KCU/03/Team Lambo

Topic 18: Blessed are the poor in spirit?

Question: Based on what you know from the Bible & other sources (including the How People Grow reading), what role do you think spiritual poverty plays in Christian growth? (Be sure to do more research into the issue. If the group cannot come to a consensus, feel free to have different group members each express their own opinions.)

Andre Brooks's contribution: The question “How can you be sure you are saved?” is a common one. It is not an easy one to answer either. However, this paper will make an attempt at helping people understand the complex and intricate problem of assurance of salvation. Opinions of this topic range in many ways. For instance, some believe that it is as simple as a prayer. Yet, there are those who feel they must work their entire life to attain salvation. These are obviously large differences. Also, many religions believe different things, and since this topic is involved with religion it is automatically difficult to explain and understand. For instance, the Christian belief is that salvation comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ who dies on a cross. And to receive this salvation all that is required is repentance, baptism, and a life long commitment to a Christian lifestyle and faith. This is contrasted by what Muslims believe about salvation. To them, salvation comes with a life full of strict rules and prayer to their prophet Mohammed. Also, their view of God is much different from Christians in that they believe that God is malicious, and unsympathetic, whereas the Christian God is a loving, caring, and gracious God who gave his son to save the souls of sinners.

Blessed are poor in the Spirit(Bikash Poudel)

Beati Pauperes spiritia quia ipsorum est regnum caelorum (Matt 5:3)

Beauti itself opened its mouth of wisdom and said “Blessed are the poor in the spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. All angels, all saints, and everything that was ever born must keep silent when the wisdom of the father speaks for the wisdom of angels and all creatures is pure folly before the unfathomable wisdom has declared that the poor are blessed. There are some who don’t properly understand the meaning. These people who cling with attachment to penances and outward practices making much of these. May God have mercy on these folk for understanding so little of divine truth? These people are called holy for their outward appearances, but inwardly they are asses for they are ignorant of actual nature o divine truth. For man to posses’ true poverty, he must be as free of his created will as he was when he was not. For I declare by the eternal truth, as long as you have the will to do and God, you are not poor: for a poor Manis one who wills nothing and desires nothing. If a man is to be poor of will, he must and desire as little as he willed and desired when he was not. And this is the way for a man to be poor by not wanting. Secondly, he is a poor man who knows nothing. For a man to posses this poverty he must live so that he is unaware that he does not live for himself, or for truth or for God .He must be so lacking in all. Knowledge He must that he neither knows nor recognizes nor feels that God lives in him: more still he must be free of all the understanding that lives in him .God is free of all things and so he is all things. The poor man is not who wants to fulfill the will of God, but he who lives in such a way as to be free on his own will. A man should be poor that neither or nor has any place for God to work in. To preserve a place is to preserve distinction.

But , in breaking through, “where I stand free of my own will, of God’s will of his works and of God himself , then I am above all creature and I am neither God nor creature , but I am that which I was and shall remain for evermore. There I shall receive an imprint that will raise me above all angels. By this imprint I shall gain such wealth that I shall no the be content with God in as much as he is God or with all this divine work for this breaking - through guarantees to me that I and God are one”.(According to Meister Eckhart, from the book “the problem of Evil”)

In my opinion , they will be blessed who have faith in God They mustn’t be rich , the main theme is not external poverty they should be rich internally in God’s faith and for those who are following God’s path Kingdom of Heaven is waiting. Form those soul both knowledge and love flows for the glory of God, and they are blessed by the God. So, in this valuable life we should be careful and follow the path of Jesus. We should understand that god loves more than we can imagine .He sacrificed his only son Jesus because of our sin and to bring closer to him. God loves us immensely because we are his children and we are proud to be called as God’s children .So; we should try to be God’s children and should accept the truth that death is there. So, we should try to be blessed by the God .And be prepared for biuilding the steps of kingdom of Heaven which is determined by our deeds that we perform in this life.

Assurance of salvation Assurance of Salvation is all about how we can be shaved .Salvation also means going to Heaven after Death. Book’s View only points(Philosophical Theology and Christian Doctrine by Brian Hebble Thwalte)

Christ is held to have defeated the powers of evil, or purchased our liberation or, endured in our place the penalty of sin or offered a sacrifice sufficient sufficient or “atone” for our guilt , This last suggestion makes one aware of the two fold meaning of the word ‘atonement’. In its etymological sense, it simply ‘at-one- ment’ and is virtually synonymous with ‘reconciliation’ God in Christ at once shows us the truth about ourselves reveals the nature and the cost of the divine forgiveness and draws us into union with the triune God

Mercy can only be meritorious retribution is right Mercy goes beyond justice. Richard Holloway “The mystery remains that this prodigal universe sometimes redeems its own pain through extraordinary souls who from somewhere beyond all possibility, forgive the unforgivable” By setting both the offence perpetrated and the suffering caused in the context of God’s love for both offender and victim, the latter is enabled to forgive, in the hope and trust that, in the end truth will out , the wrong will be rectified and both offender and victim will be transformed and reconciled. The above understanding of forgiveness is God’s own merciful love and very great The Christ life and death were openly intended by him as an offering to God to make expiation for human sin. Christ died on the cross to give us a perfect human life. He died because of our sin to give us a life and in order to win us back to God and to appear a wrathful God. Christ life and death are such value to God that they enable or permit him to remit both repentant and apologetic sinners freely, whether or not they are in a position to plead Christ’s sacrifice .By incorporation into Christ’s death by baptism wearer set free from guilt and reunited with God God is merciful to sinner, not because their debt of punishment is paid by Christ’s passion and death rather, Christ’s passion works by prevailing upon God not to be severe in his dealing with sinners. In my opinion, after reading the book. I think that it is hard to say that I can be saved because God has given us each and everything his only son Jesus Christ, he gave to us and he was peeled on the cross .This gives an idea that God loves us more than we think and beyond our imagination .The one and only way of saving or being saved is following the way of Christ i.e. try to go in path that bible tells. Try to give him honor by spreading his message of love i.e. preaching about his greater deeds and his love towards the mankind. Trying to baptize the innocent people who have faith in him and give them an idea to the path that Jesus told us to follow. If we follow the path he taught us and try to go in that path spreading his message of love i.e. first love your God and love your neighbor than there’ll be no war only peace and every innocent will get chance to live and love each other . In this way we are able to create the lovely world of God and we can be saved.