Mortifications

Mortification of the flesh is an act by which an individual or group seeks to mortify, or put to death, their sinful nature, as a part of the process of sanctification. In Christianity, common forms of mortification that are practiced to this day include fasting, abstinence, as well as pious kneeling. Also common among Christian religious orders in the past were the wearing of sackcloth, as well as flagellation in imitation of Jesus of Nazareth's suffering and death by crucifixion. Christian theology holds that the Holy Spirit helps believers in the "mortification of the sins of the flesh." Although the term 'mortification of the flesh', which is derived from and in the Bible, is primarily used in a Christian context, other cultures may have analogous concepts of self-denial; secular practices exist as well. Some forms unique to various Asian cultures are carrying heavy loads and immersion in water.

The term "mortification of the flesh" comes from the Book of Romans in the Christian Bible: "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live." The same idea is seen in the following verses: "Put to death what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry"; "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires". Support for such behavior in the Old Testament is found here: "Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts."

According to Christian exegesis, "deeds of the body" and "what is earthly", refer to the "wounded nature" of man or his concupiscence (evil inclinations due to forming part of the Fall of Man); humanity suffers the consequences of the original sin. The Apostle Paul, who authored Romans, expected believers to "put to death" the deeds of the flesh. This is because the word in Koine Greek, the language in which the New Testament was originally written, for flesh is sarx (σάρξ). This word denotes the fallen or sinful elements, parts, and proclivities of humanity. This word is juxtaposed in Romans 8:13, cited above, with body (σῶμα), which more strictly refers to the physical body of a human. Thus in Romans 8:13 Paul is drawing a parallel between fallen people, with proclivities to sin without chance of redemption, and redeemed people who are so changed that mortification of their fleshly sin can turn to bodily life, from σάρξ to σῶμα.

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