Journal articles on the topic 'Sanctification'

This study aims to adapt the Sanctification of Marriage Questionnaire for Muslims inIndonesia. Adaptation of the Sanctification of Marriage Questionnaire is carried out throughthe stages: translation, providing evidence of construct validity and reliability. Evidence of construct validity was carried out by exploratory factor analysis followed by MGCFA (Multi-Group Confirmatory factor Analysis). In this study, we used a composite reliability. Subjects to reveal the factor structure of sanctification of marriage were 160 married individuals, while the subjects to test the stability of factor structure consisted of 102 husbands and 111 wives. The result of exploratory factor analysis shows that the construct of sanctification of marriage has three factors / dimensions, namely: belief, perceived sacred qualities and manifestation of God. The structure stability of sanctification of marriage was then empirically tested by MGCFA. The results of MGCFA showed that the three factors / dimensions of sanctification of marriage proved stable. The composite reliability coefficient of the Sanctification of Marriage Questionnaire was in a good category. Further research can be carried out to provide evidence of construct validity with predictive validity and concurrent validity of the Sanctification of Marriage Questionnaire. Limitations in this study are discussed further.Keywords: exploratory factor analysis, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, muslim,sanctification of marriage, scale adaptation

Berkaitan dengan pengudusan progresif orang kristen menyakini bahwa pengudusan dan pembenaran Allah berpengaruh terhadap pemulihan emosi seseorang. Karena kecerdasan spiritual berfungsi luas kepada aspek kecerdasan dasar manusia terkhususnya kecerdasan emosi. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menggambarkan pemulihan emosi disandingkan dengan pengudusan progresif; menggambarkan progressive sanctification sebagai proses dalam mentaati perintah Allah; menggambarkan hubungan antara pengudusan progresif dengan pemulihan emosi; serta tujuan akhir dari pengudusan progresif untuk menjadi berkat bagi sesama sebagai tanda memuliakan Tuhan. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu metode penelitian kualitatif deskriptif. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan dengan pendekatan studi pustaka, yaitu pengumpulan dokumen berupa sumber-sumber buku, jurnal, media di internet dan lainnya yang mendukung pembahasan penelitian ini. Beberapa hal yang dibahas dalam penelitian ini yaitu Emotional Maturity: Pendekatan Pemulihan Emosi; Pengudusan Progresif Orang Percaya; Hubungan Pengudusan Progresif dengan Pemulihan Emosi; Pada kesimpulannya pengudusan progresif memiliki hubungan postiif dengan pemulihan emosi. With regard to progressive sanctification, Christians believe that God's sanctification and justification affect one's emotional recovery. Because spiritual intelligence has broad functions to aspects of basic human intelligence, especially emotional intelligence. The aim of this study was to describe emotional restoration juxtaposed with progressive sanctification; describe progressive sanctification as a process of obeying God's commands; describes the relationship between progressive sanctification and emotional restoration, and the ultimate goal of progressive sanctification to be a blessing to others as a sign of glorifying God. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative research method. The data collection technique used is a literature study approach, namely the collection of documents in the form of sources of books, journals, media on the internet and others that support the discussion of this research. Some of the things discussed in this research are Emotional Maturity: Emotional Recovery Approach; Believer's Progressive Sanctification; The Relationship of Progressive Sanctification to Restoration of Emotions; In conclusion, progressive sanctification has a positive relationship with emotional restoration.

Purpose Sanctification of work research is still a growing area among management and educational guild of researchers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the intervening role of career satisfaction and affective commitment in the relationship between sanctification and turnover intentions among teachers in a Boko Haram infested region of Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted a cross-sectional survey design using 375 responses out of the 600 administered questionnaires to three states within the context of this study. The usable data were analyzed using SmartPLS version 3.2.7 to evaluate the hypothesized relationships. Findings The results reveal: negative but insignificant relationship between sanctification and turnover intention; career satisfaction and affective commitment mediate the relationship between sanctification of work and employee intention to leave. Originality/value The predictive role of sanctification was proven to be insignificant under unfriendly work environment, which is contrary to the literature on the role sanctification. The mediating role of career satisfaction and affective commitment between sanctification and turnover intention is relatively new. The two constructs constitute the mechanism through which the relationships are sustained; hence the hypotheses on the indirect relationships are established.

There is broad agreement among Calvin scholars that the Genevan Reformer recognized justification and sanctification as distinct and inseparable salvific benefits. Yet scholars disagree concerning the precise structure Calvin used to maintain the benefits’ distinction and inseparability. Is justification the cause of union and sanctification or do both graces obtain with equal priority because both are grounded in union with Christ? This article suggests a nuanced reading of Calvin, which distinguishes between definitive and progressive sanctification. With respect to Calvin’s architectonic structure, justification and definitive sanctification enjoy equal priority, as both depend immediately upon union with Christ. But with respect to progressive sanctification, justification enjoys a relative priority. It is hoped that this reading of Calvin satisfies the concerns of both sides, leading to a more accurate and versatile formulation of the Reformer’s soteriology.

AbstractThe Holy Spirit is vitally and dynamically involved in the sanctification of individuals and their faith-communities. An examination of the Pauline terms and texts reveal that sanctification through the Spirit includes: 1) God's Provision in his gracious call, 2) The Process of sanctification in Christian growth in moral purity and love, 3) The Consummation at the Parousia. To that end, we will provide brief historical and theological arguments as to how the Spirit works in sanctification, primarily within the holiness Pentecostal traditions. Often, various writings highlight one aspect to the neglect of other emphases. The paper argues for the comprehensive role of the Spirit in the past event, present experience, and future hope of the people of God and argues for a consistency between the three activities related to sanctification, including the essential element of love.

Dai dan keluarga dai juga menjadi teladan dan acuan umat muslim dalam membentuk keluarga islam yang ideal. Namun, usaha untuk membangun keluarga islam yang ideal tidak selalu berjalan lancar, beberapa remaja dari keluarga dai diketahui melakukan kenakalan remaja. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat gambaran pemaknaan yang sakral sebagai orangtua atau disebut sebagai sanctification of parenting orangtua dalam memaknai perannya dan gambaran konsep diri remaja di keluarga dai.Sanctification of parenting memiliki dua tipe, manifestation of God dan sacred quality. Penggalian sanctification of parenting dilakukan dengan menggali pemaknaan orang tua terhadap peran, hubungan dan objek serta upaya menghadirkan sanctification of parenting. Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian kualitatif deskriptif untuk memberikan gambaran bagaimana sanctification of parenting orang tua dan konsep diri remaja dari keluarga dai. Subjek dalam penelitian ini terdiri tiga pasang orang tua dan remaja dari keluarga dai. Hasil dari penelitian ini memperlihatkan bahwa sanctification of parenting yang dimiliki orangtua menunjukkan bahwa orangtua menerapkan nilai-nilai dan ajaran islam dalam pengasuhannya dan keluarga dai lebih mudah memaknai sanctification of parenting dengan tipe manifestation of God dibandingkan dengan sacred quality. Konsep diri remaja menunjukkan remaja tidak merasa puas dengan dirinya karena belum dapat memenuhi harapan orang tua dan belum mengenali dirinya dengan baik.

AbstractRapid advances in neuroscience during the past fifteen years require Christians to rethink traditional understandings of the human soul, sin, salvation, and sanctification. John Wesley's understanding of means of grace and his theology of the Holy Spirit provide tools to integrate our understanding of the soul and sanctification with current neuroscience. First, a new, more physical, Christian understanding of the soul is suggested. Then Wesley's theology of sanctification through acts of mercy is explained and related to current concepts of empathy. The relationship between empathy and sanctification, as understood by Wesley, is then compared with new neurological findings about human mirror neuron systems that are prerequisite for empathizing with others. The final section suggests a new sanctification narrative based on the interactions of the Holy Spirit, mirror neuron systems, and empathy, and then makes recommendations for Christian actions based on the correlation of brain function and operations of the Holy Spirit.

This essay sets forth a précis of the Reformed doctrine of sanctification explaining the doctrine and its relationship to the rest of the order of salvation, especially justification. The key to the Reformed doctrine of sanctification is to recognize that holiness and sanctity finds its source in union with Christ but also to recognize the priority of justification over sanctification. Greater sanctity in the Christian life is found, not in the believer’s good works, but in seeking Christ by faith alone through the means of grace (word, sacraments, and prayer). The essay also interacts with and critiques the doctrine of definitive sanctification as espoused chiefly by the late John Murray.

Abstract Roman Catholic scholar Josef Pieper has suggested that the Protestant teaching of salvation by grace alone promotes a type of false assurance that undermines the necessity of striving for Christlikeness in the lives of Christians. Protestants do sometimes sound as if justification and sanctification are identical therefore downplaying the importance of good works and the pilgrim character of the Christian life. Nonetheless, a proper understanding of the distinction between justification and sanctification maintains both the Reformation emphasis on grace and a robust place for human striving toward sanctification in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Thomist tradition’s understanding of the theological virtues, as interpreted by Pieper, has the potential to offer a category for understanding the striving of sanctification as the fitting action of one with the disposition of hope.

The present study examined how Evangelical Christian women’s marital satisfaction is related to religiosity (i.e., religious commitment and sanctification of marriage), role ideology, and role congruence. Societal messages surrounding roles in marriage tend to conflict with conservative Christian messages, and therefore Evangelical women likely experience unique tension while attempting to negotiate roles in their marriages. Two-hundred forty-nine Evangelical Christian women from across the United States were administered a survey containing a measure of religious commitment, two sanctification of marriage scales, a role ideology attitudinal scale, and a role congruence scale. The results indicated that greater levels of religious commitment and sanctification predicted marital satisfaction. Furthermore, sanctification predicted satisfaction above and beyond religious commitment. Women who demonstrated role congruence were found to be more satisfied with their marriages. More egalitarian women were found to experience greater role congruence, though role ideology was not significantly related to marital satisfaction. The Manifestation of God facet of sanctification moderated the relationships between both role ideology and religious commitment, and marital satisfaction. The findings from this study suggest that religion has important implications for the marital satisfaction of Evangelical women, both in itself and through its interaction with role-related variables.

This article proceeds from the assumption that the way a preacher conceptualizes a Christian’s identity in Christ shapes how he brings moral exhortation to the congregation. The concept of definitive sancti- fication—first coined by John Murray and developed by Richard Gaffin and others—identifies the believer as, in some sense, holy in Christ. This is not the holiness of imputed righteousness but a renovative change. Moreover, having been made holy, believers must act according to the logic of their identity in Christ. Three implications for preaching emerge from definitive sanctification: (1) preaching Christ and moral commands must be kept together, (2) the biblical indicative and imperative must inform each other, and (3) preaching must be eschatologically oriented. KEYWORDS: Sanctification, John Murray, preaching, eschatology, definitive sanctification, union with Christ

Living in holiness is an absolute command that God gives to all God's people. In Reformed theology, the concept of progressive sanctification is very often highlighted and emphasized as a very important part of the Christian's life and relationship with God. This article wants to review the concept of progressive sanctification in the perspective of Reformed theology by highlighting the view of the concept and process that takes place in progressive sanctification and its implications in the practical life of Christians. Sanctification in Reformed theology is seen as a direct act of God in the work of salvation bestowed by God in the work of the cross of Christ and is also a continuous process that Christians must undergo. The method used is Literature review, the author will present the concept of progressive sanctification in the perspective of several reformed theologies such as John Calvin, John Owen, Brakel, Watson and conduct a comparative analysis of the views of David Peterson and Don Payne. The author concludes that sanctification is not a gradual process where Christians become more and more holy and more like Christ. Progressive sanctification is rather seen as a process of transformation and growth in faith towards spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ. In some aspects and in the historical development of Christianity, the author sees that Reformed theology in understanding and practicing the aspect of progressive sanctification has become one of the important benchmarks for Christians in understanding and practicing sanctification itself. AbstrakHidup dalam kekudusan adalah perintah mutlak yang Allah berikan kepada semua umat Allah. Di dalam teologi Reformed konsep mengenai pengudusan progresif sangat sering disoroti dan ditekankan sebagai bagian yang sangat penting dalam kehidupannya orang Kristen dan relasinya dengan Allah. Artikel ini ingin meninjau konsep pengudusan progresif dalam perspektif teologi Reformed dengan menyoroti pandangan terhadap konsep dan proses yang terjadi dalam pengudusan progresif serta implikasinya dalam kehidupan praktis orang Kristen. Pengudusan dalam teologi Reformed dipandang sebagai tindakan langsung dari Allah dalam karya keselamatan yang dianugerahkan Allah di dalam karya salib Kristus dan juga merupakan proses yang terus menerus yang harus dijalani oleh orang Kristen. Metode yang digunakan adalah Literatur review, penulis akan memaparkan konsep pengudusan progresif dalam perspektif dari beberapa teologi reformed seperti John Calvin, John Owen, Brakel, Watson dan melakukan analisis secara komparatif dari pandangan David Peterson dan Don Payne. Penulis menyimpulkan bahwa pengudusan bukanlah suatu proses bertahap dimana orang Kristen menjadi semakin bertambah kudus dan menjadi semakin serupa dengan Kristus. Pengudusan progresif lebih dilihat sebagai suatu proses transformasi dan pertumbuhan iman menuju kedewasaan rohani di dalam Yesus Kristus. Dalam beberapa aspek dan dalam perkembangan sejarah Kekristenan penulis melihat teologi Reformed dalam memahami dan menjalankan aspek pengudusan progresif telah menjadi salah satu tolok ukur penting bagi umat Kristen dalam memahami dan mempraktekkan pengudusan itu sendiri.

Abstract: Since humans fell into sin, Jesus Christ has been the person who acts as the Reconciler between humans and God. Sin has separated humans and God, but with the work of the cross of Christ, He has adopted humans to be His children and sanctified them so that they can be saved from the penalty of death. Man is saved by God through Jesus Christ. Those who believe in Him have been adopted as His children and sanctified so that they can grow in Him, and ultimately so that they can become like Christ. So, the truth about the concept of Adoption and Sanctification is a fundamental concept that needs to be firmly understood because it is directly related to saving faith. The firm concept of Adoption and Sanctification is able to ward off polemics or doubts about the status of believers before God. This research uses qualitative methods by describing the concepts of Adoption and Sanctification through scientific studies of systematic theology.Abstrak: Sejak manusia jatuh ke dalam dosa, Yesus Kristus merupakan pribadi yang berperan sebagai Pendamai antara manusia dengan Allah. Dosa telah memisahkan manusia dan Allah, namun dengan karya salib Kristus, Ia telah mengangkat manusia menjadi anak-anak-Nya dan menguduskan mereka sehingga mereka dapat diselamatkan dari hukuman maut. Manusia diselamatkan oleh Allah melalui Yesus Kristus. Mereka yang percaya kepada-Nya telah diangkat menjadi anak-Nya dan disucikan supaya bertumbuh di dalam Dia, dan akhirnya supaya dapat menjadi serupa dengan Kristus. Kebenaran tentang konsep Adoption dan Sanctification ini merupakan konsep yang mendasar yang perlu dipahami dengan teguh karena berkaitan langsung dengan iman yang menyelamatkan. Konsep Adoption dan Sanctification yang teguh mampu menepis polemik atau keraguan tentang statusnya orang percaya di hadapan Allah. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan mendeskripsi konsep Adoption dan Sanctification melalui kajian keilmuan teologi sistematika.

Abstract Depression is a growing concern among older African Americans, as many within this group hesitate to seek professional help from psychiatrists or counselors. Instead, existing literature notes that older African Americans frequently utilize informal social support networks (e.g., church leaders) to respond to stress and buffer the negative effects of depression and depressive symptoms. Yet, little is known about the shared coping practices of older African American couples in relation to depression. Given the commonly noted high levels of religiosity among African Americans, this study examined communal coping as a mediator between sanctification and depression for older African American couples. This study utilized the dyadic data of 194 (146 married and 48 cohabiting) African American couples between the ages of 50 and 86 years. Capturing data with the Revised Sanctification of Marriage scale, the Communal Coping scale, and the Major Depression Inventory, bias-corrected bootstrap analysis revealed that men’s relationship sanctification and women’s depression was partially mediated by men’s, as well as the sum of men’s and women’s, communal coping in married couples. Further, men’s relationship sanctification and men’s depression was partially mediated by men’s, as well as the sum of men’s and women’s, communal coping. In addition, women’s sanctification was positively associated with men’s depression, directly. These findings are valuable in understanding the complex buffers, and contributors, to depression among older African American couples who may identify closely with religion but prefer the support of a partner over professional care.

Throughout the New Testament, we find exhortations to imitate or follow in the steps of Christ, Paul and even some other godly people. In the Epistle to the Philippians, we find this exhortation to imitate incorporated into a Pauline theology of progressive sanctification. Sanctification in Philippians is portrayed as a conforming to Christ through the knowledge of Him, which comes through tripartite means of the Word of God (the Apostolic teaching), the internal work of God’s Spirit and the imitation of Christ, the Apostle Paul and other godly examples. We will aim at forming a biblical theology of sanctification through imitation restricted in our analysis to the Epistle of Philippians. First part of the article reviews the teaching of sanctification in Philippians, with an emphasis on passages where Paul directly addresses this issue: Philippians 1:9-11, 27-29; 2:12-16; 3:1-15. Second part of the article introduces us to biblical teaching on imitation, and then it reviews a downward spiral of imitation: imitating Christ (Phil. 2:5), imitating Paul (Phil. 3:17a; 4:9) and imitating Paul’s faithful imitators (Phil. 3:17b). In the conclusion, we will see that imitation of Christ and His faithful imitators is a means of progressive sanctification that is both important and often neglected, both by those who should serve as primary examples of godliness (spiritual leaders) and those who need to learn by imitating.

Sacrament of Penance is of great importance for the formation of the faithful in their path to holiness after Baptism. This Sacrament is intended as an instrument for theircontinual cleansing and sanctification as the disciples of Christ, so that they can bear many fruits in their life. This work of sanctification is a key element in their Christian life due to the power of sins which defiles them as the members of Christ. This paper wants to explore the meaning of the Sacrament of Penance in the work of sanctification of the faithful from the liturgical document Ordo Paenitentiae (1973) and the subsequent documents on it. At the end of the discussion, it wants to bring some pastoral consequences related to the practice of this Sacrament in the context of the life of the faithful in the Diocese of Surabaya.

This paper examines perfectionist motifs in baptistic Pentecostal notions of sanctification, and asks whether resources to solve this quandary may be found within the tradition itself. Tracing these motifs back to the ‘Finished Work’ theology of William Durham, variations on themes of the Keswick movement are noted. These parallels continue through the institutional period, and recurrence of ‘union with Christ’ and ‘crucifixion with Christ’ tropes are discovered, particularly in the Assemblies of God Pentecostal Evangel. Keswick leader L.E. Maxwell’s classic The Crucified Life provides a direct connection between Pentecostal and Keswick treatments of sanctification. While Pentecostal applications of identification with Christ have led some to draw connections with the Orthodox doctrine of theosis, this paper asserts a closer relationship to Luther’s theology of the cross and offers a means of using resources within the Pentecostal tradition to redefine a non-perfectionist model of sanctification that remains dynamic and cross-centred.

There exists a serious gap in the minds and lives of many believers between what they know to be the goal of sanctification and growth and where they know they actually are in their life. The church and its leaders would be better equipped to address this “sanctification gap” if its ministries were informed by a robust Spiritual Theology, understood in two senses or forms that are interrelated: (1) its more general form of drawing out the spiritual and existential implications of theology in order to better understand and participate in the process of transformation; (2) its fullest sense as a theological discipline in its own right that attempts to integrate (a) the Scriptural teaching on sanctification with (b) observations and reflections of the Spirit's actual work in the believer's spirit and experience. This paper addresses the nature of Spiritual Theology and a brief justification for it including various examples, for the sake of equipping leaders to meaningfully address transformation in the church.

Abstract In the theological retrieval of neo-Calvinism, Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) is the golden child, but does he ere? This article explores a misnomer in Bavinck’s theology, that of adoption within the ordo salutis (order of salvation). Bavinck’s doctrine of adoption seems to be misplaced because he writes of adoption as juridical (RD IV, 219, 226-227), a term that belongs properly to justification. Yet he draws upon adoption to illustrate sanctification. The two doctrines, justification and sanctification, are of course intimately linked in his system, but Bavinck either misdeploys or mis-categorizes adoption. In light of Bavinck, placing it in the juridical category, but drawing upon it to illustrate sanctification it remains unclear why it remains juridical. First, the article explores the main contours of Bavinck’s ordo salutis establishing the main categories and ordering, this will lay hold to the problematic placement of adoption. From there, a constructive alternative is set forth, that of the category of relational.

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that in the era of information technologies, the dangers associated with the consumption of destructive information are often underestimated. Among the various vulnerable social groups in this study, the focus is on people with a Christian worldview. After all, the ratio of new information from the mass media and information related to the fundamental foundations of Christian ideology in the modern digital world is unequal. The main problem of the study is the specificity of the phenomenon of sanctification in the religious life of various denominations, including Christians. However, apart from the latter, the article clearly defines that in the modern world every country has its own traditional religion. That is why the stated problem is considered through the prism of a number of examples, namely the peculiarities of the understanding of sanctification in Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. This is due to the fact that each religion interprets this term differently. In the course of the research, this topic is considered objectively on the example of its interpretation in Protestantism, in particular, by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In the actual understanding of this denomination, sanctification is understood as a phenomenon that, with the help of God’s grace, enables a person to harmonize his life with the principles of God’s holy Law. The article states that a person who does not strive for perfection, who does not reach for Christ, cannot be sanctified. After all, there is no point in the fact that a person was consecrated two days ago or a month ago, if he is now defiled. This approach is not traditional for many denominations, but its biblical origins analyzed in the study indicate that the phenomenon of sanctification can be understood in this way. According to the results of the scientists’ work, it is determined that the process of sanctification or purification is accomplished only with the help of Christ’s merit and only with a wide heart. In a person who is not purified, the Spirit of God cannot reside, and if He does not reside, then a person cannot be God’s channel for others. Thus, the problem of understanding the phenomenon of sanctification in view of its own debatable nature requires actual thorough research, in which parallels would be drawn between the way of life of modern Christians and its conformity to the creed.

AbstractThe sanctification of Yiddish in hasidic society occurred primarily in the first half of the twentieth century and intensified in the wake of the Holocaust. The roots of this phenomenon, however, lie in the beginnings of Hasidism in the eighteenth century. The veneration of Yiddish is linked to the hasidic attitude towards vernacular language and the status of the ẓaddik “speaking Torah.” Hasidism represented—and represents—an oral culture in which the verbal transfer of its sacred content sanctifies the language spoken by its adherents, in this case, Yiddish. This article presents a theological and sociological examination of the various stages of the sanctification of Yiddish among Hasidim from the movement's early stages to the late twentieth century.

RESPONSIVE BECOMING: Moral Formation in Theological, Evolutionary, and Developmental Perspective by Angela Carpenter. New York: T&T Clark, 2020. 200 pages. Paperback; $39.95. ISBN: 9780567698162. *Carpenter, in this well-written, methodologically astute, and thought-provoking study on moral formation rubs several unusual sticks together: Reformed theologies of sanctification, extended evolutionary synthesis theories, and current offerings in developmental psychology. The result is a wonderful fire that sheds much light on all these areas. This study is sure to be an important conversation partner for those interested in the ongoing dialogue between theology and the social sciences, as well as those interested in the doctrine of sanctification and its relationship to understandings of moral formation. We are in Carpenter's debt for such stimulating interdisciplinary work. *The subtitle lists Carpenter's three main interlocutors. In her first three chapters, she begins with a theological analysis of the views of sanctification of John Calvin (chap. 1), John Owen (chap. 2), and Horace Bushnell (chap. 3), in which she uncovers several "recurring questions and difficulties" in the Reformed tradition (p. 3). These difficulties include, first, the extent to which sanctification should be dependent upon "a particular cognitive-affective state" (p. 36)--namely that the believer trusts in God as a loving parent such that one's good works flow from this state of "faith." This can prove to be an unstable foundation given the "unreliability of subjective awareness" (p. 152). A second question centers on the extent to which God's trinitarian sanctifying action should be understood to work through, or alternatively totally displace, "intra-human sources of formation" (pp. 37, 152). Calvin's theology is filled with tension in these areas, tensions which are resolved in one direction in John Owen's theology as he reacts against "Pelagian" threats in his day and upholds "the integrity of grace" (p. 3) in a certain way. Owen emphasizes the objective work of God in sanctification, such that human cognitive-affective states do not matter much, nor is sanctification seen to be mediated through any human formative influences. Bushnell, responding against revivalist accounts of sanctification in his day, takes the opposite tack, and emphasizes both the human subjective response to God and formative processes such as the nurture of children by Christian parents, so much so that "the activity of the Spirit cannot be considered apart from the natural means through which it operates" (p. 87). I learned much from Carpenter's appreciative yet incisive exposition and analysis, not least of which are the ways that typical Protestant views of sanctification, such as those of Calvin and especially Owen, can pull one in the opposite direction from much of the recent revival of virtue theory and discussions of formative practices in Christian ethics and practical theology. *The key link between these chapters and the following ones is the importance of the parent-child metaphor for the relationship of the Christian to God. "God as a loving parent and the faithful person as the adopted child of God" (p. 5) is a common and important image for Calvin, and indeed for the Christian tradition as a whole, as attested by the first two words of the Lord's Prayer. This raises questions about the extent to which the divine-human parent-child relationship has dynamics that are analogous to human-human parent-child relationships, and the extent to which natural processes of human moral formation are related to the process of sanctification through the gracious activity of God, our heavenly parent. *She pursues these and other questions through a deep dive into the intricacies of current discussions of evolutionary theory (chap. 4) and developmental psychology (chap. 5). In both these chapters, a recurring motif is that relationships of care, affect, and social acceptance bring about important changes in humans. The "niche construction" of systems of affect, attachment, and "concern for the emotions and welfare of others" (p. 111) plays a key part in our evolutionary history, and "early and affective social acceptance" (p. 129) plays a key part in the moral development of children. One can see how important moral changes that these natural processes create in human beings resonate with descriptions of sanctified human behavior that result from the parental love of God. Could these processes, especially when seen in light of trinitarian accounts of the work of Christ and the Spirit, help us better understand God's sanctifying work, without reducing God's gracious action to simply these natural processes? Could such an account help one move through the tensions within doctrines of sanctification in the Reformed tradition? This is the direction of Carpenter's questioning and answering throughout the text and especially in her constructive account of sanctification in chapter 6, "Sanctification Revisited." *I have so much admiration for this excellent study, and there is so much to respond to in this rich text. One key lesson I gained was that love, here understood primarily as an affective relationship of social acceptance and care, is not some added luxury in human life, but rather is a foundational component for human evolution and moral formation. As a theologian this will change the way I think about "justification," which was interestingly not a word highlighted in the text. Carpenter pushes me to anchor my Protestant understanding of justification deeply within the realm of a relationship of acceptance and care between a human and God, rather than seeing it primarily as a juridical status. Carpenter shows there are important "sanctifying" aspects of this relationship; the two theological concepts are linked in important ways. *I also came away with two primary sets of questions, especially regarding her proposals for a revisited doctrine of sanctification. The first has to do with the description of sanctification itself. What does a sanctified or holy life look like? Carpenter emphasizes aspects of sanctification that are direct results of being adopted as a child of God; in this way one becomes a "new being" in Christ (p. 153). This relationship with God satisfies "affect hunger" (p. 158) and provides a social context in which a "new heart" can develop (p. 158). Instead of focusing on an examination of one's own heart (p. 161), or alternatively on following rules or examples outside of oneself, such as the example of Jesus understood "legalistically" (p. 158), Carpenter emphasizes that the Christian life of sanctification is an ongoing repentance from alienation from the creator (p. 162); vivification occurs when one turns again and again to the loving arms of God (p. 163). My wonder here is whether increasing conformity with clear models of God's holy intentions for human life that go beyond the activity of continual repentance and returning to God should also be emphasized. Carpenter certainly talks about conformity to Christ, but the pattern of Christ is usually talked about in terms of "repeated returning" (p. 161) and "perfect fellowship with the Father" (p. 162). I sense perhaps an overemphasis on Spirit, and not enough on Word or the patterns that sanctified life takes: in Calvin's trinitarian theology, "Word" (related to attributes of form, pattern, or way of life) and "Spirit" (related to the energy by which that form is achieved; see Institutes 1.13.18) must go together. While the law and prophets hang on the command to love God and neighbor, such love is fleshed out in a variety of holy ways of life that God intends for humanity. Carpenter's wariness about virtue ethics seems to go hand in hand with this reticence to name behaviors, virtues, or practices other than repentance, acceptance, and positive affectivity. It is unclear to me whether this is simply a matter of scope and focus--"focus on the relationship with God, rather than on one's inner life or outer behaviors" is a clear and salutary message throughout the text--or is a feature of her total understanding of sanctification. *I also wonder whether Carpenter's description of God's activity in sanctification could be improved by considering different ways that God relates to the world. Both Karl Barth and especially David Kelsey (in Eccentric Existence) have taught me to consider that God's activity toward all that is not God takes three primary shapes or "trinitarian taxes" in God's work of creation, reconciliation, and in drawing all that is not God to eschatological consummation. Carpenter's important insights about the foundational nature of affective relationships might find greater sharpness through a distinction between (1) God's creational work (which would be mediated generally through evolutionary processes which include human parent-child relationships), (2) God's reconciling work (which many would claim is mediated primarily and more particularly through the people of God), and (3) God's "kingdom" work (mediated through Spirit-inspired renewed ways of life). This might create greater space for talk of justice and vocation, as well as greater distinctions between God's activity in Christian communities and elsewhere. All three avenues of God's activity and human response to it involve the intertwined, yet unified, sanctifying work of God that is based upon affective acceptance; however, by noting these distinctions, greater space might be created both for greater specifications of holy living and for distinctions between God's more particular and more general work in the world. *None of these wonderings should detract from the seminal nature of Carpenter's work. Her emphasis on the importance of intra-human and divine-human affective relationships in moral formation and sanctification provides an important foundational structure to discussions of sanctification. Carpenter's methodologically careful, insightful, and thought-provoking work will surely be a voice of continuing importance in ongoing discussions of sanctification within theology and in the needed intra-disciplinary dialogue between theology and the social sciences. *Reviewed by David Stubbs, Professor of Ethics and Theology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI 49423.

Abstract Disproportionately affected by numerous relational stressors (e.g., financial strain, morbidity), older African American couples frequently find solace in religion and each other. Research notes that both married and cohabiting couples effectively respond to difficult situations by sharing the ownership of a stressor and organizing a collaborative, collective response. However, little is known about the influence of religion on shared coping experiences, particularly among older African American couples. This study examined dyadic data from the Strong African American Couples Project to capture the influence of relational sanctification on the communal coping practices of married and cohabiting older African American couples. The sample included 194 African American couples (146 married and 48 cohabiting) between the ages of 50 and 86 years. With the use of Actor Partner Independence Models, this study found that men’s sanctification predicted both their own communal coping and their partner’s communal coping. However, there were no significant effects when women’s sanctification was used as a predictor of communal coping among older African American couples. These findings are both important and novel, because these relationships had never before been examined within the United States, much less among older African American couples. Similar to existing research among majority White couples, this research finds that men’s religiosity may be a more influential predictor of relational outcomes than women’s religiosity. Such findings offer a valuable foundation for future studies seeking to consider how relational sanctification and communal coping may impact other outcomes associated with the romantic relationships of older African Americans.