"Nor do I see any supporting evidence in his essays that the belief of "through Jesus, not by works" originated in the US"
That would be because it originates in the words of St. Paul. It was a hotly debated point even in his day. =:o}
For the record, my interpretation of what the New Testament *as a whole* says on this, is quite simply:
1. You are saved by grace (i.e. not because you "deserve" it), through faith, not by works (as stated most clearly and repeatedly by St. Paul) "so that no one can boast";
2. That said, if your faith doesn't in turn lead you to do good works, then it is shown to be false (and therefore not to have saved you), or at best underdeveloped. (Peter or James, I forget which: "Show me your faith without works; I'll show you my faith by what I do.")
By my understanding (and occasional experience), the reluctance/fear of doing good works is one of the things you're saved from when faith kicks in. Thus it is an enabling faith ("look at all these good things I can do that I never would have dared/bothered/thought to try before!"), rather than a restricting one ("look at all these things I'm not allowed to do now that I'm a Christian. Guess I'll have to level the playing field by banning everyone else from doing them too...")
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-12-09 07:01 pm (UTC)That would be because it originates in the words of St. Paul. It was a hotly debated point even in his day. =:o}
For the record, my interpretation of what the New Testament *as a whole* says on this, is quite simply:
1. You are saved by grace (i.e. not because you "deserve" it), through faith, not by works (as stated most clearly and repeatedly by St. Paul) "so that no one can boast";
2. That said, if your faith doesn't in turn lead you to do good works, then it is shown to be false (and therefore not to have saved you), or at best underdeveloped. (Peter or James, I forget which: "Show me your faith without works; I'll show you my faith by what I do.")
By my understanding (and occasional experience), the reluctance/fear of doing good works is one of the things you're saved from when faith kicks in. Thus it is an enabling faith ("look at all these good things I can do that I never would have dared/bothered/thought to try before!"), rather than a restricting one ("look at all these things I'm not allowed to do now that I'm a Christian. Guess I'll have to level the playing field by banning everyone else from doing them too...")