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Concept
Mortification of the flesh
Summary
Mortification of the flesh is an act by which an individual or group seeks to mortify or deaden their sinful nature, as a part of the process of sanctification.
In Christianity, mortification of the flesh is undertaken in order to repent for sins and share in the Passion of Jesus. Common forms of Christian 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 self-flagellation in imitation of Jesus Christ's suffering and death. Christian theology holds that the Holy Spirit helps believers in the "mortification of the sins of the flesh." Verses in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) considered to be precursors to Christian ideas of self-mortification include Zechariah 13:6 and 1 Kings 18:28–29.
Although the term mortification of the flesh, which is derived from the King James version of Romans 8:13 and Colossians 3:5, 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 8:13 in the New Testament: "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 other verses, such as Colossians 3:5 ("Put to death what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry") and Galatians 5:24 ("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 in some verses such as Proverbs 20:30: "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 as a consequence of the Fall of Man); humanity suffers the consequences of the original sin through temptation to sin.
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