What are Humanity and Creation Saved From and Saved For?

THINKING SALVATION COHERENTLY
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Thinking Salvation Coherently
The Christian faith is characterized by several doctrines that guide how we understand and lead our lives. One such doctrine is salvation, which encompasses rescue from sin and evil, healing and forgiveness, renewal of life, and reconciliation with God, oneself, neighbors, enemies, and the natural world. Salvation also means life's final fulfillment in everlasting and perfect communion with God. With this understanding of salvation, it is easy to see how it is connected with other key doctrines in our faith, including revelation, sin, Pneumatology, Eschatology, and the Trinity. In light of these doctrines and others, this paper seeks to answer the question, "What are humanity and creation saved from and saved for?” Based on the above description of salvation, a simple answer to the question would be that humanity and creation are saved from sin and evil and saved for everlasting and perfect communion with God. This paper will expound on this answer in light of key doctrines of the Christian faith.[Migliore, Daniel L. 2023. Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing., 680] [Migliore, “Faith Seeking Understanding,” 680]
A key doctrine associated with salvation is sin. As stated above, salvation involves rescuing from sin and evil. But what is this sin? In his book, Norman Wirzba offers an explanation of sin in contrast to salvation. According to the author, if salvation means "the life that is really life," then sin is characterized by a state where relationships fall apart, disintegrate, and become abusive. A key definition of sin, as shared by Wirzba, is that "sin is a refusal of relation, self-enclosure in a futile search for safety." In this sense, a key characteristic of sin is the refusal of relations with others. When one turns away from God, one is bound to experience a disintegration of their relations with others. Migliore offers a rather expansive explanation of sin and tries to differentiate between actual sins and the original sin. According to the author, the original sin doctrine can be understood as the claim that humanity is engrossed in a state of captivity to sin. Therefore, while the original sin describes the universal and radical sinful human condition, actual sins refer to specific transgressions of the will of God. A major feature of sin, as described by Migliore, is that while sin is a universal condition, it can also be described as a self-chosen act, which means that, as humans, we bear responsibility for it. The description of sin as a self-chosen act is integral to the doctrine of salvation in the sense that it is characterized by accountability. In this sense, it gives humanity the responsibility to seek salvation. Another way of understanding sin is in terms of dominion. According to Matthew Croasmun, sin exercises dominion over people and causes death. In her article, LaCugna notes that God saves us from sin and death through the Holy Spirit's power. As learned from these theologians, it is evident that sin and death go hand in hand. LaCugna's sta...