and "He bestows this grace upon whomsoever He wills (or desires)."[34] Grace is something attainable by those here on earth from God who meet certain Quranic criteria. For example, they "believe in God and His messengers", and they "race toward forgiveness from their Lord and a Paradise whose width encompasses the heavens and the earth."[35]
See also
- Barakah
- Divine Principle
- Hana
References
- OCLC 1084383140.
- ^ OED, 2nd ed.: grace(n), 11b
- ^ OED, 2nd ed.: grace(n), 11e
- ^ Descent of divine grace The Hindu, June 30, 2005.
- ^ venkatesananda. "Yoga Vasistha - Daily Readings - Swami Venkatesananda". www.venkatesaya.com. Archived from the original on 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
- ^ Great Thinkers of the Eastern World, Ian McGreal.
- ^ "Amazing Grace: Christian and Buddhist | Shin Dharma Net".
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Divine Grace
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Divine Grace
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia: Divine Grace
- ^ OED, 2nd ed.: grace(n), 11a
- ^ Charles C. Ryrie, The Grace of God (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963), pp. 10-11.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1127. Vatican City-State.
Celebrated worthily in faith, the sacraments confer the grace that they signify.
- ^ "Justification by Grace". www.saintaquinas.com.
- ^ Edward Schillebeeckx, Christ, the Sacrament of Encounter with God (Rowman & Littlefield, 1963), Foreword pp. 16
- ^ "Heaven: Encyclopedia II - Heaven - Heaven in Protestant Christianity". Archived from the original on 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1992. Vatican City-State.
Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1260. Vatican City-State.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 1281. Vatican City-State.
... those who ... seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, are saved even if they have not been baptized.
- ^ 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."
- ^ "Strong's Greek: 5485. χάρις (charis) -- grace, kindness". strongsnumbers.com.
- ^ Strong (2001) Grk entry number 5485 (p. 1653)
- ^ "Spiritual Gifts: Listed by Paul, Motivated by Love". Crosswalk.com.
- ^ Strong (2001) Grk entry numbers 5486 and 5463
- ^ Blue Letter Bible entry for Strongs Hebrew term 2580, Blue Letter Bible institute, retrieved 2011-01-01
- ^ "Chen - Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon - New American Standard". Bible Study Tools.
- ^ Strong (2001) Hebrew entry number 2580 (p. 1501)
- ^ Proverbs 11:16 and Ecclesiastes 9:11
- ^ Proverbs 5:19
- ^ Proverbs 17:8
- ^ Bassam Zawadi; Mansur Ahmed, Answering Common Questions on Salvation That Christians Pose to Muslims, retrieved 2011-01-01
- ^ "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, archived from the original on 2011-01-02, retrieved 2011-01-01
- ^ Quran 62:4
- ^ Source: Quran 57:29
- ^ see Quran 57:21
Sources
- Strong, James (2001), The Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Zondervan, ISBN 978-0-310-23343-5
- Stongnumbers.com, Online Parallel Bible Project (Biblos.com)
- Biblestudytools.com, Salem Web Network
Further reading
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 309–310.