Lutherns vs Catholics

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JMJ

In the wake of another Luther/Catholic scandal - here's some clarity from a Catholic theologian: Dr. Malloy.

P^3

Source: Theological Flint

Luther and Catholic Faith in Contradiction?

December 3, 2016Commentary, Ecumenism, Luther / Lutheranism

Nowadays, nearly all are aware of numerous claims on sin and justification shared by Luther and Catholics.

Some Common Teachings on Sin and Justification

• We cannot justify ourselves: neither cause ourselves to be just (efficiently) nor merit that we be justified
• God is the author of justification, the efficient cause
• That we be justified is merited by the labor of Christ, who suffered died and rose
• This merit of Christ must be applied to the individual in order that the individual be justified.
• Just because Christ died, the human race is not thereby justified. Individuals are, one at a time.
• It is good to imitate Christ
• Sanctification begins, with justification, in this life
• In heaven, all are holy

 Sadly, some have forgotten crucial differences between Luther’s views and Catholic doctrine. These differences are so crucial that they even color the agreed points. For example: It is agreed that God is the author of justification. But if we diverge regarding what justification is, then our understanding of God’s causality in the first place is divergent. Below, I list some other teachings on sin and justification. In looking at just about any row in this list, one would be hard pressed not to find significant contradiction.

 Some Other Teachings on Sin and Justification

LUTHER’s POSITION                                            CATHOLIC DOCTRINE

Faith, Hope, Love are part of the natural good condition of man	Faith, Hope, Love are supernatural gifts
Corrupt human nature is as such totally depraved	Corrupt human nature is as such deprived of all graces but not totally depraved
Without grace, present man cannot know God	Without grace, man can know the Creator Exists
Without grace, man cannot know the natural law	Man can know the natural law without grace
Without grace, man cannot know the one true faith	Natural reason can discern signs of the one true religion
All sins are damnable	Venial sins are not damnable
Concupiscence (pre-freely chosen tendency to acts of sin) is a damnable sin	Concupiscence is not even a venial sin
Concupiscence is the worst sin in us, worse than actual sins (such as adultery on Tuesday)	Actual sins are the worst sins; concupiscence is not even a venial sin
Without grace, we sin in every work	Without grace, non-sinful works are possible
Even with grace, we sin in every work	With grace, non-sinful works are possible
Justification is by faith alone	Justification is not by faith alone, but by faith animated by charity
Faith is firm trust in the promise that I am saved	Faith is intellectual assent, at the command of the will, accepting as true all that God reveals
Since along with faith there is always charity, and since one can retain faith while committing an actual mortal sin, therefore one can have charity yet have just committed a mortal sin	One who commits a mortal sin loses sanctifying grace and charity
It also follows that charity is compatible with the commission of mortal sin	Charity is not compatible with the commission of mortal sin
Christ is not a Lawgiver	Christ is a Lawgiver, the New Moses
Adequate obedience to the commandments is not possible	Adequate obedience to the commandments is possible
Salvation does not require obedience to the commandments	Salvation does require obedience to the commandments
God predestines some to hell, not in light of their foreseen sins but apart from them	God predestines no one to hell except in light of their sins that he foresees
Because God has foreknowledge of our future acts, there is no free will	God has foreknowledge of our future free acts, and these acts are indeed free
The justice by which we are just before God is extrinsic to us (God attributes it to us)	The justice by which we are just before God inheres in us (God infuses it into us)
There is no increase in this justice: It is all or nothing	There is an increase in this justice: It varies by degrees according to God’s will and our cooperation
The justified are internally worthy of hell	The justified are internally worthy of heaven
Even the justified cannot merit heaven by any theological works they do	The justified can truly merit heaven by the good works they do in grace