Recovering The Theology Of Union With Christ To Address Christian Identity Issues

Zampella, Suzanne

Etd

Recovering The Theology Of Union With Christ To Address Christian Identity Issues

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Zampella, Suzanne. Recovering The Theology Of Union With Christ To Address Christian Identity Issues. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/636f7a6a-3688-4707-8b41-76a6795c2e08.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

Z. Suzanne. Recovering The Theology Of Union With Christ To Address Christian Identity Issues. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/636f7a6a-3688-4707-8b41-76a6795c2e08

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Zampella, Suzanne. Recovering The Theology Of Union With Christ To Address Christian Identity Issues. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/636f7a6a-3688-4707-8b41-76a6795c2e08.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

Creator

Zampella, Suzanne

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Abstract

Many Christians do not know who they are in Christ. This project seeks toreclaim union with Christ as the core of Christian identity and to develop a curriculum forteaching this concept. Psychologists consider the formation of personal identity to be the boundarymilestone to adulthood. A stable sense of identity provides a rootedness that allows aperson to weather the changes of his life, social network, and the world.Without a stable identity, the person may well look to the world to make sense of himself,leaving him vulnerable to the loudest voice of the day whether that is media, individuals,or government. Recent changes in society have made forming a stable identity far more difficultthan in previous generations. The mobility of society has removed the identity of place;the breakup of families has removed the identity of family; expanding horizons ofeducation and career have blurred class and occupational identities.The church is not immune to these difficulties. A personal identity is only as strong as the ideas and principles on which it is built. The concept of union with Christ gives believers a framework of identity based on who they are in Christ. In Christ, believers are given meaning and purpose as they join God’s mission of reconciliation. In union with Christ, the image of God damaged by sinis restored. This restores the believer to what he was created to be. This restorationprovides an identity which does not diminish individuality but instead allows believers tocelebrate their different giftedness within the framework of common spiritual union. Inrelationship with the Creator and grounded in truth, the believer is less susceptible to themanipulations and falsehoods of culture. Identity in Christ influences the believer’sunderstanding and relationship to every aspect of life.

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