This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Oakley77 (talk | contribs) at 03:30, 26 July 2012 (Disambiguated: covenant → covenant (biblical), Paul → Paul of Tarsus, mystery → Sacred mysteries, creation → creation myth, redemption → redemption (theology)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 03:30, 26 July 2012 by Oakley77 (talk | contribs) (Disambiguated: covenant → covenant (biblical), Paul → Paul of Tarsus, mystery → Sacred mysteries, creation → creation myth, redemption → redemption (theology))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Salvation History seeks to understand the personal redemptive activity of God within human history to effect his eternal saving intentions.
Originally conceived in the Christian theological tradition, the Salvation History approach views all events in human history (specifically those recorded in both the Hebrew Scriptures, the Deuterocanonical books and the New Testament) as providentially oriented toward God's plan for the salvation of His chosen people.
In the context of Christian theology, this approach understands events such as "the fall" at the beginning of Genesis, the covenant established between God and Abraham, and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem as seminal moments in the history of humankind and its relationship to God; namely, as necessary events preparing for the salvific event of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
Salvation History is a teleological approach first advocated by Paul in the New Testament, who taught a dialectical theology wherein believers were caught between the "already" of Christ's death and resurrection, and the "not yet" of the coming Parousia (or Christ's return to earth at the end of human history). He sought to explain the Christ's mystery through the lens of the history of the Hebrew Scriptures, for example, by drawing parallels between the blood sacrifice demanded by God of Abraham to seal their covenant and the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. "When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption." Hebrews 9:11-12
References
- "Paul and Salvation History," in Justification and Variegated Nomism: Volume 2 – The Paradoxes of Paul, eds. D.A. Carson, Mark A. Seifrid, and Peter T. O’Brien (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004), 297.