- Capitalism and Alternatives -
salvation by works, not by faith
Posted by: Chris Vail ( Silicon Valley, USA ) on January 11, 1998 at 20:30:05:
In Reply to: Hypocrite! posted by Stuart Gort on December 31, 1997 at 16:44:35:
Stuart Gort brings up the issue of what constitutes salvation in his arguments about capitalism vs. communism. For Gort, salvation consists in BELIEVING that Jesus is God, rather than DOING acts of righteousness. This is basic Pauline Christianity, and the New Testament (that is, the Christian Scriptures) is full of this idea. However, Mr. Gort has a little problem I would like him to solve on this forum. I imagine he believes that the Bible (that is, some version of the Jewish and Christian scriptures), is entirely correct and inerrant (if Mr. Gort does not believe this, I would like to hear that, too). Given this assumption, how does he respond to the "parable of the sheep and the goats" in the second half of chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, which basically says that the only way to get into the kingdom of heaven is by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and visiting prisoners, and very specifically says that even casting out demons in the name of Jesus is not going to help you get into the kingdom of heaven if you don't feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisonsers, especially the "least" or lowest of these. Clearly this is salvation by works, not by faith, and there is in fact a tension in the Christian scriptures between the Pauline texts, which dominate and which advocate salvation through faith alone, and what might be called the "Jamesian" texts, the books of James and Jude and parts of the Gospels (the Gospels also include Pauline material). The Jamesian point of view emphasizes correct conduct, doing good works, that is "righteousness". Paul argues that the faith of Abraham was "accounted to him as righteousness," while James holds that Abraham was righteous because of his actions. The point about the passage in Matthew 25 is that it is absolute. Faith is clearly denigrated in terms of getting into the kingdom of Heaven (that is the meaning of "casting out demons", which required faith). Either Mr. Gort has to argue that the passage is not to be taken as absolute, which is to say it should not be taken literally, or Mr. Gort has to conclude that faith is not going to get him into Heaven, which he clearly believes now. Fortunately, for those who believe in the parable of the sheep and the goats, the acts of righteousness that are necessary and sufficient to get you into the kingdom of Heaven are not too burdensome. You don't need to abstain from fermented food and drink, you don't need to pray until your knees resemble a camel's, you don't need to wear only white linen and wash every day in cold water so that you can abstain from sexual activity. You just need to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisoners; and what you believe doesn't matter.
Follow Ups:
- An answer Stuart Gort USA January 12 1998
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