Understanding Zinzendorf's Blood and Wounds Theology
In the 1740s Moravian piety concentrated on the devotion to the blood and wounds of Christ. Taking up old Christian traditions, Zinzendorf's own devotion to the blood and wounds of Jesus began at an early age. Zinzendorf recognized that Christ is truly God, taking human form and willingly suffe...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Penn State Univ. Press
2006
|
| In: |
Journal of Moravian history
Year: 2006, Volume: 1, Pages: 31-47 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In the 1740s Moravian piety concentrated on the devotion to the blood and wounds of Christ. Taking up old Christian traditions, Zinzendorf's own devotion to the blood and wounds of Jesus began at an early age. Zinzendorf recognized that Christ is truly God, taking human form and willingly suffering on the cross for the sake of His creation. In the light of this, the believer feels his utter worthlessness and need to be punished, but the crucifixion stands as the assurance of forgiveness. The blood streaming from the cross impresses the believer with the reality of his or her ransom from sin. Continual meditation on the bleeding form of Christ and the spiritual experience of being washed in that blood will preserve the believer from despair and from sin. On one hand, the blood is symbolic of the great penitential struggle of Christ that moves us to empathetic suffering, but at the same time, it is symbolic of the healing of the soul and the release from sin and death. For Zinzendorf and the Moravians, the true church is always a community of the cross (Kreuzgemeinschaft) that depends on the wounds of Jesus. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2161-6310 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Moravian history
|