Morality
For the time being, my posting will deal mostly with my thoughts on Christianity.
A friend of mine told me a couple of months ago that Christianity cannot be about morality. As somebody who advocates the pursuit of holiness in the individual lives of Christians in community I wonder what this means.
I agree that Christianity cannot be completely about morality. I agree that the grace of God needs to be emphasized above morality but I still see a place for morality in the life of Christians. It seems that some emphasize grace so much that they remove morality completely.
The life of the Christian ought to be radically and visibly different from the life of the non-Christian.
A friend of mine told me a couple of months ago that Christianity cannot be about morality. As somebody who advocates the pursuit of holiness in the individual lives of Christians in community I wonder what this means.
I agree that Christianity cannot be completely about morality. I agree that the grace of God needs to be emphasized above morality but I still see a place for morality in the life of Christians. It seems that some emphasize grace so much that they remove morality completely.
The life of the Christian ought to be radically and visibly different from the life of the non-Christian.
posted by Justin at 8/14/2005 09:42:00 PM
2 Comments:
I think when people contrast morality and grace like that, what they are really contrasting is the concept of fortitude and the concept of loyalty. We want to demand the moral courage to do what is right from ourselves and from others, but we also want to be loyal to relationships where there has been a lack of moral fiber. I don't think those two concepts contrast very well. Loyalty is a part of fortitude. Or in the terms of your post, grace is a part of morality. To allow space for mistakes is a merciful act, but to allow that space to grow large enough to let those mistakes become character traits is not grace at all, but a lack of it. That is my opinion.
I have been re-reading "Resident Aliens" and "Where Resident Aliens Live" by Hauerwas and Willimon and this sounds similar to one of the many great statements that they make. The problem with the church today is that it is too nice and passive and accepting of whatever people do because of God's grace.
The church needs to start taking a stand and realize that their job is not to fit in to this society nor is it to withdraw but rather the church is to engage secular society as the enemy to the church.
Religion is not a private matter between individuals and their God. It is a lifestyle that ought to influence our everyday lives and every decision that we make.
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