Justification by faith is an imperative aspect of the Christian faith, no matter one’s denomination. This aspect is stressed in the beginning of the book of Romans when Paul is evangelizing to Galatia. The Judaizers, who believed Gentile converts needed to keep the old law, were disagreeing with Paul’s view that Gentiles needed just faith to become followers of Christ. By pointing out the similarities of both Jews and Gentiles, he explains justification by faith for all who believe in this powerful verse, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22-2).” This following paper will compare and contrast the theology regarding justification by faith held by Catholics versus Lutherans. By first defining both Catholic and Protestant theology of justification by faith, the root differences, and how they interpret passages differently, we can have a greater understanding of justification by faith (Hereafter JBF).
The Catholic theology maintains that righteousness is a real substance, and that when a person has faith in God, righteousness is poured into that person. This belief is that a human being is unrighteous before baptism and through ongoing conversion God makes one really righteous through sanctifying grace. Catholics also believe that justification and sanctification are the same, which means that someone is righteous not only by having faith but also through cooperation with sanctifying grace that is already there.
Generally, Protestants believe justification by faith is more of a legal thing, and that God looks...
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...ngs about Catholicism and Protestant beliefs, but also learned new ways to support my own view of justification by faith. I discovered that I take aspects from each perspective, my first example is that I believe faith is an ongoing conversion and process towards righteousness, which resembles the Catholic perspective. On the Protestant side, however, I believe for the most part that someone who has been justified by faith is still a sinner. Although I think that Romans 1-4 are imperative to understand justification by faith, I do not believe they are the center of the New Testament and believe that the Gospels are. By defining Catholic and Lutheran theologies of JBF, indicating their root differences, and by giving examples of verses that align with each view, one can have a greater understanding of justification by faith as well as what it means in their own life.
Salvation is an important part of the Catholic religion. As a non-religious student, I have had to rely heavily on the definition of Salvation from the teachings in my class. With the aid of The Bible, C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity, St. Athanasius’ writing on Incarnation, and the “Class Notes on Salvation, I have been able to grasp an understanding of what Salvation is. At first, I believed that Salvation was a simple definition. I thought that Salvation was accepting Jesus Christ so that all of one’s sins are washed away. However, Salvation is much more than that. After multiple classes, I have learned that Salvation is essentially God’s plan to save humans by cleansing humans from Original Sin by using mechanical techniques such as becoming a finite being and dying for humans to live an indisputably whole life. After looking at the Fall, Lewis argues that sin affects the character of the fallen individual. Because of Original Sin, it can be said that human beings are corrupted in the mind which can be seen as a punishment in itself. With the understanding of Salvation, Catholics view Salvation by understanding the two sides of Salvation, Justification and Sanctification.
A time comes in everybody's life where they need to be "saved." When this happens a spiritual bond is formed with in that individual. In Langston Hughes' essay, "Salvation," that bond is broken because Langston wasn't saved. It is because Langston turned to Jesus, and in his eyes Jesus wasn't there. This creating a conflict within himself and the members of the church, with the end result being Langston's faith being destroyed.
One difference between Catholicism and Protestantism is the question of adequacy and authorization of the Scripture. Protestants, being more traditional, focus on the Bible. They believe that it is the source of God’s revelation to man (“What”), and that “the whole of Christian truth is found within the Bible’s pages” (“Tracts”). Bible teaches one about their wrongs, and what actions they need to undertake in order to be saved from their sins. They see it as guidelines for Christian behavior. These guidelines are otherwise known as “sola scriptura” (“What”). Sola scriptura derives from “sola” meaning “alone” and “scriptura” meaning “writings.” “Sola scriptura” says that only the Scripture is responsible for the faith of Christians and their practices. The Scripture is the foundation of their religion. It tells one that their salvation is not obtained from random readings, but from the document itself. However, the Catholics rebuff the teachings of the Scripture. Many of their documents such as praying to saints, worship of Mary, etc. are focused only on the Roman Catholic traditions. They do not believe that the Bible alone will satisfy them. Instead, they believe that the Roman Catholic tradition alongside with the Bible are both mandatory for oneself. Both determine the sufficiency of the Bible as well as its authority and completeness (“What”).
When we think of religion, we picture distinct overview of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to certain spiritual manifests. Various religions developed certain stories, symbols, and sacred backgrounds that explain everything from the meaning of life to the overall power of the Universe. Catholics are Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Catholicism shares few beliefs with other Christian practices but, essential Catholic beliefs are as followed: The Bible is the inspired word of God. Baptism, the rite of becoming a Christian, is necessary for salvation whether or not a baptism is done by water, blood, or choice. God’s Ten Commandments provides a certain direction — an ethical standard to
Although this is a paper about Faith and Religion I will not make a statement as to which
The meaning of ‘being human’ - Catholic people believe the meaning of ‘being human’ is a very strong part of their faith and commitment to life.The meaning of also ‘being human’ to the catholics is having a purpose in life, this could be through a number of connections to the world and faith such as being spiritual, physical, social, emotional and intellectual “God is spirit”. Each of these connections have many different meanings and effects on every person within the world. They believe that being human means that they have a responsibility to share equal rights to all people within the world. Overall the catholics believe that everyone deserves the equal right to have the same opportunities and rights in life and to show true faith to their religion through many connections such as being spiritual, physical, social, emotional and intellectual.
God’s written law is something that is and should be continuously turned, to not only when Christians find themselves in need, but also throughout in one’s daily life. The four gospels tell to story of Jesus’ life and his teachings he gave while on the earth making it possible for there to be a true example of Christ-like faith. The proposition that there are differences in the story of Jesus and in his teachings seems to question the basis upon which the Christian faith is found upon. Rather than proclaiming the gospels as falsehoods because on the differences they possess, by analyzing the differences in the context of the particular gospel it can be understood that the differences are not made by mistake, rather as a literary device. While the four gospels have differences and similarities, they cannot be regarded as an argument against the faith because their differences are what point to the many aspects of Christ.
...when any and every contribution towards his salvation on the part of the believer or on the part of the Church is absolutely and unequivocally shut out. Justification must be seen and received as a blessing dependent wholly and exclusively on Christ alone, on what he is and what he has done—a blessing enjoyed simply through being joined directly to him, through finding one's all in him, through drawing one's all from him.” "Justification by Faith: the Reinstatement of the Doctrine Today," Evangelical Quarterly, July, 1952, p. 166.
Pope John Paul II once said, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” (Fallible Blogma) Based on this significant and powerful quote, one can infer that faith and reason are directly associated and related. It can also be implied that the combination of faith and reason allows one to seek information and knowledge about truth and God; based on various class discussions and past academic teachings, it is understood that both faith and reason are the instruments that diverse parties are supposed to use on this search for truth and God. There are many stances and viewpoints on the issues of faith and reason. Some believe that both of these ideas cannot and should not be combined; these parties deem that faith and reason must be taken as merely separate entities. However, this writer does not understand why both entities cannot be combined; both terms are so closely compatible that it would make sense to combine the two for a common task. Based on various class discussions and readings, there are many philosophers and theologians who have certain opinions regarding faith, reason and their compatibility; these philosophers include Hildegard of Bingen, Ibn Rushd, Moses Maimonides, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The following essay will examine each of the previously stated philosopher’s viewpoints on faith and reason, and will essentially try to determine whether or not faith and reason are ultimately one in the same.
Through the contrasting ideas of the Church and Protestants, a major conflict between the two emerged. The church minister had spoken the Bible in Latin, where the congregation could not understand what the priest was saying. Furthermore, the Catholic Church started to sell indulgences during the Middle Ages. When one bought an indulgence for a certain amount of money, it guaranteed that the individual would not have to go through purgatory for a long time to reach God in heaven. Many Protestants disagreed with this idea because they thought that the idea of indulgences were “a bribe” to get into heaven. Another teaching that the Protestants disagreed with the Church was the teaching of being saved by good deeds. The Protestants believed in that one is saved by God’s grace and not by works. Moreover, the Protestants first peacefully talked about the problems in the Church but the Church were ignorant and did not want to respond to the Protestants.
In today’s modern western society, it has become increasingly popular to not identify with any religion, namely Christianity. The outlook that people have today on the existence of God and the role that He plays in our world has changed drastically since the Enlightenment Period. Many look solely to the concept of reason, or the phenomenon that allows human beings to use their senses to draw conclusions about the world around them, to try and understand the environment that they live in. However, there are some that look to faith, or the concept of believing in a higher power as the reason for our existence. Being that this is a fundamental issue for humanity, there have been many attempts to explain what role each concept plays. It is my belief that faith and reason are both needed to gain knowledge for three reasons: first, both concepts coexist with one another; second, each deals with separate realms of reality, and third, one without the other can lead to cases of extremism.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Throughout the Bible it is said that God is righteous, that his ethics and actions by definition are morally justifiable. Righteousness is the uppermost truth of God; in its absences all other traits could be reduced to ever changing whims of the person of God. To fully grasp this trait of God, the idea of Righteousness must be understood, furthermore, its relation of God and humanity must also be fully comprehended. Justification and Righteousness go hand in hand, they are ideas which can be witnessed, observed, understood, and questioned, however, Righteousness is a quality, while justification is an action, therein lies a difference between the pair. According to the Bible, righteousness is embedded in God, that is, he is the arbitrator of Justice who is fully righteous. God is righteous because we are told he is, his actions demonstrate so, and it is observable today.
The doctrine of salvation contains various aspects. The intent of this research paper is to provide a general overview of salvation from the angle of justification, propitiation, grace, redemption, and sanctification.
I was unsure of what Faith and Reason were; I say that, because Faith and Reason seem to have the illusion of spiritual meanings and concepts, thus I could not accept the idea that a course of this nature would be taught in college. For me Faith and Reason express a person’s ideals, beliefs and theories on life. According to Webster’s Dictionary, faith and reason are defined as; faith being a belief and trust in and loyalty to God; fanciful or empty assumption. The images that we have come to express are not far from what the rest of the world has expressed or defined. As you continue to read my theories and ideas on the issue of Faith and Reason, you may come to understand the type of person that I am, and possibly understand how and why I believe as I do.
Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.