Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The Roman Catholic Church has often held mortification of the flesh (literally, "putting the flesh to death"), as a worthy spiritual discipline. The practice is rooted in the Bible: in the asceticism of the Old and New Testament saints, and in its theology, such as the remark by Saint Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, where he states: "If you live a life of nature, you are marked out for ...
In Christianity, self-flagellation is practiced in the context of the doctrine of the mortification of the flesh and is seen as a spiritual discipline. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] It is often used as a form of penance and is intended to allow the flagellant to share in the sufferings of Jesus, bringing his or her focus to God.
Many Protestants do not share the sacramental understanding that characterizes Catholic and Orthodox faith, but use the term ascetical theology in some contexts. Without the sacrament of Confession, the purgative way is more personal, and without belief that God is literally present in the Eucharist, the unitive way is also more personal and ...
A discipline is a small scourge (whip) used as an instrument of penance by certain members of some Christian denominations (including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, [1] among others) [2] in the spiritual discipline known as mortification of the flesh. Many disciplines comprise seven cords, symbolizing the seven deadly sins and seven virtues.
Mortification in Christian theology refers to the subjective process of Sanctification. It means the 'putting to death' of sin in a believer's life. ( Colossians 3:5) Reformed theologian J.I. Packer describes it in the following way: "The Christian is committed to a lifelong fight against the world, the flesh and the devil.
Religious practitioners in various traditions have found spiritual benefits from voluntarily bringing upon themselves additional pain and discomfort through corporal mortification. One extreme example of redemptive suffering, which existed in the 13th and 14th centuries in Europe , was the Flagellant movement.
Mortification of the flesh is an act by which an individual or group seeks to mortify or deaden their sinful nature, as a part of the process of sanctification. [ 1 ] In Christianity , mortification of the flesh is undertaken in order to repent for sins and share in the Passion of Jesus . [ 2 ]
It was the custom for many Catholics at that time to receive Holy Communion perhaps once or twice a year, out of what Catholic theologians considered an exaggerated respect for the sacrament. Ignatius and others advocated receiving the sacrament even weekly, [ 2 ] : 18 emphasizing Holy Communion not as reward but as spiritual food.