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May 09, 2007
Q & A with Beckwith
at Christianity Today and more about the ETS fallout.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
The issue of justification was key for me. The Catholic Church frames the Christian life as one in which you must exercise virtue—not because virtue saves you, but because that's the way God's grace gets manifested. As an evangelical, even when I talked about sanctification and wanted to practice it, it seemed as if I didn't have a good enough incentive to do so. Now there's a kind of theological framework, and it doesn't say my salvation depends on me, but it says my virtue counts for something. It's important to allow the grace of God to be exercised through your actions. The evangelical emphasis on the moral life forms my Catholic practice with an added incentive. That was liberating to me.
Some of the people who have been critical say, "You've gone into the oppressive works system of Catholicism." That's not the way I look at it at all. I look at it as a chance to do good. It doesn't matter for my salvation, but it matters for the sort of person I can become. Unfortunately, the view of justification is sometimes presented clumsily by some Catholic laypeople.
Am I confused, or is he saying that you can't lose your salvation?
Posted by: Karen LH at May 9, 2007 6:48:57 PM
No, what he is saying is that any self-originated good works that he does have no bearing on his salvation.
Posted by: Jordan Potter at May 9, 2007 7:11:11 PM
I don't know that I necessarily agree with Dr. Beckwith's assessment that "it doesn't matter for my salvation." Perhaps I am just not completely understanding him, though. I have come to understand good works as an extention of my faith in Christ rather than something extra (or as we say in Louisiana lagniappe). Since we are Christians, no good works are "self-originated" but find their origin in grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. What evangelicals don't seem to realize (and perhaps Catholics don't explain well enough) is that the good works we Catholics so vigorously tout as important are a direct result of our great faith in Christ rather than our attempt at winning His love/approval and our salvation.
Posted by: Brian at May 9, 2007 8:21:59 PM
Jordan is exactly right. CT will be tweaking the interview transcript tomorrow in order to more clearly present what I had intended to say, but did so in a clumsy fashion.
Posted by: Francis Beckwith at May 9, 2007 8:32:31 PM
I wonder which early Church Fathers the professor found most influential and on what topics? Justification? Liturgy? Apostolic succession and authority?
Posted by: John E at May 9, 2007 11:09:12 PM
Thanks for responding, Dr. Beckwith. My understanding of soteriology is pretty simple-minded, and from the little I've read I know it's not a simple-minded subject, so I knew it was probably a lack of understanding on my part. I just wasn't (and still am not) seeing what you were saying. I'll try to read the revised transcript when it is available.
Posted by: Karen LH at May 10, 2007 8:02:44 AM
I'll give explaining Catholic "works" a try.
Corporal works of mercy, etc. are acted-out expressions of trying to imitate Jesus - they don't get us to heaven.
However, when we confess our sins and have to do something to atone for those forgiven sins that might have kept us out of heaven, we are usually given prayers to say. But it could just as well be delivering meals to the elderly or some such in the same way that somebody convicted of a minor crime might be required to do "community service". In that case the good works are in lieu of going to jail. In our case good works can be in lieu of time in purgatory after we die.
So good works don't get us into heaven if we have unforgiven sins on our souls, but they can shorten our time purging the stain on our souls left by our forgiven sins.
I'm a lawyer so maybe this only makes sense to me. Also I'm the product of a Jesuit education back before they decided Jesus was a rabble rousing social worker.
I'm learning a lot reading Dr Beckwith's statements and interviews. This is a great opportunity for him to introduce Evangelicals and Catholics to each other since he certainly has the attention right now of both groups in a way I've never seen in my 62 years on earth.
Thanks and best wishes, Dr. Beckwith. Maybe a book is in the works? I'd buy it.
Posted by: Julia at May 10, 2007 12:19:11 PM
I fall into the same category Julia, except by the time the Jesuits got hold of me, they were just starting to level off from full Jesus-as-rabble-rousing-social-worker mode.
I think of works in the Catholic sense with the backdrop of Jesus' invitation "my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Works are not what earns our salvation, but rather what prepares us for heaven. They are like a "soul workout" in a sense - a training or conditioning of our wills to accept God's grace and allow Him to do His work with and through us. Though easy and light the yoke may be, it is a yoke with the purpose directed toward our own good (that's what yokes are all about - harnessing and directing effort).
It is not a matter of "earning" your salvation, but a matter of being properly disposed to accepting it. Sort of like God giving you this great set of Callway clubs, free entrance to this beautiful golf course (cart and drinks included) and you thinking "I don't even know how to play golf." Naturally, God has thrown in lessons with the Resident Pro for free - He will correct your swing, make sure your body is properly aligned, etc.
But you still have to take swings. In fact, that is the whole point - to get you to learn to hit the ball correctly (i.e. align your will with God's). So in a sense, are works necessary? Seems so. But it's not the works that save you - it's that the works condition your will to be aligned with God's will when "done in Him" so to speak. You are not "earning" anything - its all given to you freely, you are only asked to accept (acceptance being manifested through learning and doing as instructed). The lesson in all this - God wants you to play golf.
Similarly, what responsible parent would give their kid a car without teaching them to drive, and actually requiring them to master driving before setting them loose on the highway? DId the child "earn" the car by learning to drive? No, it was a completely unmerited free gift from the parent. But to enjoy the gift properly, the child needs to do the "work" of learning to drive properly.
Posted by: c matt at May 10, 2007 2:56:23 PM
