Sanctification in Christian tradition: baptism, Eucharist, and modern ethics

Sanctification: The Christian Life

Sanctification is a concept that blends that which is considered sacred or blessed, with that which is human, in relation to the divine. For Christians, sanctification defines the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the wrought changes in the believer. The term sanctification literally means to make something holy, or sacred (Byers 2009); often this is done through religious ceremony that is meant to capture the method in which the sacred can be known by the believer. In Christian tradition, there are generally two ways of examining sanctification; one is through the aegis of God, the other through man. This report will examine sanctification as the concept pertains to the divine derived from God. First a discourse is given on the ways in which God's divine power can is delivered to man, and how man can receive sanctification through baptism and the Eucharist. Then the report moves on to the ways in which the Christian concept of sanctification is applied to modern day issues. The issues offered as case studies are abortion, and assisted suicide. A conclusion is offered to highlight the salient points of the paper and synthesize the topics.

Sanctity of God Given to Man

The bible tells us that God is the foundation and wellspring of life. All that follows in His creation are a reflection of the absolute moral perfection of God. God is the highest order of the sacred, the first and best example of the sacred (Byers 2009). Though God has created man, and receives His divine spirit in the very issue of man's creation, man is deficit in knowing the true order of the sanctity of God (Roman 3:23).

God is the guiding principle of moral action. All moral action should follow in God's laws. Yet man needs to become one with God, and make Him a part of the worldview through which man perceives reality. Religion is a construct through which man and God can come together, and man can practice the laws of the divine. The most common ways in which people first perceive the divine is through the rite of Baptism, and in the Eucharist (Romans 12:1).

Baptism

Through Baptism, the spirit is symbolically cleansed, and can then accept the divine presence in the cleansing of original sin. Baptism is often seen as a necessary initiation before being admitted as a member of the church. Baptism is associated with a newness of life, and symbolically the event represents not only birth, but death as well, where baptism represents Christ rising from the dead and being reborn. In that respect, so to are those baptized experiencing a regeneration of the spirit. Paul, in the Book of Romans, was aware of the regenerative power of water and baptism, and makes reference to it:

or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:3, 6:4).

Baptism is an act that speaks to the regenerative nature of giving ones' spiritual self to Christ. The Book of Romans talks about why man needs a savior, and baptism sanctifies the road from sin to faith through its powers to commute original sin (Taylor 2010). Baptism enables the faithful to participate in the death of Christ, as well as the resurrection of Christ.

The Eucharist

Sanctification is also delivered to people through the Eucharist. The Eucharist, or Holy Communion, is the symbolic gift of the body and spirit of Christ, given to people in the form of bread and wine. It is a re-enactment of the Last Supper, and serves not only as a metaphysical transmutation but also as a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice to mankind (Emminghaus and Maas-Ewerd 1997).

There is some disagreement about whether transmutation actually occurs, even among believers (Polkinghorne 2003). Some literature suggests that it is merely a cult phenomenon, lacking sanctity, to which susceptible people fall prey (Mitchell 1990 4th ed.). Others feel the event represents a more scientific relationship defined in psychoanalytic terms (Robinson 2008). The Bionian model can represent this psychology factor thusly: the analytic hour (the Eucharist) allows the believer to be exposed to the truth of the Word of God; through this exposure to truth, the mind of the believer grows in mental development; the mental development occurs through the exposure to truth, and this, is an emotional experience (Speziale-Bagliacca 2008). The implication is that the experience of the Eucharist is in essence, tacitly an emotional experience.

There is little doubt that indeed the Eucharist is an emotional experience, and that faith is a mystery of a 'nested-doll principle' type of application (Balter 2005). There never really is an end or ultimate answer to faith and the Eucharist, or faith in general; rather, it is an ongoing set of reflections and learning. As pertains to sanctification and the Christian life, this faith in the divine and the desire to believe in the Eucharistic powers is indeed emotional, yet based on a truth that mankind needs salvation. The Eucharist is an example of the righteous life being put into practice. Through offering our sinful selves to Christ, we become able to experience the grace of the divine; indeed, the acknowledgment that we are not worthy of Christ is what allows us to become ready to receive the divine grace and become sanctified. Through faith, one becomes sanctified (Jong 2006).

Sanctification and Modern Day Issues

The Book of Romans is about faith and righteousness. It can be read in four parts; part one which explains the righteousness needed by man; part two explains the righteousness provided to man; part three talks about the righteousness vindicated, and part four explains righteousness practiced (Palmer 1975). The following examples of modern day issues will be related to the concept of sanctification and relevant readings from the Book of Romans.

Assisted Suicide

Assisted suicide is when one person aids another person in ending their life, because the person ending their life chooses to do so. This act is alternatively termed voluntary euthanasia, though the semantic difference between the two terms lays in the intent of self-destruction (suicide) versus death with moral forethought and dignity (Downie 2004). It is a fine line, fraught with great moral dilemma.

Christian teachings are the foundation of deciding how Christians should conduct themselves, from minor problems to great controversies. The Holy Scripture imparts to believers that man is the creation of God, and in so being, bearing the Divine mark of grace. Indeed, the Sixth Commandment tells us "thou shalt not kill," and this proscriptive statement follows even into the medical field with the Hippocratic Oath "first do no harm" the Christian underpinnings of medical ethics calls into question those procedures that involve a health professional that indeed, do harm, and after all, do kill. Abortion is one event, assisted suicide is another event, and both demonstrate the immorality of leading a sanctified life. The sanctity of life is profound in the holy teachings; God is creation, all of creation is God.

The issue euthanasia revolves around choice and where faith in choice lays. For the faithful, choice is not in the realm of men, it is in the realm of God. To give oneself to Christ is to give up personal choice in controversial matters. In dealing with our fellow man, it is not one person's choice to either ask someone to help assist, or assist another in ending their life.

Assisted suicide violates not only the Sixth Commandment, but also violates the principle of brotherly love:

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 for the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13: 8-10)

To help another person end their life, regardless of the particulars of the situation, is against Christian teachings, against God's laws, and against the principles of how people should conduct themselves with each other.

Proponents of assisted suicide state that the dignity of man is violated by having to live in pain and fear due to intolerable circumstances, such as that which would accompany end-stage cancer. The person is in obvious misery, and cannot find peace or grace in living. To live in this state is to deny the grace of God; therefore it is acceptable to end one's life at that point. Additionally, the concept of Christian Brotherhood is upheld by the caregiver in supporting their ailing fellow through achieving a dignified and painless death through euthanasia (RS Revision: Religious Studies Online 2008).

Indeed, it might be argued that it is within the scope of compassion of the Christian worldview that it is acceptable to allow one seek a painless death when their death is inevitable due to a terminal illness, and that continuation of that death would amount to cruelty. If the quality of life is so deteriorated that the only experiential events the person with terminal illness can face is one of intolerable pain and suffering, then it may serve to show them the act of Christian love and assist in fulfilling their wish to end their life in a state of grace, and not a state of cruel pain (Jordan 2003).

There are differences in the types of assisted suicide. One is active euthanasia, where the person is given some substance that is going to knowingly result in their death. The action is the administration of the death-causing substance. Another type is passive euthanasia, where drugs are given to ease pain and suffering, which may result in death. The passive action is that the drugs are not given to cause death, but to ease pain and suffering, though they may result in death. The Christian perspective is more in line with passive euthanasia, where faith in Christ is upheld, dignity among fellows is observed, and love and compassion are both given and accepted. Indeed, passive euthanasia may be acceptable under God's tenets (Cohen 1996).

However, the primary view of Christian sanctification is that life must be lived, regardless of quality. That to live life even in hard times is to build character, endurance and even hope (Romans 5: 3-4).

Life is sacred, it is divine, it is the lot of man to suffer and persevere through suffering to a divine state.

Conclusion

To live a Christian life of sanctification means to know God through faith in Jesus Christ and through unending and unquestioning belief in the tenets of Christianity. To conduct a sanctified life is to follow the teachings of the Scriptures. Ways in which man can come to know God are found in the rituals that sanctify one's entry into the Christian way of life. Baptism is a major avenue through which the grace of the Divine is given, and a relationship with God is established. In the Catholic tradition, the Eucharist is another rite that allows the believer to share in the spirit of the divine. Eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ is both a way of sharing in the grace of the holy, as well as honoring through remembrance the sacrifice of Christ as he prepared to do in the Last Supper. Modern day applications of the sanctified life in the Christian world view face moral questions that sometimes are not so clearly answered, even in light of the tenets of Christianity. Abortion is one example where the state of grace is denied and defiled through destruction of the life, which is given to us by God. Assisted suicide is an issue that is not so clearly defined, as the question of compassion and leading a sanctified life which include love and compassion toward others, is not always supported when it means that to do so may mean unnecessary suffering by person with a painful terminal illness. However, there are clearly a preponderance of Scriptures which support the act of living, regardless of quality or circumstances, through faith and perseverance. Living a life of sanctification necessarily entails giving up one's personal choice in the face of adversity, to the teachings of God, and abiding by those teachings.