A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON BIBLICAL SALVATION WITH IDEAS OF SALVATION OF OTHER RELIGIONS

OLATUNDE ALLEN TIMILEHIN

DECEMBER 2009

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

One of the few elements that world religions share is the assertion that humans don’t live in harmony with the Ultimate Reality. In other words, humanity does not manifest its purpose of existence. Life is a far cry from the ideal claimed by religion, so that humanity needs salvation from its present condition. The word salvation is scanty in the world archives when facing the reality of the misconception. Everyone has its own idea or concept of what salvation might be and the experience of individuals differ in the explanation of its ideology hypothesized. The view to the word ‘salvation’ is commonly used among the religions sects in the world with the sense of evils and sins that have damaged their eschatological hope whereas the future is not known yet.

Why salvation? The religious individuals and parties are in abstract race of knowing the good end that is full of safety from the ravaging evils in the world. The fear of tomorrow and the curiosity of knowing more in accumulation might lead some into the ultimate search for the salvation of soul and body. The religion has illuminated the idea of getting saved from different perception and perspective in which all shall be expatiated in the course of this research work. Everyone or greater number of people knows that there is God or Supreme being that all will be accounted to and this revelation now stirs up the journey to make up to the good end of sharing in the good of the Great being. The idea of salvation now becomes the competitive issues having a strong backup of mundane stories that actually could not be scholarly or theologically accepted to be the true way of salvation, but either party in the religion sect believes on the myth of the revealed testimony of some of their leaders that salvation is in their beliefs.

However, in assessing the meaning of salvation in world religions we must analyze three important aspects: The resources needed for attaining salvation, the actual way of getting saved and the meaning of being saved. Concerning the first two aspects, some religions claim that salvation can be attained by using only inner human resources. They demand the use of meditation, accumulation of wisdom, asceticism, rituals, good deeds, etc. Other religions state that humans can be saved only through the grace granted by an external personal agent. This agent can be God, a bodhisattva, an avatar, etc. One’s duty is to recognize the impossibility of being saved by one's own efforts, and therefore accept grace unconditionally.

www.comparativereligion.com (internet source) states the meaning of salvation from an eternal perspective; here are important distinctions to mention. The monotheistic religions state that the barrier between humans and God is sin. Salvation means removing this moral barrier and restoring a personal communion with God, which will endure forever. Pantheistic religions consider the human self to be one with the impersonal Ultimate Reality, and therefore humanity’s problem is epistemological. Salvation means liberation from ignorance and the fusion of the impersonal self with the Absolute, of knower and known. Other Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Taoism, take salvation as an illumination, meaning the discovery of and conformity of oneself with an eternal law that governs existence. Dualistic religions, which state that two opposed forces of good and evil rule our world, see salvation as a return to an initial angelic state, from which humans have fallen into a physical body. All these ideas shall be studied in comparative to Biblical Salvation in detail.

CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPT OF SALVATION

Microsoft Encarta Dictionary defines salvation as the means of saving somebody or something: somebody or something that protects or delivers another from harm, destruction, difficulty, or failure. Christianity deliverance from sin through Jesus Christ: in the Christian religion, deliverance from sin or the consequences of sin through Jesus Christ's death on the cross. Christian Science philosophy of life: in the Christian Science religion, belief in the supremacy of life, truth, and love, and in their destruction of such illusions as sin, illness, and death.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition; also defines salvation as preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil, that is, deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption. The desire for wholeness is what theologians call salvation. Hinduism and Buddhism call it nirvana and describe it as a state of bliss achieved through extinction or individuality and desires. Adeyemo (1353), in African traditional religions (ATR), salvation is portrayed as cosmic equilibrium and community acceptance of individuals. The African theologian Byang Kato states: ‘Acceptance is equated with salvation in the language of jaba people of Northern Nigeria. According to William S. Babcock, Salvation (from the Latin salus, "health," "safety," "well being") is a religious concept that refers either to the process through which a person is brought from a condition of distress to a condition of ultimate well being or to the state of ultimate well being that is the result of that process. The meaning of the concept varies according to the different ways religious traditions understand the human plight and the ultimate state of human well being. Ideas of salvation may or may not be linked to the figure of a savior or redeemer or correlated with a concept of God.

Anderson (42) remarks on this perception of salvation, that because man is made in the image of God, the attempt to find God through penetrating to the inmost recesses of the self leads in men of all times and races to a similar experience. God is truly the spring of life in our souls; so to seek that spring is to seek Him; and to find it would be to find Him. The image of God is defaced by sin that is by self-will. The mind which seeks to reach that image is distorted by sin, and moulded both for good and for evil by tradition. The Salvation process is unique to each individual.

Babcock, further expatiated, that in some cases, it can be a slow, methodical procedure. In others, an instantaneous flash of insight causes a miraculous transformation! For most people, the salvation process is somewhere between these extremes. In all cases, the central human condition involved for salvation is absolute total trust in God. A very analytical way of looking at it involves the following: conversion, illumination, regeneration, justification, adoption, and sanctification.

CHAPTER THREE

THE UNDERSTANDING OF JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY ON SALVATION

Knitter (159) states boldly the position of Judaism and Christianity in the religion atmosphere of controversy. The contemporary dialogue between Christianity and its parent religion, Judaism, contains some of the boldest proposals for a theocentric model of inter-religious dialogue and some of the most severe criticisms of the traditional normative Christology. This is the traditional belief that the New Testament makes the Jewish Bible the “Old” Testament, that the new Israel supersedes the old Israel. All these theologians are convinced that such a model of Christian-Jewish encounter must be discarded. John Pawlikowski offers a useful outline for summarizing the most notable differences. He lists the new Christian approaches to Judaism under either a “single covenant” or a “double covenant” perceptive. Those who maintain a single covenant embracing both Judaism and Christianity tend to view the Christ event as a means of extending the one and original covenant with Judaism to the non-Jewish world. It is difficult to determine whether there is any other real difference between Christianity and Judaism besides the “extension” that Christ brought. Yet the understanding of Christ as messiah is still an issue with people of Bible, honest dialogue with Jews has forced these writers, Hellwig and Ruether to admit that in a real sense, Jesus is not yet the Messiah or the Christ. To proclaim that “Jesus is Lord” designates not a fiat accompli but a task yet to be accomplished.

Cragg Kenneth (91) opines that the Jew is to the Christian the incomprehensibly obdurate man who will not see what has happened: and the Christian is to the Jew the reckless man who, in an unredeemed world, affirms that its redemption is accomplished.  This is a gulf which no human power can bridge. The contention was too sharp becoming a parallel religion from the same sources. Christianity has continued steadily to incorporate the Old Testament in its Scriptures, its heritage and its solidarity of faith: yet Judaism sees this only as a token of Gentile wisdom. That Gentile may share, thus, in what Jewry’s but without Jewry sharing. There are many substantial and vital distinctions between Judaism and Christianity. Of course, there are many similarities as well, primarily because Christianity emerged from Judaism. However, the emergence was not a direct line. Christianity broke from Judaism, forming a new religion, so it is misleading, however comfortable the thought might be, to believe that the two religions are essentially the same, or to see Christianity as the natural continuation of Judaism.  Judaism does not require that a person convert to Judaism in order to achieve salvation. The only requirement for that, as understood by Jews, is to be ethical and this is accomplished by following a "pattern" for the soul which regulates the behavior of the "mankind". While Judaism accepts the worth of all people regardless of religion, it also allows people who are not Jewish but who voluntarily wish to join the Jewish people to do so.

For Judaism, salvation is available to Jews in this life through their faithful observance of Torah. Jews prefer to use the phrase "have shares in the world to come" rather than "salvation". Redemption, defined as a share in the world to come, is available through the quality of Torah-living and not through belief in a particular Saviour-figure. "Salvation" for the Jew or the "non-Jew" was obtained by fulfilling the "Law" correctly never once breaking one Commandment or Law. Judaism does teach that this Law is a "training manual" to develop the Soul and humankind; it, when followed as a "pattern" for life, elevates man over time to a point of Spiritual maturation and attainment before God. Thus the Torah is the means to salvation, illuminated pathway to achieving such a desired end. In comparative study of these two independent children of the same mother, Christianity has come to fulfill the law and to complete the plan of God that was started earlier from the Old Testament in realty. The concept of separatism is not in accord to biblical authority as the process merges the scene of salvation together. The problem of Judaism is the mentality of getting saved by works as other religion also believe, but Christianity is conceived out of faith in the death, and resurrection of Jesus the Son of God, as an atonement for the sin of the world; the climax of a divine plan for mankind's salvation.

This plan was conceived by God consequent on the Fall of Adam, the progenitor of the human race, and it would be completed at the Last Judgment, when the Second Coming of Christ would mark the catastrophic end of the world. The position on the researcher on this sharp different is that misconception of the plan of God through the ages of creation is not understood taking the law as the major instrument of salvation of God, neglecting the covenant and promises in the Torah which the fulfillment is in the New Testament. The old time priesthood was faulty and need replacement, that is the law with the priesthood could not complete the work of salvation then God in man needs to intervene as it was prophesied by Isaiah the birth of the hope for new covenant to give the nations to Abrahamic heirs, yet the Judaism could not accommodate the eschatological hope of salvation in Jesus due to genealogical bias, failure in the anticipated appearance of Messiah and the denial of the written promises of  His birth, life, death and resurrection. This discrimination actually disorganizes the views of other religion on the acceptance of Christ as the Lord of salvation. It is clear with any prejudice that Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the light to the pathway to heaven form this questionable earth.

CHAPTER FOUR

RECEPTION OF SIN AND EVIL

Theologically, the common problem that all religions confront is sin and its catastrophic consequences for individuals and communities. The entrance of sin in the world faces out the joy and beatitude of Sovereign God over the world as men struggle to find their way back to Him. Yet the issue of sin is still active. Religion comes up in anticipation to live without the sting of sin. Almost all religion believes the existence of sin and evil; doing contrary to what is good, generally accepted according to individual’s belief. Morality has exchanged its strength for sin and to restore it back we fashion out forces of knowledge to deal with sin. Sin can be called offence, crime, abomination, transgression; evil, immoral, inhumane, atrocities etc.

Strombeck (31) said when sin is seen to be rebellion of the creature against the Creator, the desire to be independent of God and to become like God Himself – independent of any other -  to take to oneself glory that is due God, and to disregard the will of God, then the awfulness of sin becomes apparent. It is to this problem of sin that salvation addresses it self. But the marvel of salvation becomes even greater, when it is remembered that it provides a restoration of that which was lost through sin. The concept of sin has been present in many cultures throughout history, where it was usually equated with an individual's failure to live up to external standards of conduct or with his violation of taboos, laws, or moral codes. Some ancient societies also had concepts of corporate, or collective, sin affecting all human beings and dating from a mythical “fall of man” out of a state of primitive and blissful innocence. In ancient Greek thought, sin was looked upon as, in essence, a failure on the part of a person to achieve his true self-expression and to preserve his due relation to the rest of the universe; it was attributed mainly to ignorance.

In the Old Testament, sin is directly linked to the monotheistic beliefs of the Hebrews. Sinful acts are viewed as a defiance of God's commandments, and sin itself is regarded as an attitude of defiance or hatred of God. The New Testament accepts the Judaic concept of sin but regards humanity's state of collective and individual sinfulness as a condition that Jesus came into the world to heal. Redemption through Christ could enable men to overcome sin and thus to become whole. Both Christianity and Judaism see sin as a deliberate violation of the will of God and as being attributable to human pride, self-centeredness, and disobedience. While insisting more strongly than most religions upon the gravity of sin, both in its essence and in its consequences, both Christianity and Judaism have emphatically rejected the Manichaean doctrine that either the created world as a whole or the material part of it is inherently evil.

Adewale S. A., (54) explains that in traditional African society the sacred and the secular are inseparable. There is no compartmentalization of life. What religion forbids or condemns society also forbids and condemns, and similarly society approves those things which religion approves or and sanctions. An offence against God is an offence against man, and in like manner an offence against man is an offence against God, since man is a creature of God. Either offence is criminal. Traditional African religion has no written legal documents showing what is legal or illegal, but traditional Africans have a code of conduct which they all know. This code constrains individuals to live in conformity with the well-being of society. The components of the code have been transmitted conventionally from generation to generation. Forbidden criminal actions include adultery, breach of covenant, burglary, fornication, incest, kidnapping, irreverence and unkindness to parents, lying, murder, rape, seduction, speaking evil of rulers, swearing falsely, theft, sodomy and malice. All prohibited acts or taboos are crimes in African traditional religion and any person committing any of them is regarded as a criminal and is punishable. Abnormal behaviour which is not in conformity with the norms of society are criminal acts.

www.the-good-way.com  (internet source) explains the doctrine of sin in Islam. There are many words for sin in the Qur'an. The most important are as follows: Al Dhanb (offence, crime, misdeed) , Al Fahsha` (vile deed, crime, adultery) Al Wizr (sin as a heavy load, burden, encumbrance)  Al Dalal (straying, to be lost), Al Kufr (godlessness, atheism), Al Zulm (unjust, iniquity, unfairness), Al Ithm (crime, misdeed, offence), Al Fudjur (immorality, depravity, Al Buhtan (slander, lying) etc.

Christianity holds rather that evil is the result of the misuse of their free will by created beings and that the body, with its passions and impulses, is to be neither ignored nor despised but sanctified; in the Bible, the “flesh” that is spoken of disparagingly is not the human body but human nature in rebellion against God. Theologians divide sin into “actual” and “original.” Actual sin is sin in the ordinary sense of the word and consists of evil acts, whether of thought, word, or deed. Original sin (the term can be misleading) is the morally vitiated condition in which one finds oneself at birth as a member of a sinful race. In Genesis 3, this is depicted as an inherited consequence of the first human sin, i.e., that of Adam. In Christianity, the concept of sin is evident in the history of mankind. Everyone who examines his own heart or considers the behaviour of his fellowman must admit it to be a reality. All men, even those who have never received the light of divine revelations, are conscious of their sins and confess their shortcomings and inability to fulfill the moral obligations demanded of them. Sin is not merely shameful behaviour as many people think, but it is also a departure from God, our Creator and sole aim. This departure from God is not just the inclination towards evil; it is a separation from that which is good. Sin is transgression of the law of God (1. John 3:4). It is offensive to God no matter what the sinner's excuse may be or how insignificant the sin.

CHAPTER FIVE

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IDEAS OF SALVATION IN OTHER RELIGION

The objective of this work is to know the ideas of salvation as other religions practice along with undoubtedly conviction and faithfulness to the redemptive power of their belief that the moment of refreshing and forgiveness will come again. The idea of salvation is conceived to bridge the gulf between the Supreme Being and the creature, but the few that never accept the existence of God also fashioned their own way of salvation, getting relieve for their soul. It is fundamental to the soteriological belief of each religion that salvation is an act done individually to appease the Great without any other intermediary like them. There is a paramount belief on the experience of their leaders on their trip in the lonely adventure to know the truth and coming up with facts that are undisputable to the followers who also are in quest for divine connection to the other realm of life to experience what is called salvation in their own way. This view outrightly revolts against the theological belief of Jesus Christ as the Reconciler or Saviour of mankind. They all formulated ways to get the evil (matter) out of the good. However, their views on salvation shall be expatiated in details.

BUDDHISM

Buddhism sees ignorance rather than sin as the roadblock to salvation. That is, the belief that the world and self truly exist, keeps the illusory wheel of existence rolling - only destruction of that belief will stop the mad course of the world. Its doctrine is summed up in the Four Noble Truths: (1) life is basically suffering, or dissatisfaction; (2) the origin of that suffering lies in craving or grasping; (3) the cessation of suffering is possible through the cessation of craving; and (4) the way to cease craving and so attain escape from continual rebirth is by following Buddhist practice, known as the Noble Eightfold Path. Original Buddhist teaching and the Therevada place emphasis on the individual monk working through self-control and a series of meditative practices that progressively lead him to lose a sense of his grasping self. The Mahayana school began with the insight that the ideal of the monk striving only for his own salvation was selfish and did little for the majority of men. Mahayanists eventually came to posit a vast number of Buddhas and bodhisettvas, "heroes of the faith" who reached the point of nirvana but refused to enter it until the rest of mankind was brought along with them. To varying degrees they can graciously grant aids to salvation to those who petition them. Nirvana literally means "blowing out," as with the flame of a candle. That is, nothing can be said about it except that it is a transcendent, permanent state. From an internet source (www.leaderu.com)

HINDUISM

The final goal of salvation in Hinduism is escape from the endless round of birth, death, and rebirth. That can mean an eternal resting place for the individual personality in the arms of a loving, personal God, but it usually means the dissolving of all personality into the unimaginable abyss of Brahman. Four yogas, or ways of reaching such salvation, are described: (1) jnana yoga, the way of knowledge, employs philosophy and the mind to comprehend the unreal nature of the universe; (2) bhakti yoga, the way of devotion or love, reaches salvation through ecstatic worship of a divine being; (3) karma yogo, the way of action, strives toward salvation by performing works without regard for personal gain; and (4) raja yoga, "the royal road," makes use of meditative yoga techniques. Raja yoga is usually viewed as the highest way, but for the majority of people, who cannot become wandering monks, the other ways are considered valid. Most Hindus consider that they have many incarnations ahead of them before they can find final salvation, although some sects believe that a gracious divinity will carry them along the way more quickly. From an internet source (www.leaderu.com)

ISLAM

The Quran rejects the notion of redemption; salvation depends on a man's actions and attitudes. However, tauba ("repentance") can quickly turn an evil man toward the virtue that will save him. So Islam does not hold out the possibility of salvation through the work of God but invites man to accept God's guidance. The final day of reckoning is described in awesome terms. On that last day every man will account for what he has done, and his eternal existence will be determined on that basis: "Every man's actions have we hung around his neck, and on the last day shall be laid before him a wide-open book" (17.13). Muslims recognize that different individuals have been given different abilities and various degrees of insight into the truth. Each man will be judged according to his situation, and every man who lives according to the truth to the best of his abilities will achieve heaven. However, infidels who are presented with the truth of Islam and reject it will be given no mercy. The Koran has vivid descriptions of both heaven and hell. Heaven is depicted in terms of worldly delights, and the torments of hell are shown in lurid detail. Muslims disagree as to whether those descriptions are to be taken literally or not (www.leaderu.com).

JUDAISM

One's eternal existence in the hereafter is determined by moral behavior and attitudes. Although there is no Christian notion of saving grace in Judaism, it is taught that God always offers even the most evil men the possibility of repentance (teshuva, "turning"). After such repentance one can atone for one's rebellion against God's ways by positive action. But the notion of individual salvation and heavenly existence is not prominent in Judaism. In fact many Jews criticize Christianity for being a "selfish" religion, too concerned with personal eternal rewards. The notion of an afterlife is not well developed in the Old Testament. Later writers speculated unsystematically about a final day of judgment. Jews still hope for the coming of the Messiah, who will hand out eternal judgment and reward to all. This hope is largely communal; the entire Jewish race and the whole of creation are in view more than individual men. In the end the moral life of man here on earth is considered the most proper concern of man; final judgments are best left to God (www.leaderu.com).

BAHÁ'Í

Bahá'u'lláh repeatedly stressed that only revealed religion can save us from our imperfections. It is because God has sent his Manifestations to show us the path to spiritual development and to touch our hearts with the spirit of God's love that we are able to realize our true potential and make the effort to be united with God. This is the "salvation" that religion brings. Bahai's do not think of salvation in terms of salvation from the stain of "original sin," nor does it protect us from some external evil force or devil. Rather, it delivers people from the captivity to their own lower nature, a captivity that breeds private despair and threatens social destruction. Salvation means drawing nearer to God and progressing on the path to a deep and satisfying happiness (www.religionfacts.com).

ZOROASTRIANISM AND PARSIISM

Brandon (1962) explains the belief of Zoroastrianism and Parsiism, according to Zoroaster; a good and evil force struggled for mastery in the universe. Man had to decide on which side to align himself in this fateful contest. This dualism was greatly elaborated in later Zoroastrianism and Parsiism, which derived from it. Good, personified as the god Ormazd, and evil, as the demonic Ahriman, would contend for 12,000 years with varying fortune. At last Ormazd would triumph, and Saoshyans, his agent, would resurrect the dead for judgment. The righteous would pass to their reward in heaven, and the wicked be cast into hell. But this situation was of temporary duration. A meteor would later strike the earth, causing a flood of molten metal. Through this flood all would have to pass as an ordeal of purgation. The sensitivity of each to the anguish would be determined by the degree of his guilt. After the ordeal, all men would become immortal, and all that Ahriman had harmed or corrupted would be renewed. Salvation thus took the form of deliverance from postmortem suffering; for ultimate restoration was assured to all after suffering the degree of purgation that the nature of their earthly lives entailed.

CHAPTER SIX

GENERAL CONCEPT OF ATONEMENT

According to Encyclopedia of World Religion, atonement is viewed as the process by which person removes obstacles to his reconciliation with God. It is a recurring theme in religion and theology.  Rituals of expiation and satisfaction appear in most religions as the means by which the religious person reestablishes or strengthens his or her relation to the holy or divine. Atonement is often attached to sacrifice, and both often connect ritual cleanness with moral purity and religious acceptability. General way of attaining atonement in other religions in comparison with Christianity shall be established here. Different religions offer different prescriptions for achieving salvation through atonement. According to Adeyemo Tokunboh (1353), atonement as some religions performed reconciliation is listed thus: firstly, performing the rituals to get salvation is participating in festivals and ceremonies, and undertaking pilgrimages to sacred places. The priesthood, which controls access to God or gods, is the central focus of the system. Salvation is by works. Secondly, losing all desires to get salvation is achieved by suppressing all desires, thus liberating oneself from karma (law of cause and effect) and arriving at nirvana (a state of bliss). Thirdly, behaving in the right way (moralism) to salvation is achieved by avoiding harming any person or animal. This concept, which is popular with modern moralists, humanists and vegetarians, is central to Jainism who considered prayer and worship unnecessary and taught tat good is always rewarded and evil punished. Fourthly, achieving union with the Absolute to salvation is defined as union with the Absolute Reality, referred to as Brahma (creator). Union with Brahma can be achieved through yoga, that is, through intense concentration, deep meditation in prescribed postures, and controlled breathing. Fifthly, pursuing pleasure to salvation is sought in good food, dozing in the sun, avoiding politics and family life, and doing good to others. Lastly, obeying laws as the blessing and peace flowing from such obedience is salvation; while disobedience brings curses and death. Both Judaism and Islam have numerous commandments and statutes that regulate personal life and community affairs.

There is a difference between atonement and forgiveness, especially in Islam, the distinction that atonement for evil deeds means a covering in this world and that forgiveness means removal of sins on the Day of Resurrection through works, pilgrimage, fasting, giving of Alms, striving in the way of Allah, the reading of the Qur'an, the Testimony of the Creed, and the will of Allah.  It is said in Sura 3:129, "Unto Allah belongesth the heavens and the earth. He forgiveth whom He will and punishes whom He will." Allah is above all, He has the right to bring into Paradise through His divine judgment all unbelievers and rebels, and He has the right by His divine judgment to send all the upright to Hell. There is no protest against Him in the doing of this." If Allah created that kind of will, man obeys, and if He created another kind of will, he disobeys. Man's obedience and his disobedience are alike from Allah. As for the acts of Allah there is nothing obligatory for him. Obedience does not necessarily bring reward, nor disobedience of necessity diverse punishment. Everything is from Allah, and is according to His divine will and compulsion and power."

Such an idea is opposed to that of the Bible, which insists on sacrifice as atonement for sin for salvation. This obligation was made known from the beginning for we see the blood of sacrifice running like a crimson thread through the Bible. In the book of Hebrews we read, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Hebrew 9:22). In fact, God being perfect, it would not be in accordance with His will to forgive man his sin on account of His Truth and Justice which says, "The soul which sins shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4,20) If He is to forgive the sinner there must be a reason for forgiveness, a reason which satisfies Justice and this satisfaction in the Old Testament was from the offering of animal sacrifices, goats, calves and sheep. God accepted these because they symbolized the sacrifice of Christ, which was offered in the New Testament of Grace, satisfying divine justice forever, and making perfect all the believers. That which is written in Psalm 85:10 was fulfilled: "Truth and mercy have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."

However, some sins cannot be forgiven in Islam (no atonement) are (1) The Attributing of Partners to Allah (2) The Killing of a Believer (3) Apostasy. Al Kaffal and Ibn Al Anbari say, "Whoever forsakes his faith again, after repenting, his original repentance is not accepted. It is as if it had never been." It means no chance for second chance in Islamic idea of salvation

CHAPTER SEVEN

ATONEMENT IN CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION

Leviticus 17:11, “for the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar, it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life”. The Israelite saw life and blood as closely connected that they treated blood with great respect, especially and obviously when the blood was taken from the body of an animal or man, so was the life. Some scholars have put a great deal of emphasis in this and here gone so far to argue for the Hebrew , ‘blood’ spoke of like, not of death. The F.C.N Hicks could write:

The blood, in fact needs to be disassociated from the idea of death. To us, with our modern associations, it is merely the evidence, the revolting evidence, of slaughter and destruction. To the men of the ancient world, it was not revolting, but precious. It was life, once prisoned and misused, now released.

Morris (52) further stresses the view point that the usage of ‘blood’ in the New Testament does not hand support to the view that it points to life. When there is an expression of sacrifice, they meant that the death of Jesus is to be seen as sacrifice which accomplishes in reality what the old sacrifices pointed to but could not do. To sacrifice that matters the death of Jesus on Calvary’s cross. New Testament people had seen sacrifices in action on the altar, but the sacrifice of Christ was a different matter. They could appreciate references to blood as cleansing and to death as means of putting away sins. And what was no more that dimly hinted at in the case of the animals they could see perfectly accomplished in Christ. This proof of the Christianity in accord to the usage of blood could be still be compared to the African tradition in knowing the relevancy of the effect on Christian faith and to evaluate the practice whether it is worthy of continuity or the blood of Jesus has done it all.

Imasogie (104) explains that sacrifice is the soul of religion the world over, and the Nigerian traditional religion is no exception. The type of sacrifice and the way in which it is presented is determined by the sort of divinity or spirit and the purpose of sacrifice. Sacrifice is made to ancestral spirits, divinities, evil spirits, and rarely to the Supreme Being. Sometimes, sacrifice is to thank the Supreme Being and also to appease the gods over forbidden or taboo violated and sin committed. The acts of sin committed may be stealing, incest, adultery, eating the forbidden food, etc. the animal sacrifice is then regarded as the substitute offered. Idowu talks of a substitutionary sacrifice which literately translates as “that which bears punishment for me” thus, he says, is offered “when a person is believed to be under the wrath of…Orisa or some malignant spirits. The end of his trouble would have been death. The comparison of the biblical salvation on atonement is closely related in the act of shedding blood to take away sin or as substitute for the sinner. The belief is so much deepened in their culture related every violation to the performing act of sacrifices either for the nation, community of individuals.  In atonement, there is still belief that there is deity and divinities that receives sacrifice. Idowu, however, expatiate the matter in relation to the divinities setup in Yoruba land. In African religion point of view, divinities were not created, but they were brought into being or tat they came into being in the nature of things with regard to the divine ordering of the universe. Orisa Nla (arch divinity among the Yoruba) is definitely a derivation of Olodumare, He is the Deity’s Son or deputy, vested with power and authority of royal sonship that is why it is possible in Bahia to syncretize his cult with Christianity and identify him as Jesus Christ. Technically, the divinities are only means to an end and not end in themselves. There s Orunmilaism which adopts the oracle divinity according to the Yoruba as the prophet of God to ‘the black race’, he founded a church in his name and worships Olodumare though him with a ‘God/prophet’ element of the traditional faith, even though the behaviour of the church is patterned after Christianity. The idea of atonement and divinity are contemporized by the reformer confusion to the people on the platform of false compilation of   historical background attaching to sonship of Christ on salvation of soul and atonement of sins. Lijadu (63) obviously retraces the soteriological ground of Jesus through his research into Orunmila the diviner of Ifa. Yoruba religion actively identifies with Orunmila as the fortune teller, diviner, a deity that serves the Olodumare among his people. He knew the mystery of matters and could not be trapped by the evil ones. Yet the evil act of people could not be stopped and the need to be saved was thrown to him in chant form original in Yoruba language:

Osuru-suru, moni Osuru-suru

O ni Tani mbe leyin to nweri

A ni ‘se inwo Orunmila ni,

O w imekun s’ekun igbe,

o mu ohun s’ohun iyere, o nse

“Ori awo we, awegbo ma ni;

“Ori awo we, awegbo ma ni;

“Ori awo we, aweto ma ni;

“Ori awo we, aweto ma ni;

“Ori awo we, awemo ma ni;

“Ori awo we, awemo ma ni!” –Otura –Ka

Orunmila was asked to cleanse their evils away even with all sacrifices yet he could not respond to help them. That is why sacrifice are done continually to pass evil over the lives and the came u wit names like ‘Sangowemimo’ – god of thunder cleanses my destiny; ‘Osowemimo’ – sorcerer cleanses my destiny; ‘Osunwemimo’ – goddess of river cleanses my destiny etc. Lijadu concludes that Christ has offer one time sacrifice which Orunmila could not respond to and the sacrifice is still alive to cleanse sins. Therefore, Yoruba religion is not to be compared with Christianity in terms of salvation that is eternal. Gehman (223) also adds to the view that much more could be said about the positive role that ATR has played and should play in the Christian church. Biblically speaking, we know that God has not left any people without a witness of Himself. Thereby, He used nature and conscience to prepare traditional Africans for the Gospel. God’s revelation in conscience shows man that he is a sinner. But God does not disclose the way of salvation through nature and the conscience.

ATONEMENT IN CHRISTIANITY

However, all these approaches differ from Christianity in the way they address the fundamental problem in sin and atonement for sin which is the salvation. In all non-Christian religions, sin is regarded as an act, then people can learn how to avoid and atone for such doing. All the paths to salvation outlined above attempt to prescribe how this can be done. However, of sin is actually part of our nature, it cannot be avoided - a Saviour offers the only hope. The critical component in Christianity is the cross, where the sin factor was dealt with. God made Jesus to be sin though he was sinless so that anyone who believes in him can receive God’s forgiveness and be saved through the only one atonement. Actually, atonement in ATR deals with blood sacrifice ether of man or animal to appease the gods, in the intention to reverse the evils pending due to sin of a person or community. Yet the effort to appease the gods is continuous and routine without any perfect removal of sin.   Encyclopedia World of religion says the atonement of Christ is alive to provide: satisfaction for the Sins of the world,; redemption from the devil; or from the wrath of God; a saving example of truth; a divine victory from the forces of evil. Hebrews 9:26 says, “There is no remission of sin (atonement) without the shedding of (Christ’s) blood” Atonement denotes the work of Christ, who by His perfect obedience, provided salvation for men from the curse of the law and reconciliation to God by the blood of His Cross. Atonement of Christ can be seen from various angles: first, in its relationship to God in view of His love, justice and holiness; then its relationship to man, its work in him and for him. It is said that Christian atonement is expiation for the sin of man and is a clear declaration of the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ to save the sinner from the curse of the Law and to remove condemnation from him. It is also said that the atonement of Christ was a satisfaction to God and a fulfillment of his justice; that is, a means of satisfying and propitiating Him. This is an expression of the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ as removing the wrath of God and of His pleasure in the acceptance of the sinner unto reconciliation. It is also said that atonement is a covering for the sinner by the blood of Christ. Punishment is no longer demanded of him. This has been removed and placed upon Christ who was sacrificed for him. It is said also that atonement opened the door for reconciliation between man and God without doing injustice to the holy law of God.

Barry (181) states the theology of atonement occur when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he cam e as deliverer from sin, the creative Logos is also the Redeemer and the Redeemer is the creative Logos. Man has philosophized greatly about the nature of God and His relation to His sinning creatures but has never reached a satisfactory conclusion. Where philosophies of the world failed, the Bible makes it clear. It says that God is just and His justice demands the punishment of the sinner, so there can be not reconciliation without atonement. However, the practice of sacrifices to cover sin began with this fact. It began in the Garden when God made coverings of skin for Adam and Eve for it was necessary to slay animals to obtain these skins. We know from the Bible that the sacrifice of Abel which God accepted was a shadow of the coming atonement. But it (sacrifice) was by revelation and inspiration (Genesis 4:4). In the same way the ram which was provided by God for Abraham to redeem his son Isaac, was also a type of the atonement through the sacrifice of Christ which God planned from the beginning (Genesis 22:1-14). The Passover lamb also, which God ordered the people to offer in Egypt (Exodus 12:1-42), was again an outstanding type of the New Testament Passover Lamb of God, spoken of by Paul in I Corinthians 5:7,8: "For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." In the New Testament, `atonement' is represented as the `redemption', which Christ accomplished on the Cross in order to fulfill the demands of the law of God in the place of sinful man and for his salvation.

There was in His sufferings and substitutionary death an atonement to completely fulfill the punishment due to man for his sin. It fulfilled the demands of divine justice, and justifies the sinner who believes and repents. One of the special characteristics of the sacrifice of Christ is that it not only removes sin from man, but heals him of a moral disease. The life of each one who receives Christ the Crucified is renewed. There is born within him a hatred of sin. The Cross especially has opened the eyes of his mind to see the awful work of sin and its terrible punishment.  The principle at work was that the punishment for sin had to be borne by an innocent animal, as substitute for the sinner. In the Eastern religions this way of dealing with sins is absurd. In the context where karma operates nothing can act as a substitute sacrifice. The sinner must pay for his own sins in this or in further lives. But in Judaism, through the ritual performed by the priest, it was clearly shaped in the mind of any Jew the fact that his sins are forgiven only due to the animal sacrifice, or more specifically, through its blood. The animal became man’s substitute in order to fulfill God’s justice. At this point Judaism and Christianity part ways, so we'll continue with the Christian account.

CHAPTER EIGHT

CONCLUSION

After considering all these views on salvation, it is hard to believe that they could ever be reconciled. Religions hold irreconcilable positions in the three aspects mentioned in the beginning of this article: the nature of the resources needed for attaining salvation, the actual way of being saved and the meaning of salvation from an eternal perspective. The resources for attaining salvation belong strictly to our human nature according to most of the Eastern religions, excepting some schools of devotional Hinduism and Buddhism. Humans need only to know the right things in order to be saved, having the ability to pursue the religious path by their own strength. Christianity holds the opposite view, stating that our "true inner nature" is sin and therefore all our efforts aimed at earning God’s favor are useless. As a result of the resources of human nature, the actual way of getting saved will take two divergent courses. Religions that claim we have all the resources in ourselves stress personal effort, realized as good deeds, devotional rituals, meditation techniques, physical asceticism, accumulating wisdom, etc. The situation in Christianity is again opposite, stating that we cannot do anything to deserve salvation and eternal communion with God, but must only accept his grace revealed in Jesus Christ. By no means can one have God indebted to him or her. Therefore the course of action in salvation works in the opposite direction. It is God who takes the initiative and descends into his own creation in order to save us, not humans accumulating merits and working out their way toward God by their own strength.

Concerning the meaning of salvation from an eternal perspective, the views are again irreconcilable. In the pantheistic religions salvation corresponds to the fusion of the impersonal self with the Absolute, implying dissolution of knower and known. Others, such as Buddhism and Taoism, take salvation as an illumination, meaning a discovery of and conformity of oneself with an eternal law that governs existence. For most Eastern religions liberation equals extinction of personal existence, whether the self remains eternally isolated (according to the Samkhya and Yoga darshanas), merges with the Ultimate Reality (in pantheism), or is itself an illusion that ceases to exist (in Buddhism). Dualistic religions see human salvation as a return to an initial angelic state, from which one has fallen into a physical body.

According to Judaism and Islam, salvation is attained by performing good deeds and following the moral law. According to Christianity this is not enough and the role of Jesus Christ as Savior is essential. In ATR, the belief in rituals and sacrifice to appease the unseen gods who surely inflict the sinners with evils as a result of sin yet appeased, can be reconciled with Christ position in giving grace of salvation and total forgiveness of sin. The issue of mercy over judgment which the blood of Jesus brought is against the instant pouring of wrath on the evil doers if not appeased for by the selected priest. Salvation is not costly in Christianity but other religion especially ATR cost the sinners a lot before atonement. Good works are not equal to the price to pay for atonement, yet Christianity enjoyed such free gift of God through Jesus Christ. Given these facts, it is impossible that the world’s religions could be only aspects of the same true spirituality, as present day syncretism suggests. The contradictions between them are so significant that there can be no way to reconcile them.  Lastly, the comparative study illuminates the concept of salvation as others believe and the truth to establish the soteriological defense of Christ among other world religions.

This research work actually unveiled the mystery behind the sacramental reverence for the precious blood of Jesus as the only way that man can get atonement for sin. Other religion could try to reflect on the need to get sin cleansed even through blood of animals and human being, yet the stains of imperfection still nullified the eternal sacrifice. It was noted in this work that good deeds are worth to salvation, but it could not save a soul or even appease God.

My submission on the work done so far and the scrutiny of the scholars’ opinion over the Biblical salvation with other religion is that Christ supremacy still prevails even in the African Traditional religion; it can still be traced to Jesus as the son of God that died for the sin of the world. Though, other religion could not accept the fact that soteriological cannot be unveiled on the good deed, yoga exercise, ascetic living, knowledge or the sacrifice of other beings, yet the fact and figures applied to the work that Jesus Christ is the only sacrifice once offered for the sin of the world and the only atonement that please God to cleanse away sins without imperfection.

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