Soteriology refers to the study of the ways of salvation. In Latin “salvation” means “wholeness, health”. All major religions teach on soteriology because they are of the view that human beings need deliverance, transformation and wholeness in order to live in harmony with their god(s). There are two major ways of salvation common among the world’s major religions.
The first refers to the way of Grace through faith. According to Livingstone, faith which means the totality of a person’s commitment to God in mind, heart and will is one way of obtaining God’s grace and thereby salvation (289). Grace in this case means unmerited love. Protestant Christianity as taught by Martin Luther and Shinran’s teachings to Mahayana Buddhists serves as good examples of salvation through faith. Lutheran led the protestant reformation in Europe and he taught that salvation is never attained by good works that human beings do but rather it is through God’s unmerited love.
The second way of salvation is by the way of devotion. According to Livingstone, devotion is in most cases a component of both the way of faith and the way of action (292). Devotion involves intense emotional sense of loyalty and love to a god or deity for their grace or kindness to humans. Soteriology through devotion is usually a matter of personal conviction. Some examples of salvation through devotion include the protestant revivalism which included the writings of St. Teresa of Avila which were characterized by an emotional and ecstatic experience with God. Sufism in Islam refers to the mystical path where people ecstatically have a direct experience with God while in Hinduism; Bhakti refers to an emotional moment with Kali, Krishna and other Hindu deities.
Works Cited
Livingston, Jim. Anatomy of the Sacred: An Introduction to Religion Prentice Hall. 2004. Print
