good moral conduct Flashcards
catholic belief justification by works
The catholic church traditionally took the side of justification by works. They believe that justification comes first from baptism but that it can then be lost by the committing of mortal sins. Justification can then be regained by confession, reconciliation and penance, which involves confessing sins and doing good works to make up for them.
Purgatory is a place Catholics believed existed for Christians who hadn’t done enough penance for their sins before dying. In medieval times, penance involved the sale of indulgences, which were certificates authorized by the pope granting a sinner freedom from penance. These were sold for money, which the Vatican used to pay for buildings. It was even claimed that money could be given to save souls from purgatory.
The Epistle of James appears to suggest that justification is by works, not faith alone. James points out that if someone is in need of food, just having faith won’t actually solve that problem, works are needed.
James points out that even the demons believe in God, so mere faith that God exists can’t mean much, since demons are clearly not saved. James claims that Abraham was justified by his works – his willingness to sacrifice his son due to his devotion to God. He had faith in God, but the faith was “active along with his works, and faith was completed by works … you see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone … faith without works is dead” James 2:14-26)
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats also suggests that works are important for justification/salvation. During the second coming of Jesus he will divide all the people of the world into the good – the sheep – and the bad – the goats. To those on his right he welcomes into the kingdom of God because they were good to other people and, Jesus says, thereby good to him. Jesus then casts those on his left into ‘the eternal fire’ as they were not good to others when alive and so by extension not good to him. (Matthew 25:31-36)
luther sola fide
Luther, the protestant reformer, was influenced by St Paul, especially Romans 1:16-17 where Paul claimed that salvation comes to “everyone who has faith” which Paul based on the old Testament passage “He who through faith is righteous shall live”. St Paul claims that God’s grace is not something humans are good enough to earn, because we all sin. We cannot do good enough works to be deserving of God’s grace, therefore justification by faith must be more important. St Paul illustrates with Abraham, pointing out that Abraham had faith in God which made him “righteous” (Romans 4:3).
Luther proposed Sola fide, which means justification by faith alone. Luther was also influenced in this by Augustine’s teaching on original sin. As mankind is fallen and sinful, humans are incapable of saving themselves. Therefore, it is by faith alone that humans can be saved, not works. Justification is received by humans passively, meaning that it is not because of any effort that they make.
Luther’s theology was also partly a reaction to what he saw as corruption in the Catholic Church. The focus on good works became a vehicle for corruption because it enabled the Church to claim that giving the good work of giving them money could lead to salvation or at least freedom from purgatory.
Luther claimed that doing good works are the result of being a faithful Christian, but it is the faith that is relevant to salvation. So, Luther does manage to incorporate works as having great value in Christianity, but only as a symptom of faith. He used an analogy; faith and works are like fire and heat, the latter flows inevitably from the former. This is how he can explain the parable of the sheep and the goats in which Jesus suggests the works of people are what saves them. Luther can claim those works were salvific only because they were the symptom of faith, which is what was truly salvific
council of trent response to luther
This council took place from 1545-1563. It claimed that both faith and works were required for justification because works were an essential part of faith. Their argument is that if you consider what the function of faith is, you should see that good works are required in combination with it for it to perform that function and thus have value, without which, as James says, faith would be ‘dead’.
James points out that even the Demons believe in God. This suggests that James was distinguishing between two types of faith. There is the faith that demons have, which must be what James refers to as ‘dead’ and it seems that the reason it is dead is because it involves evil works. The other kind of faith which is not dead must therefore be a faith that is combined with and bolstered by good works. There is a kind of faith which is dead and valueless because it cannot perform its function of uniting a being with Christ, as can be seen in the case of demons. Only faith combined with good works is the living kind which unites a being with Christ.
protestants response
Protestants respond that Trent’s proclamation contradicts the bible teaching that good works do not merit grace because grace is a “gift” from God. The point is that a gift cannot be something earned or worked for, so grace cannot be ‘earned’ by good works’.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” (Ephesians 2:8).
catholics to protestants
However, Catholics respond that they are not saying works ‘earn’ justification. The Catholic view is that justification works in two phases:
1, righteousness is enabled through baptism.
2, righteousness is preserved and regained (if lost) by participation in the Eucharist and by penance which includes doing good works.
This relative certainty of justification is a middle position between assurance of salvation and the despair of views like predestination. Neither faith nor works can be said to merit justification, but both count as progress towards it,
sanders on luthers misunderstanding of st paul
Sanders claims that if we understand Paul’s historical context, we will see that although he seemed to speak against works, actually it was the particular works that Jews regarded as distinguishing them from Gentles (e.g. circumcision) that Paul was speaking of when he wrote about the unimportance of works for salvation.
So, Paul was actually remarking on the shift in the nature of God’s covenant from the Jewish to the Christian version. Christians think the covenant expanded to all people, so there was no more need for some works to distinguish those inside it from those outside.
what is predestination
Predestination is the view that our ultimate fate, that of heaven or hell, has already been predestined by God. If true, this would mean that good works are not what save us.
Predestination is typically a variant of the view that salvation is by faith, however theologians like Augustine claim that faith is only possible for those who God has predestined.
what is st pauls view on predestination
St Paul’s justification of predestination. Romans 8 & 9 contain an exposition by St Paul on predestination and how it links with God’s justice in judging us. In Romans 8, Paul writes that “God works for the good of those who love him … For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son … And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified”. Paul seems to be saying that God has predestined some people to be saved.
In Romans 9, Paul remarks on the prophecy God made to Rebekah when pregnant with twins, that “The older will serve the younger”. God said he loved the younger (Jacob, whose descendants became Israel) and hated the older (Esau, whose descendants became an opposing tribe). Paul remarks that what is striking is that this prophecy was made before the twins were born or had done anything “good or bad”. This looks like Paul is saying that God predestines some to be loved by him and others to be hated.
Additionally, Paul references the example of the Pharaoh to whom God sent ten plagues in an attempt to free the Jews from slavery in Egypt. The Pharaoh wanted to free the Jews before the final plague, but God hardened his heart, making the Pharaoh refuse to let the Jews go, upon which God sent the final plague which killed the first born son of all Egyptian families.
Paul acknowledges that, given such examples, some might find it strange and unjust for God to hold us accountable for our actions if we are simply controlled in this way. Paul then responds: “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” Paul also points to something God said to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy”. Paul seems to be suggesting that predestination is not unjust because God has the right to do what he wants.
wrights against romans 9
Regarding Romans 9, Paul does describe God electing people in relation to individuals – but Wright claims that Paul is not talking about election for salvation, but election to having a significant role in God’s plan to redeem the world after the fall. It’s not about election in the sense of being saved but election to God’s purpose. We should understand Paul as claiming that some of Abraham’s family, like Jacob, are predestined to play an important role in God’s plan, and others like Esau are not.
Wright concludes that Paul simply “does not address … the ultimate predestinarian question: does God actually before all time determine that certain persons will be elected, chosen, predestined for salvation. He seems determined to stick with his question that he’s much more interested in which is how God’s redemptive historical plan is being carried forward through the people of Israel.”
augustine support for st paul
In Romans 8, St Paul seems to hold to predestination, which is the view that our fate in the afterlife, i.e. whether we will go to heaven or hell, is already unalterably fixed. Augustine thought this view of election followed logically from the doctrine of original sin and grace. If we cannot get ourselves into heaven then God has either predestined us for heaven, or he hasn’t and our original sin damns us to hell. This view is called double predestination: that heaven is predestined for some and hell for others.
augustine on orginal sin and electrion
Original Sin is the idea that the first sin of Adam and Eve disobeying God’s command resulted in a corruption in all humanity. Original sin is a corruption in human nature which makes people want to sin. All humans have inherited Original Sin from Adam and Eve according to Augustine as we were all ‘seminally present in the loins of Adam’. Augustine thought that the biological basis for procreation was “some sort of invisible and intangible power … located in the secrets of nature” yet then goes on to argue that all future generations of people are “in the loins of the father”. Augustine claims “We were all in [Adam] … we all were that one man who fell into sin” We existed in merely a “seminal nature from which we were to be begotten” but when that became “vitiated through sin” it became impossible for anyone to be born without original sin.
Augustine’s exclusivism holds that we are so corrupted by original sin that genuine persevering faith in Jesus is only possible with God’s help: his gift of grace, which predestines some people to have and keep faith in Christ and thus be one of the ‘elect’ who will be saved.
pleaguis on original sin
Pelagius: predestination and Augustinian original sin makes punishment unjust. Pelagius argued that if we have original sin and are thus completely unable to avoid doing evil, it would surely be unjust for God to punish us for our sinful behaviour. It’s not ethical for all humanity to be blamed for the actions of Adam and Eve. This suggests an indefensible view of moral responsibility – that people can be responsible for actions committed by others which is of special absurdity in this case since the action occurred before they were even born. Pelagius concludes that only our having free will and thus being without coercion from original sin makes sense of the prevalent biblical theme of God’s judgement and punishment.
augustine response to pleaguis
Punishment is just for sinful beings: Augustine is not actually arguing that God himself blamed all humanity for Adam’s sin, he’s merely pointing out that it was a factual consequence of Adam’s sin that all future humanity, in Adam’s loins, became infected with original sin. It’s not God’s fault, it’s Adams’. So, Augustine argues that predestination is not unjust of God, since we are corrupted by original sin and so if we go to hell it is deserved.
This might seem unfair, but Augustine puts it down to the “secret yet just judgement of God”, indicating that it is inscrutable – impossible for us to understand – but we should have faith it is just. Augustine points to Psalm 25:10: ‘All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,’ and concludes: neither can his grace be unjust, nor his justice cruel”.
what is the sanctity of life principle
The sanctity of life is the Christian key moral principle that life is sacred. This means it was created by God for a religious purpose. There are different views about the sanctity of life, the implications for whether it can ever be acceptable to end life and its applicability to the embryo and unborn child.
what is the conservative view of the sanctity of life
The conservative, sometimes also called the ‘strong’ sanctity of life view, claims that because God created human life, only God has the right to end it. Humans were created in God’s image, further suggesting that human life is especially valuable.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” – Jeremiah 1:5.
The sixth of the ten commandments is “thou shalt not murder”.
