This study examined cross-sectional links of the theistic and non-theistic sanctification of marriage and positive and negative religious coping with marital adjustment for 316 married Muslims from Iran. Perceiving marriage to be a manifestation of God and reflective of sacred qualities as well as engaging in positive and negative religious/spiritual coping strategies each uniquely contributed variance to marital adjustment, after controlling for each other and global indicators of devotion to Islam, and demographic variables. Specifically, theistic sanctification, non-theistic (...) class='Hi'>sanctification, and positive r/s coping were uniquely tied to higher marital adjustment whereas negative r/s coping was uniquely tied to lower marital adjustment theistic in a hierarchical regression model with all primary variables and controls entered. These findings replicate and extend prior findings on the perceived sanctity of marriage with US samples of predominantly Christians to Muslims living in the Middle East, and offer novel cross-cultural insights into the possible roles that sanctification of marriage and r/s coping may play for marital well-being for non-distressed married Muslims. (shrink)

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in the doctrine of purgatory among Christian philosophers. Some of these philosophers argue for the existence of purgatory from principles consistent with historic Protestant theology and then attempt, on the basis of those principles, to formulate a distinctively Protestant view of purgatory—i.e., one that differs essentially from the Catholic doctrine as regards purgatory’s raison d’etre. Here I aim to show that Protestant models of purgatory which are grounded in the necessity of becoming (...) fully sanctified before entering heaven (Sanctification Models) fail to contrast materially with the Catholic model of purgatory, which has historically been formulated in terms of the necessity of making satisfaction for sins already forgiven (The Satisfaction Model). Indeed, I shall argue that contrary to widespread assumption, the Sanctification Model and the Satisfaction Modelare equivalent when the latter is properly understood. (shrink)

A recently advanced argument for purgatory hinges on the need for complete sanctification before one can enter heaven. The argument has a modal gap.The gap can be exploited to fashion a competing account of how sanctification occurs in the afterlife according to which it is in part a heavenly process.The competing account usefully complicates the overall case for purgatory and raises questions about how the notion ought to be understood.

In Calvin's doctrine of sanctification and in recent work on children's moral formation within developmental psychology, we find a surprising convergence. In both cases, moral formation or transformation takes place within the context of a parent's loving and unconditional commitment to a child. Although Reformed doctrines of sanctification have struggled to articulate how the graced change of sanctification is intelligible as a human process, a comparison between these two approaches shows that sanctification is both intelligible to (...) the moral agent and a genuinely human process. This comparison also highlights affective social acceptance as a condition for moral agency that is infrequently addressed in theoretical accounts of moral formation. (shrink)

_Sanctification: Seeing Life Through a Sacred Lens_ suggests that sacred matters represent a vital interest for the psychology of religion. The articles throughout this special issue propose that individuals can perceive virtually any aspect of their lives as having divine character and significance. Several implications of sanctification for human functioning are discussed: people invest a great deal of time and energy in sacred matters; people go to great lengths to preserve and protect what they perceive to be sacred; sacred (...) aspects of life elicit spiritual emotions; sanctification offers a powerful personal and social resource individuals can tap throughout their lives; and the loss of the sacred can have devastating effects. The articles illustrate initial findings in this area of theory and research, and generate questions to stimulate further explorations into this relatively uncharted area of study. (shrink)

Sanctification is achieved by pleading the Atonement made by Christ, and by gradually coming to form true moral beliefs and making oneself naturally inclined to conform to them. It is the function of the Church to facilitate this process. Total corruption occurs when a human yields so constantly to bad desires that he becomes their prisoner and loses the moral beliefs that incline him to resist them.

If humans are sanctified by a triune God, part of the success of spiritual formation depends on understanding how one’s agency depends upon the Trinity. Some sanctifying actions require causal notions like “obedience,” “yielding,” “participation,” and “cooperation.” So, how is a Christian going to understand them? The purpose of this paper, then, is twofold: develop a model of agency that provides an adequate account of understanding how one’s agency depends upon the Trinity; and explain how this model can increase the (...) reliability of one’s perceptual capacities to perceive one’s agency cooperating with the Trinity in acts of sanctification. (shrink)

Past research on sanctification has focused on the direct association between domain sanctification and domain satisfaction. This registered-report study focused on the predicted moderating function of sexual sanctification on the association between sexual and relationship satisfaction. An Internet panel sample of 740 women and 872 men, all married Jewish individuals residing in Israel, assessed the levels of their sexual and marital satisfaction, sexual sanctification, religiousness, and social desirability via an anonymous online questionnaire. As expected, sexual and (...) marital satisfaction were highly correlated. As predicted, sexual sanctification was found to moderate the association between sexual and marital satisfaction for women even after controlling for age, religiousness, and social desirability. However, although the positive association between sexual and relationship satisfaction was predicted to be larger at higher levels of sanctification than at lower levels, the moderation analysis revealed a reverse pattern. In addition, the moderation effect was significant for men only after controlling for religiousness. Post hoc analyses for moderated moderation confirmed significant gender differences in the moderation function of sexual sanctification. The importance of examining gender differences in future sanctification studies and the theoretical implications for the independence of sanctification from religiousness is discussed. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: The Problem of the Moral Gap Kant Kierkegaard Alternative Solutions to the Problem of the Gap The Traditional Doctrines Works cited.

"Jacques Maritain est né en 1882 (t 1973). Durant sa jeunesse, " pratiquement [...] libre-penseur forcené ", il lutte " pour les pauvres [et] contre l'esclavage du prolétariat ". Il va se convertir, contre toute attente, au catholicisme, et cherchera à imposer la philosophie thomiste en tant que courant de pensée contemporain. En 1930, il est au faîte de sa notoriété, en France en particulier. C'est à la même époque qu'il va s'investir dans le domaine de la philosophie politique, en (...) intégrant à son discours un esprit de prospective qui va déclencher une grande méfiance à son égard. En effet, face à la montée des régimes totalitaires, le philosophe va inscrire sa réflexion dans une perspective qui dérange. Il va notamment exposer la conception chrétienne de l'ordre politique, en définissant les termes d'une politique d'en bas. Il fera connaître son option préférentielle pour les pauvres, en invoquant la conscience politique et sociale que devrait avoir tout chrétien. Persuadé d'assister à la liquidation d'une époque, il évaluera les modes de désagrégation et d'affermissement de la cité des hommes, en réactualisant le concept paulinien de katékon (2 Th 2, 3-7), en tant qu'obstacle à la désintégration universelle de toutes choses. Il appellera les chrétiens, mais également tout homme juste, à participer à l'édification de cette digue contre l'iniquité et la déshumanisation des sociétés contemporaines. C'est un appel à la responsabilité et à l'espérance que Jacques Maritain lance à chaque personne humaine, lui rappelant qu'elle peut se sauver ou se perdre pour toujours, et que ses actions, dans sa relation à Dieu ou à autrui, contribuent à façonner les destins du monde."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

In this article I engage with the notion that Christ ought to be understood to have a fallen human nature because Christ sanctifies human nature, and it is fallen humanity that needs sanctifying. In opposition to this line of thought, I argue that the Son of God assumed an unfallen nature, but with the powers of fallenness operative within it, and that this notion is consistent with a distinct account of sanctification. In support of these claims, I develop distinctions (...) between a conjoining union and a transferring union, and between the Chalcedonian union at the incarnation and the extension of that union on the cross. At the assumption a conjoining union occurred, not a transferring union. Christ sanctified his own nature, prior to a transferring union. (shrink)

This paper presents some connections between the sanctification process of P. Tillich and important elements of the psychoanalysis of C.G. Jung. The position adopted, different from that of J.P. Dourley, is tillichian. Thus emphasis is laid upon the difference between the psychologist’s approach to God, which is based on emerging symbols of the psyche, and that of the theologian, for whom God is the transcendent ground of Being to which religious symbols point.

Any contemporary doctrine of sanctification faces certain problems, including the charges of individualism, Pelagianism, and detachment from the concerns of the world. Nevertheless, a strong doctrine of sanctification is the necessary counterpoint to a doctrine of justification. In an increasingly fragmented culture, sanctification needs to be set within an account of the church as a community of moral and spiritual formation.

The article traces the evolution and crystallization of Buber’s philosophy of dialogue. It focuses on his consideration of the epistemological and ontological issues attendant to the principium individuationis, the subject of his doctoral dissertation of 1904. Culminating with the publication of Ich und Du in 1923, this process was punctuated by life experiences that led him to affirm rather than to seek to transcend the principium individuationis as the ontological ground of being manifest in the matrix of everyday life, which (...) we are beckoned to sanctify through I-Thou relations. (shrink)

This study aimed to investigate the possible moderating role of sexual sanctification in the context of sexual dysfunctions and sexual and psychological well-being, particularly examining potential gender differences. Data were collected from 1207 Israeli adult women and men in cohabiting relationships for at least 6 months using an online survey. Participants provided information on sexual functioning, and measures included non-theistic sexual sanctification, sexual and psychological distress, and sexual and relationship satisfaction. Measures of religious behavior and belief were also (...) included as control variables. Statistical analyses included moderation models to assess the moderating function of sexual sanctification on the associations between sexual dysfunctions and the outcome measures. Separate analyses were performed for men and women. Findings confirmed significant associations between sexual dysfunctions and all aspects of sexual and psychological well-being included in the study for women and men. Sexual sanctification was found to moderate the association between sexual dysfunctions and sexual and psychological distress, particularly for men, where at higher levels of sanctification, the association between dysfunction and distress was more pronounced. However, sexual sanctification did not significantly moderate the relationships between sexual dysfunctions and sexual or relationship satisfaction for either gender. The results suggest that, although sexual sanctification is often associated with positive outcomes, it may also exacerbate the emotional impact of sexual dysfunctions, particularly in those who perceive their sexual experiences as sacred. Gender-specific patterns further emphasize the importance of tailored interventions that consider the different ways men and women experience and interpret sexual dysfunctions within the context of their sexual perceptions. (shrink)

This article is meant to be an apologetic for spiritual formation to those within the evangelical tradition who find themselves concerned about its emphases. Eight common objections to spiritual formation are presented with the twofold aim of recognizing any needed corrective and defusing the objection. While more must be said in response to each of these objections, it is hoped that enough will be said here to relieve much of the anxiety surrounding spiritual formation.

In this article, I argue that Søren Kierkegaard's prefatory editorial remark in Practice in Christianity about resorting to and making use of grace has a medieval inheritance, which stems from his reading of Hugh of St Victor (1096–1142). Rather than grounding Kierkegaard's remark exclusively within the Lutheran tradition, I suggest that the medieval inheritance of the relationship between operative and cooperative grace contributed to a theological development in Kierkegaard's view of sanctification. Moreover, Kierkegaard's journal entries prior to the publication (...) of Practice in Christianity provide the connection to Hugh of St Victor's theology of sanctification. I briefly survey the development of Kierkegaard's view of grace and examine Kierkegaard's commentary on Hugh of St Victor's Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Then, I survey Hugh's distinction between restorative and cooperative grace against the wider backdrop of his theology of sanctification to highlight a structural affinity with Kierkegaard's writings. My aim is to identify and illuminate this unexplored Catholic source of Kierkegaard's distinction between grace and works that indicates a non-competitive relationship between divine and human agency. (shrink)

Christian Protestants typically affirm both the essential moral perfection of heaven and the sufficiency of saving faith. Yet these two commitments generatean apparently self-destructive dilemma—one I call the dilemma of sanctification. The prima facie puzzle can be resolved in at least three ways. In this paper, I articulate the dilemma of sanctification in some detail and offer an argument against a widely-held Protestant solution I call provisionism. This constitutes indirect support for the solution I find most promising, namely, (...) a doctrine of purgatory. I close by sketching a model of purgatory consistent with Protestant soteriology. (shrink)

I develop a spiritual theology of the physical act of sleep. The spiritual significance of the physical act of sleep ought to be a relational trust that recognizes my place as a creature that depends on the grace of a self-sufficient provider. After distinguishing this topic from other related themes, I develop a theological anthropology of sleep by considering how sleep brings glory to God and by placing sleep within the redemption narrative. I explore sleep as a spiritual practice and (...) investigate the theme of sleep as trust in Scripture. I exposit a spiritual danger associated with sleep, the capital vice of sloth, and show how the traditional conception of this vice further illumines the spiritual significance of sleep. (shrink)

Danish theologian and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard is often overlooked as an author in the Christian spiritual tradition. This paper answers Christopher Barnett's call to investigate themes of Christian spirituality in Kierkegaard's writing. In this paper, I argue that we can construct of vision of sanctification from Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death. While Kierkegaard does not directly deal with themes of sanctification in The Sickness unto Death, Kierkegaard's pseudonym Anti-Climacus does demonstrate the ‘spiritless’ life of despair. The ‘spiritless’ life, (...) as Anti-Climacus defines it, is a life that is not truly a ‘self’. Anti-Climacus systematically demonstrates four categories of despair, and all people not living in faith, whether they realise it or not, fit into one of these categories of ‘spiritless’ existence. I argue that by constructing the opposites of Kierkegaard's categories of despair I demonstrate that a ‘spirit-filled’ life exemplifies a vibrant Christian life of sanctification. (shrink)

What is the relationship of human desire to divine love? Spiritual traditions teach us that human desire achieves its true aim only when elevated into the life of divine love. In this essay, I provide a reading of three sayings from three spiritual traditions - Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian - in order to explore the meaning of this.

A Transformed Beholder. Objective Beauty as the Impetus for Sanctification in the Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar Here in the early 21st century, beauty is not what it once was. The Enlightenment has left beauty a subjective and inconsequential shade, barely resembling its former existence as a transcendental on par with goodness and truth. Can beauty be restored to what it once was? And if it can, should it? This article argues that 20th century theologian Hans Urs von (...) Balthasar not only answers these two questions with a resounding “Yes!” but also gives the church the tools needed to restore beauty to a place of honor in Christian theology. For von Balthasar, beauty and glory are one in the same. Further, beauty/glory and love are irrevocably connected. When we restore beauty to its proper place, we experience God’s love in a proper way, which in turn leads to sanctification. (shrink)

There exists a serious gap in the minds and lives of many believers between what they know to be the goal of sanctification and growth and where they know they actually are in their life. The church and its leaders would be better equipped to address this “sanctification gap” if its ministries were informed by a robust Spiritual Theology, understood in two senses or forms that are interrelated: its more general form of drawing out the spiritual and existential (...) implications of theology in order to better understand and participate in the process of transformation; its fullest sense as a theological discipline in its own right that attempts to integrate the Scriptural teaching on sanctification with observations and reflections of the Spirit's actual work in the believer's spirit and experience. This paper addresses the nature of Spiritual Theology and a brief justification for it including various examples, for the sake of equipping leaders to meaningfully address transformation in the church. (shrink)

This paper begins with a discussion of C.G. Jung’s tautegorical approach to the symbol, and particularly the anima, the unconscious female component of a man’s psyche. The author then examines the anima by considering the criteria given by P. Tillich to evaluate religious symbols. The aim is to show that the consideration of anima in Tillich’s theology is likely to enrich this theologian’s approach to the process of sanctification. The emphasis is on the possibility for a man to develop (...) his link with the “power of being” by allowing his anima to enrich his personality. From a psychological point of view, this implies for the subject an awareness of his social mask, the persona, in order to allow his feminine part to reveal itself. (shrink)

I examine in this paper deification and demonisation – the social attribution of absolute ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ to individuals or individual entities. Specifically, I unpack ways that evilness and goodness have become personified in the figure of the chief executive officer in contemporary, particularly US, business culture. Showing both the readily accessible and widely used nature of these religious tropes, I nevertheless argue that both deification and demonisation have ethically and politically disempowering effects for organisational members, the wider citizenry, and (...) for critique within the field of business ethics. (shrink)

In Quodlibet XV q.13, Henry of Ghent considers whether the Virgin Mary was immaculately conceived. He argues that she was not, but rather possessed sin only at the first instant of her existence. Because Henry’s defense of this position involves an elaborate discussion of motion and mutation, his discussion marks an important contribution to medieval discussions of Aristotelian natural philosophy. In fact, a number of scholars have identified Henry’s discussion as the source of an unusual fourteenth-century theory of change referred (...) to as “quasi-Aristotelianism” . My aim in the paper is two-fold: first, to show that Henry's position is not quasi-Aristotelian in the sense that scholars have supposed; second, to show that, even so, his discussion in q. 13 does involve a novel interpretation of Aristotle’s account of instantaneous change. (shrink)

In Prophetic Politics, Philip J. Harold offers an original interpretation of the political dimension of Emmanuel Levinas’s thought.

Of the various loci of systematic theology that call for sustained philosophical investigation, the doctrine of sanctification stands out as a prime candidate. In response to that call, William Alston developed three models of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit: the fiat model, the interpersonal model, and the sharing model. In response to Alston’s argument for the sharing model, this paper offers grounds for a reconsideration of the interpersonal model. We close with a discussion of some of the (...) implications of one’s understanding of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit for practical Christian spirituality. (shrink)

Christians have long understood grace both as a declaration of acceptance and as a power that transforms. This article illumines two theses while investigating the relationship between these understandings of grace in Luther, Calvin, and Barth's development of the law/gospel dialectic and the doctrines of justification and sanctification. First, though each theologian makes use of both understandings of grace, each also tends to emphasize one over the other. The unity and tension within and between these perspectives help to show (...) that while both pictures are of the greatest importance for each other and cannot be separated, they also exist in tension, as long as they are worked out in the lives of sinners. Second, the author claims that the positions of Luther and Barth are more alike than is generally recognized. (shrink)

This paper examines the accounts of limit decision advanced by Hervaeus Natalis and Durand of St. Pourçain in their respective discussions of the sanctification of the Blessed Virgin. Hervaeus and Durand argue, against Aristotle, that the temporal limits of certain changes, including Mary’s sanctification, should be assigned in discrete rather than continuous time. The paper first considers Hervaeus’ discussion of limit decision and argues that, for Hervaeus, a solution of temporal limits in terms of discrete time can coexist (...) with an Aristotelian continuous time solution because Hervaeus takes continuous and discrete time to be two non-intersecting, but correlated time-series. The paper next examines Durand’s account of limit decision and argues that Durand rejects Hervaeus’ correlation assumption as well as Aristotle’s continuous time solution. (shrink)

The link between human nature and human flourishing is undeniable. "A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit" (Matt. 7:18). The ontology of the human person will, therefore, ground the nature of human flourishing and thereby sanctification. Spiritual formation is the area of Christian theology that studies sanctification, the Spirit-guided process whereby disciples of Jesus are formed into the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Peter 3:18). Until the (...) nineteenth century, there was an overwhelming consensus among Christian thinkers that some form of mind-body (or soul-body) dualism is true of human beings. Recently, that consensus has eroded, and with it the availability of a shared body of knowledge about spiritual formation. Some Christian physicalists argue that dualism is incompatible with central elements of spiritual formation. Neuroscientist Warren Brown and psychologist Brad Strawn offer the only substantive account of spiritual formation from the view of Christian physicalism and its accompanying objections to dualism. It is on their arguments that this chapter focuses. We argue that Brown and Strawn fail to support their incompatibility thesis. Additionally, we argue that Christian physicalism stands in tension with important philosophical and theological foundations of Christian spiritual formation. In doing so we offer a specific form of dualism, the bodily soul view, and explain how this view illuminates the importance of embodiment, our neurological and social development, and hence the important physical aspects of Christian spiritual formation. (shrink)