Redemptive suffering Redemptive suffering Redemptive suffering is the Christian belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another, or for the other physical or spiritual needs of oneself or another. Like an indulgence, redemptive suffering does not gain the individual "forgiveness" for their sin; forgiveness results from God’s grace, freely given through Christ, which cannot be earned. After one's sins are forgiven, the individual's suffering can reduce the "penalty" due for sin. Christians believe that God loves mankind so much that
Mary, mother of Jesus word "genomenos" (i.e., becoming) rather than the word "gennetos" (i.e., that is born, born) and the reference to "seed of David" is likely to Mary's lineage. From the early stages of Christianity, belief in the virginity of Mary and the virgin conception of Jesus, as stated in the gospels, holy and supernatural, was used by detractors, both political and religious, as a topic for discussions, debates and writings, specifically aimed to challenge the divinity of Jesus and thus Christians and Christianity alike. In the 2nd century, as part of his anti-Christian polemic "The True Word", the pagan philosopher Celsus contended