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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?
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 |
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