Coming Clean

The Webboard makes the Baby Jesus cry. Every time I go there (particularly the theology board), this sentiment is confirmed for me.

The thing I hate most about Reformed theology is the separation/distinction in what the Gospel means and what the Gospel does. This epitomizes the kind of thinking prevalent on the webboard. The Gospel means: if I believe in a few dogmatic things about Jesus, I’ll be saved. As a fruit of belief, I will then… pick something good: help the poor, be courteous to my enemy, tell other people about the good news. But it’s wholly random and doesn’t mean a whole lot as it could be anything and the lack of something shouldn’t be too much cause for concern.

Then you’ve got folks who for all intent and purposes are on these classic webboarder’s sides yet exhibit a deep unrest about the whole approach – as though there is to be more unity and less dichotomy between what Christ did, our “faith” in that, and what we do.

Yet another reason why I’m happy to be Catholic: the Church has always taught that Christ’s story is our story. We don’t believe apart from Christ’s narrative – we enter into it. So what we believe and what we do are all tied up together. There is no dichotomy: just one way to be: a way of believing and living together as one. You’d think for all the unity and one-ness that we find called for in Scripture, you’d find it in our lives as well.