Salvation /

Salvation, in religion, is the saving of the soul from sin and its consequences. It may also be called "deliverance" or "redemption" from sin and its effects. Depending on the religious tradition, salvation is considered to be caused either by the free will and grace of a deity (in theistic religions) or by personal responsibility and self-effort (e.g. in the sramanic and yogic traditions of India). Religions often emphasize the necessity of both personal effort— for example, repentance and asceticism —and divine action (e.g. grace). Within soteriology, salvation has two related meanings. On the one hand it refers to the phenomenon of being saved by divine agency —such as is the case in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. On the other it refers to the phenomenon of the soul being saved (as in 'safe') from some unfortunate destiny. In the former, divine agency gives rise to the situation of the latter. Within Christianity salvation comes by way of grace through Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8-9)...