Divine grace

Divine grace is the sovereign favour of God exercised in the bestowment of blessings upon those who have no merit in them. It is a Christian term for God's graciousness to humanity that he is under no need or obligation to exhibit. Most broadly, divine grace may also refer to God's gifts to humankind, including our life, creation, and salvation, which God gives to us freely. More narrowly but more commonly, grace describes the means by which humans are saved from original sin and granted salvation. This latter concept of grace is of central importance in the theology of Christianity, as well as one of the most contentious issues in Christian sectarianism.

For further reading

Orthodox

• Kallistos Ware, The Inner Kingdom: The Collected Works (St. Vladimir's Seminary, 2000) ISBN 0881412090
• The Way of a Pilgrim and A Pilgrim Continues on His Way, Olga Savin, trans. ISBN 1570628076

Roman Catholic

• Catholic Teaching on Sin & Grace (Center for Learning, 1997) ISBN 1560775211
• Stephen J. Duffy, The Graced Horizon: Nature and Grace in Modern Catholic Thought (HPAC, 1992) ISBN 0814657052
• George Hayward Joyce, The Catholic Doctrine of Grace (Newman, 1950) ASIN B0007E488Y
• Vincent Nguyen, The Pauline Theology of Grace from the Catholic perspective ASIN B0006S8TUY

Protestant

• Randy Maddox, Responsible Grace (Kingswood, 1994) ISBN 0687003342
• Alister McGrath, Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification (Cambridge, 1998) ISBN 0521624819
• R. C. Sproul, Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology (Baker Book House, 1999) ISBN 0801011213
• Philip Yancey, What's So Amazing About Grace? (Zondervan, 1997) ISBN 0310245656