Pope: No Contradiction Between Faith and Works
In another nod to Protestant theology, Pope Benedict XVI has declared that there is no conflict between faith and works. He says that good works, performed in love, are a natural outgrowth of the faith we profess in Christ. Provided that faith in Christ is genuine, good works will manifest in the person who professes that faith.
In a previous nod to Protestant theology, the Pope acknowleged that we are saved by grace through faith plus NOTHING. That works are not necessary for salvation was a Protestant idea, condmened by Catholicism. Catholic lay apologists scoff at the idea, one referring to it as “Luther’s convienent doctrine.”
We have now seen the Pope tip his mitre to two formerly Protestant ideas. It will be interesting to see the spin that Catholic lay apologists put on this. These are two ideas that the lay apologists have previously scoffed at and ridiculed as heresy. I expect either silence from their end, or else they will try to claim that Protestants stole the idea from “Sacred Tradition.”
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Posted on November 26, 2008, in Humor, Roman Catholicism, Theology. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
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Most likely they’ll just deny the pope said it, or better yet say “He didn’t say it EX CATHEDRA. Nah man, he was standing up when he said it.”
I would refer you to Hans Kung’s “Justification.” Kung, a RC priest, in the 60 showed that the Reformed view of salvation and the RC one were essentially the same one. Karl Barth, a Reformed theologian, forwarded the work, saying that if what Kung presented as the Catholic belief in salvation really was what Catholics beileved, then he had no problem with it. The book bears the stamp of the RC Church’s approval.
I guess what I am getting at is I could go directly to such people knowledgable in these matters, or I could read posts like this one (well intended but lacking in the necessary knowledge), where the author because of the lack of depth in his knowledge of Catholicism, ends up making claims that are difficult to substantiate.
While I am here, I might add that I have found TurretinFan to be extremely hesitant as well to broaden his understanding of Catholicism. Why he doesn’t do this, I don’t know. It certainly would make any subsequent critique of Catholicism more worthy of listening too.
Use my email to run posts by me that are on the subject of Catholicism, and I would be happy to tell you if you are opening yourself up to ridicule by exposing ignorance. I can give insight into your statements, so that RC apologists (a shoddy bunch) can actually get around to discussing what you have to say rather than your misrepresentations. The offer has been extended to TurretinFan although he hasn’t taken me up on it.
The Pope has not changed the Romish gospel, nor is he tipping his hat to Protestantism.
I gaurantee you he is simply saying that the faithful perform works *in faith*…and would agree with us that “without faith, it’s impossible to please God”…they would simply say that works of pennance, mass, etc need to be performed in faith.
Also keep in mind that justification, for Rome, is not a state of being upon conversion…it is the *end state* of a faithful Catholic.
I’m sure the pope is saying stuff like this to attract Prots…after all, many of us believe Rome teaches we are saved, primarily, by works
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