Academic literature on the topic 'Sealing of salvation'

Too often the emphasis in catechetic instruction falls on objective cognitive content. This aspect of instruction should rather be complemented by ascertaining whether young catechumens subjectively internalise God’ s salvation and grace and make it their own by living out their confessed faith in concrete deeds of faith. The point of departure in catechetic instruction should be that the sealing of the Spirit is primarily an act of God, guaranteeing catechumens that the Spirit’ s indwelling presence is a guarantee of an ultimate and final inheritance. This promise and guarantee should be repeatedly communicated in catechetic instruction by inter alia highlighting the embedded and related meanings of the concept “sealing”. In addition related concepts complementary to “sealing” should be discussed. The process of instruction should also concentrate on explaining these concepts by applying concrete language and images on the cognitive level of children and young adults.

The many teachings of Christianity that teach about uncertain salvation, including the mistaken opinion of the work of the Holy Spirit as the seal of eternal salvation for believers, create doubts as well as undermine the consistency of the teachings and the authority of the Bible because it seems that its truth becomes relative. This study aims to provide a rebuttal to the opinion that rejects salvation as only God's grace, focus on research on how the work of the Holy Spirit works on salvation in believers. This study uses a qualitative method with a thematic analysis approach and analyzes the text of Ephesians 1: 13-14 as its basis, and considers various views on salvation. This research concludes that the sealing of the Holy Spirit occurs when a person believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit works in the believer, providing protection, assurance, and care for God so that they escape punishment and gain eternal life. The Holy Spirit is a sign that the believer belongs to God because of the redemption of Christ's blood according to the faith response to God's grace.Banyaknya ajaran Kekristenan yang mengajarkan mengenai keselamatan yang tidak pasti, termasuk kekeliruan pandangan mengenai karya Roh Kudus sebagai meterai keselamatan kekal orang-orang percaya, memunculkan kebimbangan sekaligus meruntuhkan konsistensi ajaran dan wibawa Alkitab. Penelitian ini bertujuan memberikan bantahan mengenai pandangan yang menolak keselamatan hanya anugerah Allah, dengan fokus penelitian pada bagaimana karya Roh Kudus mengerjakan keselamatan dalam diri orang-orang percaya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan analisis tematik dan menganalisis teks Efesus 1:13-14 sebagai dasarnya, serta memperhatikan berbagai pandangan tentang keselamatan. Kesimpulan penelitian ini adalah bahwa pemeteraian Roh Kudus terjadi pada saat seseorang percaya Yesus sebagai Tuhan dan Juru Selamat. Roh Kudus berkarya dalam diri orang percaya, memberi perlindungan, jaminan dan pemeliharaan Allah sehingga luput dari hukuman dan memperoleh kehidupan kekal. Roh Kudus menjadi tanda bahwa orang percaya telah menjadi milik Allah oleh karena penebusan darah Kristus sesuai tanggapan iman kepada kasih karunia Allah.

The article analyzes the history of the term perichoresis in the space of time embraced by the first seven ecumenical councils. After the Christological debut of the terminology in the fourth century in the work of Gregory of Nazianzus to indicate the dynamism of the relationship of the two natures of Christ in the hypostatic union, the text shows how this theological transition was the basis of the development in Maximus the Confessor. In the seventh century he applied the theological gain of Gregory of Nazianzus to divinization, making explicit the Christological foundation of Christian salvation. The journey ends in the 8th century with John Damascene, who applies perichoresis to both Christology and divinization, as already seen before him, but extends the terminology to the Trinitarian dimension, thus sealing the parable of theological thought. This makes it possible to recognize a true theological grammar which, consistently with Timothy Pawl's studies, reveals the architectural value of a Conciliar Trinitarianism, as a Trinitarian epistemology based on a Trinitarian anthropology, in turn rooted in a Trinitarian ontology. Abstract: L'articolo analizza la storia del termine perichoresis nello spazio di tempo abbracciato dai primi sette concili ecumenici. Dopo l'esordio cristologico nel IV secolo della terminologia nell'opera di Gregorio di Nazianzo per indicare la dinamicità del rapporto delle due nature del Cristo nell'unione ipostatica, si mostra come questo passo teologico sarà la base dello sviluppo in Massimo il Confessore. Questi nel VII seccolo applicherà il guadagno teologico del Nazianzeno alla divinizzazione, esplicitando il fondamento cristologico della salvezza cristiana. Il percorso si conclude nell'VIII secolo con Giovanni Damasceno, il quale applica perichoresis sia alla cristologia, sia alla divinizzazione, come già prima di lui, ma estende la terminologia anche alla dimensione trinitaria, sigillando così la parabola del pensiero teologico. Ciò permette di riconoscere una vera e propria grammatica teologica che, coerentemente con gli studi di Timothy Pawl, rivela il valore architettonico di un Conciliar Trinitarianism, come epistemologia trinitaria che si fonda su un'antropologia trinitaria, a sua volta radicata in una ontologia trinitaria.

Kangaroo Island has embraced sustainable tourism in the hope that it will maintain its integrity as a close-knit rural community. In the centre of the front cover of the Kangaroo Island 1999 Visitor Guide is a photograph of a group of Australian sea lions on a beach. Between the photograph and the garland of native wildflowers which line the border of the cover is a margin of white space. This, along with the absence of humans, conveys a sense of pristine wilderness. The front cover design with its encompassing wreath and purity of white space simulates an iconographic representation which transforms the sea lion picture into a sacred object. The garland of flowers honours the seal in its natural habitat -- the most appealing aspect of the island for the tourist (Warren, personal communication). However, hovering ambiguously among the wildflowers is the possibility that the front cover's frame represents a funeral wreath -- perhaps in memory of those early days when fur traders turned the South Australian island into a slaughterhouse. Or maybe it is as a foreshadowing of the consequences of a tourist "invasion". Despite the sacralising of the seal, the marine mammal remains a commodity to be "consumed" by those who visit. Kangaroo Islanders are aware that tourism has sounded the death knell for many small communities -- in the 1950s the Gold Coast was a small fishing village, in the 1970s Cairns was a sugar cane town -- and are attempting to impose management practices which will control the amount and type of tourism consumption in order to prevent destruction of the island's native wildlife, its fragile biological systems and the authenticity of the local community. Residents' acceptance of the significance of native fauna and flora in recent years is, to some degree, driven by a pragmatism not dissimilar to that of early fur traders: both view the seal as a commodity, although behaviour towards these protected mammals contrasts strongly with past behaviour when sealing was an especially lucrative industry. Although seal numbers have increased, their classification as an endangered species is a legacy to those days when "fur seals [and Australian sea lions] made a valuable contribution to the economy of the colony of New South Wales" as the sale of the skins enabled the new colony to buy imports (Newnham 34). By the end of the nineteenth century changing market demands and severely depleted sources meant native animal skins were no longer a major source of income. Problems of land and wildlife management increased when sheep farming was introduced. With the allocation of land to farming for soldier/settler communities in the twentieth century, heavy tree clearing and overgrazing resulted in problems of soil erosion and increasing salinity levels, problems which also confront those in mainland rural communities. Following the decline in rural commodity prices for sheep, wool and beef in the 1990s, the local community has targetted tourism as one of the preferred alternative industries. Despite some opposition, the majority of locals feel that with proper management and monitoring, sustainable tourism will offer salvation rather than destruction of their island community. Local views are evident in the high profile given to tourism by the Kangaroo Island Economic Development Board (KIDB), "whose 1998-1999 Annual Plan has identified a number of opportunities to develop the Island's tourism infrastructure, and encourage visitors to stay longer and provide more value to the Island" (Islander 9 July 1998). From 1991 to 1993-1994, 85,000 visits per annum of at least one night stay were recorded with an estimated 50,000 additional annual visitors from day trips (Kangaroo Island Regional Tourism Profile 1). By 1998 over 160,000 visitors arrive on Kangaroo Island each year. KIDB's year long visitor exit survey shows viewing the island's wildlife is the main reason why international and interstate tourists travel to the island and is one of the main reasons why intrastate visitors come (Islander 9 July 1998: 6). However, KIDB is aware of local community concern "to [facilitate] development processes particularly towards sustainable development" (UNCSD, Paper 16 22). Community concerns that tourism must be carefully managed to avoid invasion has led to a number of initiatives including the publication of the Tourism Management and Development on Kangaroo Island Working Party Report in 1984 (KI Tourism Policy 1). The publication in 1991 of the Kangaroo Island Tourism Policy acknowledged a need for the island to "diversify and strengthen its economic base" by aiming to be a "specialised destination that emphasises quality before quantity" (12). Kangaroo Island's increasing importance as an tourism destination is also significant to South Australia's ailing economy -- a fact which could impede rather than aid the island's goal to maintain control tourism management. To date they have successfully prevented large scale development. However, Democrats spokesman on Regional Development and Small Business, and local resident of the island, Ian Gilfillan, is reported to be alarmed at the South Australian government's plan to fast-track tourism development. The government's Kangaroo Island Working Group Report talks of "bypassing normal planning procedures" and claims that tourism developments should not have a maximum size imposed upon them but rather should be "determined by commercial factors". Gilfillan fears that the government's "fast-track" development policies "will not only jeopardise Kangaroo Island's unique environment, but will also ensure that profits from tourism will mostly leave the Island and go to the mainland, interstate or overseas" (Islander 22 January 1998: 1). In 1998 a residents' survey conducted by the KIDB indicated that 89 per cent of islanders felt that tourism was either "good" or "very good" for the island (Islander 14 May 1998: 2), whereas the proposed tuna farm at Penneshaw was least supported with only 17 per cent saying it was "good" or "very good" and 60 per cent saying it was "bad" or "very bad". Residents' opposition to the tuna farm is evident in a number of letters to the editor of the Islander. Newspaper articles express concern about the impact of the industry upon the local Australian sea lion population, the island's major tourist drawcard. Besides discouraging tourism, the industry might lead to the "attraction of sharks, entanglement of marine mammals and waste disposal" problems. Support from "CSIRO experts and marine researchers" also lent weight to the local position (Islander 9 Apr. 1998: 1&3). The Kangaroo Island 1999 Visitor Guide markets the island as "nature's pleasure island" implying that it welcomes low impact tourism for those who want to experience a combination of wilderness and comfort. Words such as "visitor", "guests" and "invited" construct an image of the island as a destination for those who might willingly fit Urry's definition of the Romantic traveller -- those wishing to escape so called mass or intensive tourism (46-7). A number of Letters to the Editor of the Islander reinforce the concept of the island as a supportive and hospitable community, as excerpts from the following letter illustrate: The island is magic, but it is magic because it is what it is, and the locals are unpretentious, fun loving, good hearted and innovative. Tart up the island too much and impact negatively on the natural environment and laid back style, and visitors will find somewhere else to go. Kangaroo Island is one of the last places on earth where we can experience what the planet might have been like if we hadn't wrecked it in the pursuit of wealth and power. And the locals remind us stressed out city folk of the joys of a simpler life style. (Islander 2 April 1998: 9) Trish Edwards has visited the island eight times. She advises the islanders that "visitors want to meet locals and get a feel of what it is like to live in such a magical place" and that tourism "needs the anchor of human interaction to make [a location] memorable". Her enjoyment of the island is based upon the seeming lack of "front stage/backstage" hospitality and tourist performance (MacCannell 92-93). Her letter reinforces the concern some local residents expressed to me in interviews I conducted, namely, that tourism must be contained and kept under the control of the local community so that an "invasion" does not destroy what is at the very heart of the island's appeal: its authenticity as a small rural community in a location of great natural beauty where visitors can view wildlife in its natural habitat with minimum impact to that environment. But is this realistic? Tourism is a massive global industry based on our consumer society with its insatiable demand for new experiences and new places. Travel and tourism is the world's largest industry, directly and indirectly accounting for 11.7 per cent of world's gross domestic product in 1999 (WTTC 1). There were 650 million international travellers in 1998, and predictions are that the number will double in the next decade. An estimated 30 to 40 per cent of tourist demand is for nature-based experiences (WTTC 1). This 21st century threat of invasion will be very difficult for Kangaroo Islanders to contain. References Centre for Tourism and Hotel Management Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast. Kangaroo Island Regional Tourism Profile. Adelaide: South Australian Tourism Commission, 1996. "Commission Hears of KI's Concerns." Islander 9 Apr. 1998: 1&3. Eastick, A.B. "Tourism Key to Island's Continued Growth." Islander 9 July 1998: 6. Edwards, Trish. Islander. 2 Apr. 1998: 9. "Focus is on Tourism." Islander 14 May 1998: 1-2. Kangaroo Island Tourism Commission Survey. Kent Town: Tan Research, 1998. Newnham, W.H. Kangaroo Island Sketchbook. Adelaide: Rigby, 1975. "Report Not Looking at Real Issues." Islander 22 Jan. 1998: 1. Tourism Kangaroo Island. Kangaroo Island South Australia 1999 Visitor Guide. TKI Inc. 1999. United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Briefing Papers, 1999. Urry, John. The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage, 1990. Warren, M. Personal interview. 16 Sep. 1998. World Travel and Tourism Council. Travel and Tourism Economic Impacts: March 1999. London: WTTC, 1999. Citation reference for this article MLA style: Sandra Brunet. "Is Sustainable Tourism Really Sustainable? Protecting the Icon in the Commodity at Sites of Invasion." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2.2 (1999). [your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9903/tourism.php>. Chicago style: Sandra Brunet, "Is Sustainable Tourism Really Sustainable? Protecting the Icon in the Commodity at Sites of Invasion," M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2, no. 2 (1999), <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9903/tourism.php> ([your date of access]). APA style: Sandra Brunet. (1999) Is sustainable tourism really sustainable? Protecting the icon in the commodity at sites of invasion. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 2(2). <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9903/tourism.php> ([your date of access]).

The observation is made that the spiritual well being of the church youth - i.e., the covenantal youth -is not healthy. The aim of this thesis is to study this observation. It seems that when children come to the point that they confess their faith they do not grasp the full implications of this undertaking as they do not bear the fruits of faith in their daily lives. There exists empiric evidence that the church youth are well equipped in the knowledge of faith, but when it comes to subjective acts of faith, there is a great lack. The assumption is made that the catechist is not always sufficiently equipped to apply the balance between knowledge of faith and subjective acts of faith in catechises. The focus point of the study is: Catechises as a means through which salvation is secured and appropriated within the context of the covenant and the Kingdom of God. The fundamental question at stake is: How does the believer share in the salvation that Christ has earned on the cross, and in which way can the catechises serves as a vehicle to achieve this goal. Essentially catechises is the official service of the church through which children of the covenant are assured of their salvation. They must also come to the point where they claim this redemption. The church obtains this objective by proclaiming the truths and instructing the doctrines of the Word of God to these children in such a way that each individual should come to confess his/her faith publicly and personally. Catechists must shepherd and guide these children not only to obtain certainty of faith (certitudo fidei) and to be obedient as believers, but also to be convinced of their salvation (certitudo salutis) and to make this redemption their own. The unity between God and man is not a polar one, but an apolar covenantal relation. Within this polar relation the covenant is like a solid foundation in which this oneness is rooted. The monopleuric (one-sided, unilateral) and dipleuric (two-sided, bilateral) character of the covenant proves that God treats man as a responsible associate in this treaty. God's sovereignty or objective salvation, on the one hand, and human responsibility or subjective faith, on the other hand, coexists without any strain or uneasiness whatsoever within this apolar covenantal connection between God and man. There is no contradiction between God's redemptive word and man's responsibility. It is therefore compulsory for man to believe; that man has faith is not something that rakes place without his decision. However, it is through the power of the gospel that faith is created in man - the gospel that Christ was crucified. The grace of God does not cause the believer to be a passive being; it has the effect that he is in active service of the Lord. The requirement to believe and to repent is not set aside; in fact, it remains a condition of the covenant. This means that, in the relation between God and His people, the promises and the demands of the covenant must be operative and active in the personal lives of the people of the covenant. The purpose of this exercise is that the believers will be able to experience the grace of the promises of the covenant as a reality. There is also a call at the address of these people to appropriate the salvation promised in the covenant. The children of the covenant must share in the promises of the pact on a personal basis. The reality of these promises, as well as the urgency of the demands - according to the gospel of God - must be proclaimed to the catechumens. There is a close relationship between certainty of faith and the objective truths of religion. This certainty is built on the truths that form the content of the Word of God. Certainty of salvation links up with the subjective acts of faith. A believer takes part on a personal level in the redemptive work of Christ. The fact that he is saved, through this redemption, forms the foundation of the Christian's life.
Thesis (Ph.D. (Catechetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Mormons do not have formal categories or enumeration of sacraments, but five are essential for salvation and are thus administered for the living and the dead: baptism, conferral of Holy Ghost, priesthood ordination (male only), endowment, and sealing. Baptism is for remission of sins but also signifies adoption into the heavenly family. Earlier, Mormons performed re-baptisms to signify recommitment and baptisms for health. Conferral of the Holy Ghost is by laying on of hands. Priesthood, being an eternal order, is conferred even upon the deceased. The endowment involves washings, anointings, and a series of sacred covenants or obligations—and has precedent in ancient texts and practices. Sealing in this context refers to the binding together in eternal relation a man and woman. Mormon theology of gender as eternal and complementary founds their practice of man-woman marriage only.

This chapter traces the development of some of the fundamental theological turns that made Mormonism so unique among nineteenth-century Americans, including the doctrinal place of polygamy from the founding of the Church in 1830 through the Mormons' exodus to Utah in the late 1840s. The theological and political concepts that Joseph Smith outlined in the early years of the Church—including the plan of salvation, sealing and adoption, and eternal increase—intimately tied gender, plural marriage, and the family to the building of Zion and the advent of the kingdom of God in all its places. Since the public announcement of the Church's belief in and intent to openly practice plural marriage, Church leaders publicly endorsed the practice as a fundamental, even defining, aspect of Mormonism and integrated the practice into a broader vision of Mormon political philosophy.

The Power of Godliness explores Mormon liturgical history to elucidate Mormon cosmology and lived religion. Mormons use rituals, patterns of worship, and conceptions of priesthood to order their lives and the universe. What Mormons have meant by “priesthood” has evolved over time and in relation to ecclesiology, authority, gender, and race. For much of the nineteenth century, Mormons conceptualized their family relationships formalized through sealing rituals over their temple altars, as a priesthood and materialized heaven. This heavenly structure was eternal, and consequently church leaders struggled to fairly manage its construction. Ultimately, church leaders changed their emphasis from a gender-inclusive priesthood of heaven to a priesthood on earth that is discursively male. Baby blessings demonstrate this shift: from serving as an important delimiter of communal salvation among Mormons in the faith’s earliest years, they grew into an annunciation of the heaven created in temples and then became an important public demonstration of a priestly fatherhood. Mormon authority is further explored in the analysis of female ritual healing and in association with the creation of formal “ordinances” of the church. Last, Christian folk practice that has often been denigrated as “magic,” such as the use of seer stones, among Mormons is contextualized as part of a transatlantic exchange of ideas and peoples. Mormons integrated folk practitioners who believed in an open heaven by channeling their impulses through the formal liturgy of the church and organizing them through the priesthood bureaucracy.