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Glite Dictionary
🤝 Combined greater effect 🙏 Cooperation for salvation
synergism

synergism

9.9
A belief that people work together with God's help to be saved
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪnərˌdʒɪzəm/
  • Formal
translation icon : sinergismo
  • In her sermon, she explained how synergism plays a vital role in understanding salvation within the Christian faith.

Examples

  • The concept of synergism suggests that human will and divine intervention must work in harmony for true salvation.

  • That was a crucial point when it came in 2006 to the World Methodist Council's association with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, since the Lutherans had habitually suspected Methodists of an inappropriate "synergism" in their soteriology.

    Academic text (2013)

  • "He saw the point, to reject all forms of synergism, but in his view it leaves no real room for the deeper question: has this whole business of religion anything to do with God, or has God anything to do with it?"

    Academic text (2014)

  • Many theologians believe that synergism involves both human effort and divine grace working together for salvation.

Surface Forms

synergism singular
synergisms plural

Morphology

synergism = synergy (semi-transparent) = synergy + ism

The morphological formation from 'synergy' + '-ism' is clear, but in this sense it denotes a specialized theological doctrine, so the meaning is technical rather than the straightforward 'state of cooperation'.

Etymology

Synergism comes from Greek parts syn- 'together' and ergon 'work', and the same root is in energy. So in religion synergism means humans and God 'work together' for salvation.