The Jesus of WAY is a way revealed to us by God to achieve personal salvation. The problem is that many people are unsure of what salvation really is. Too many, I think, believe that it means   gaining heaven but aren’t really sure what or where heaven is.

Webster’s dictionary provides six   different definitions for salvation. They are: (1) the saving of man from the power and effects of sin; (2) liberation from clinging to the phenomenal world of appearance and final union with ultimate reality; (3) the realization of the supremacy of infinite Mind over all bringing with it the destruction of the illusion of sin, sickness and death; (4) preservation from destruction or failure; (5) the agent or means of the course of spiritual experiences determine the soul’s  redemption; and (6) something that saves from danger or difficulty: a source, cause, or means of preservation. I think that the definition are tell-tale. None of them have anything to do with heaven.

The Catholic Catechism for adults doesn’t even present a definition. Although it has no definition, it uses the word in 58 different contexts. It is one of those words which we always hear but seldom understand what it really refers to. Is salvation the same as eternal life?

Recently Susan Kotlinski sent me this quote from Meister Eckhart: This, then is salvation, when we marvel at the beauty of created things and praise the beautiful providence of their Creator or when we purchase heavenly goods by our compassion for the works of creation.

The Eastern Church’s teaching on salvation cannot be reduced to a set of quotes for the Scriptures or the Fathers that we just happen to read in a certain way. Our teaching on salvation can be traced back to the early Church through the uninterrupted continuity of worship and practice. In other words, our doctrine of salvation is embodied by the life that the Church has lived since the times of Christ and the Apostles.

This doctrine is multi-dimensional, and involves dogmatic, historical, Scriptural, ecclesiological, and other aspects. Likewise, the criticism of non-Eastern doctrines of personal salvation can also be offered from multiple points of view.

The WAY of Jesus leads to salvation. I would like in the next several issues to more fully explore the idea of salvation.   I think that it is critical for us to understand that it really doesn’t mean gaining heaven and avoiding hell.