redemption. The idea of redemption is common to many religions, being based on the desire of man to be delivered from sin, suffering, and death. Christianity claims that it has become a fact through the Incarnation and Death of Christ. It is viewed by theologians under the double aspect of deliverance from sin and the restoration of man and the world to communion with God.

While the Greek Fathers stressed the restoration of man to the Divine life (see DEIFICATION), the Latins gave primacy to the expiation of our sins through the sacrificial death of Christ and worked out their theology of redemption in connection with the doctrine of Original Sin. St Thomas Aquinas maintained that, though it was impossible that sin should be abolished as a physical reality, it could be repaired morally by the objective merits of the Redeemer, which, applied to the repentant sinner, enabled him to co-operate with grace towards justification and sanctification. The Reformers denied the possibility of human co-operation except by faith alone, and placed exclusive emphasis on the forgiveness of sin and justification by imputation of the righteousness of Christ. In the 16th and 17th cents. some Protestant and RC theologians, influenced by the teaching of J. Calvin and C. Jansen, maintained that Redemption extends only to the elect; this was pronounced heretical by Innocent X in 1653. See also ATONEMENT.

Redemption

Judaism

The Heb. words padah and gaʾal were used originally of commercial transactions, implying the existence of prior obligations (for examples, see Leviticus 25, 27). Gaʾal is also used of the brothers of someone who has died childless: they are under obligation to ‘redeem’ the name of the deceased (Ruth 4. 1–10; Deuteronomy 25. 5–10). The goʾel is the blood-avenger of Numbers 35. 12–29; in Job 19. 25 (translated, of old, ‘I know that my redeemer (goʾel) liveth’) it is a legal term: ‘I know that my advocate is active’. These basic meanings were all transferred as metaphors of God's activity, nature, and commitment.

In modern times, the emphasis has become more ‘this-worldly’, and redemption tends to be understood as the triumph of good over evil in human history or in the individual's personal life.

Christianity

In Christian theology the term is inherited from the New Testament, where it is associated with the death of Christ (e.g. Ephesians 1. 7). For this conception and its later developments see ATONEMENT.

More loosely, redemption is then applied to salvific processes and achievements in other religions—e.g. the work of bodhisattvas in Mahāyāna Buddhism.

redemption Deliverance by a ‘redeemer’ from some evil by paying a price. Slaves could be redeemed (released) by that means. If an ox gored someone to death, the irresponsible owner was liable to execution, but a ransom could be paid to rescue him (Exod. 21: 30). The kinsman who has the right to redeem by payment is known as the go'e l in Hebrew, and the same word is used of Yahweh as the deliverer of his people (Isa. 41: 14). The epistles claim that Christ redeemed people ‘from the present evil age’ (Gal. 1: 4) or bondage to the devil (Heb. 2: 14–15). This redemption is both already effected (Rom. 8: 29) and yet also awaiting final completion with the destruction of death (Rom. 8: 23). As in the OT, NT writers also mention that God has redeemed a people for himself (Rev. 5: 9), and the death of Christ is proclaimed as redeeming mankind from the consequences or punishment for their sins (Gal. 3: 13).

There was a doctrine of a Redeemer in Gnosticism. He was thought to descend in disguise to the earth from a spiritual realm to enlighten mankind with some knowledge (gnosis) of their identity. Gnosticism in a Christian setting did not regard the work of Christ as delivering from sin but rather as leading people to self-realization.

re·demp·tion / riˈdempshən/ • n. 1. the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil: God's plans for the redemption of his world. ∎  [in sing.] fig. a thing that saves someone from error or evil: his marginalization from the Hollywood jungle proved to be his redemption. 2. the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt. ∎ archaic the action of buying one's freedom. PHRASES: beyond (or past) redemption (of a person or thing) too bad to be improved or saved.

REDEMPTION

The liberation of an estate in real property from a mortgage.

Redemption is the process by which land that has been mortgaged or pledged is bought back or reclaimed. It is accomplished through a payment of the debt owed or a fulfillment of the other conditions.

redemption •ashen, fashion, passion, ration •abstraction, action, attraction, benefaction, compaction, contraction, counteraction, diffraction, enaction, exaction, extraction, faction, fraction, interaction, liquefaction, malefaction, petrifaction, proaction, protraction, putrefaction, redaction, retroaction, satisfaction, stupefaction, subtraction, traction, transaction, tumefaction, vitrifaction •expansion, mansion, scansion, stanchion •sanction •caption, contraption •harshen, Martian •cession, discretion, freshen, session •abjection, affection, circumspection, collection, complexion, confection, connection, convection, correction, defection, deflection, dejection, detection, direction, ejection, election, erection, genuflection, imperfection, infection, inflection, injection, inspection, insurrection, interconnection, interjection, intersection, introspection, lection, misdirection, objection, perfection, predilection, projection, protection, refection, reflection, rejection, resurrection, retrospection, section, selection, subjection, transection, vivisection •exemption, pre-emption, redemption •abstention, apprehension, ascension, attention, circumvention, comprehension, condescension, contention, contravention, convention, declension, detention, dimension, dissension, extension, gentian, hypertension, hypotension, intention, intervention, invention, mention, misapprehension, obtention, pension, prehension, prevention, recension, retention, subvention, supervention, suspension, tension •conception, contraception, deception, exception, inception, interception, misconception, perception, reception •Übermenschen • subsection •ablation, aeration, agnation, Alsatian, Amerasian, Asian, aviation, cetacean, citation, conation, creation, Croatian, crustacean, curation, Dalmatian, delation, dilation, donation, duration, elation, fixation, Galatian, gyration, Haitian, halation, Horatian, ideation, illation, lavation, legation, libation, location, lunation, mutation, natation, nation, negation, notation, nutation, oblation, oration, ovation, potation, relation, rogation, rotation, Sarmatian, sedation, Serbo-Croatian, station, taxation, Thracian, vacation, vexation, vocation, zonation •accretion, Capetian, completion, concretion, deletion, depletion, Diocletian, excretion, Grecian, Helvetian, repletion, Rhodesian, secretion, suppletion, Tahitian, venetian •academician, addition, aesthetician (US esthetician), ambition, audition, beautician, clinician, coition, cosmetician, diagnostician, dialectician, dietitian, Domitian, edition, electrician, emission, fission, fruition, Hermitian, ignition, linguistician, logician, magician, mathematician, Mauritian, mechanician, metaphysician, mission, monition, mortician, munition, musician, obstetrician, omission, optician, paediatrician (US pediatrician), patrician, petition, Phoenician, physician, politician, position, rhetorician, sedition, statistician, suspicion, tactician, technician, theoretician, Titian, tuition, volition •addiction, affliction, benediction, constriction, conviction, crucifixion, depiction, dereliction, diction, eviction, fiction, friction, infliction, interdiction, jurisdiction, malediction, restriction, transfixion, valediction •distinction, extinction, intinction •ascription, circumscription, conscription, decryption, description, Egyptian, encryption, inscription, misdescription, prescription, subscription, superscription, transcription •proscription •concoction, decoction •adoption, option •abortion, apportion, caution, contortion, distortion, extortion, portion, proportion, retortion, torsion •auction •absorption, sorption •commotion, devotion, emotion, groschen, Laotian, locomotion, lotion, motion, notion, Nova Scotian, ocean, potion, promotion •ablution, absolution, allocution, attribution, circumlocution, circumvolution, Confucian, constitution, contribution, convolution, counter-revolution, destitution, dilution, diminution, distribution, electrocution, elocution, evolution, execution, institution, interlocution, irresolution, Lilliputian, locution, perlocution, persecution, pollution, prosecution, prostitution, restitution, retribution, Rosicrucian, solution, substitution, volution •cushion • resumption • München •pincushion •Belorussian, Prussian, Russian •abduction, conduction, construction, deduction, destruction, eduction, effluxion, induction, instruction, introduction, misconstruction, obstruction, production, reduction, ruction, seduction, suction, underproduction •avulsion, compulsion, convulsion, emulsion, expulsion, impulsion, propulsion, repulsion, revulsion •assumption, consumption, gumption, presumption •luncheon, scuncheon, truncheon •compunction, conjunction, dysfunction, expunction, function, junction, malfunction, multifunction, unction •abruption, corruption, disruption, eruption, interruption •T-junction • liposuction •animadversion, aspersion, assertion, aversion, Cistercian, coercion, conversion, desertion, disconcertion, dispersion, diversion, emersion, excursion, exertion, extroversion, immersion, incursion, insertion, interspersion, introversion, Persian, perversion, submersion, subversion, tertian, version •excerption