Abstract
31 October 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Reformation in Germany, West Europe. One of the most important legacies of the Reformation is the teaching concerning God’s gracious salvation, received and appropriated only through faith in Christ Jesus our Saviour. The current article seeks to focus on reflection on gratitude as a Christian lifestyle in response to God’s redemption. The article reflects on gratitude as recognition account, highlighting the importance of gratitude as a Christian virtue, as a socioreligious phenomenon, and its importance in human happiness and well-being. This, as it shaped the life of Christians, is found especially in the African continent, in whose traditional life, gratitude was ubiquitous, known and practised even before conversion to the Protestant religion. The article also briefly highlights the fact that a relaxed attitude regarding the teaching on gratitude could result in Sunday or nominal Christianity and the demise of prophetic Christianity. Some concluding thoughts regarding gratitude are shared.
Highlights
31 October 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Reformation movement in Germany, West Europe
The current article describes the last of the three necessary issues, highlighted by the Heidelberg Catechism, that a Christian has to know in order that while enjoying comfort in Christ he or she may live and die happily, according to Reformation theology, namely: (1) how great my sins and misery are, (2) how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries and (3) how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance
According to Guroian (1997:372), the Christian memory of the central salvific events forms the source and motivation for justice, which is as central to Christian worship as gratitude
Summary
31 October 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the birth of the Reformation movement in Germany, West Europe. I believe it was for this reason that Emmons and Kneezel (2005) stated, citing John Baillie: A true Christian is one who never for a moment forgets what God has done for him [sic] in Christ, and whose whole comportment and whole activity have their root in the sentiment of gratitude.
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