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Christian Morality Derivation of Principles Gary Novak
Some persons cannot allow anyone else to do anything. That's why faith is needed. Some persons let others get involved knowing they can't do everything themselves, the errors can be corrected and the results will move forward. That's what faith is. Faith is extending constructivity outward. It contains all of the complex elements of morality. Being the most advanced element of morality, it is the most easily destroyed. Sin destroys faith. Often, faith is assumed to be irrational. Fundamentalists tend to put faith above rationality claiming their assumptions can be illogical and still correct, because faith is superior to rationality. They are wrong. Their results cannot be constructive and in conflict with rationality. Such irrationality occurs because faith has no discernible meaning to most persons. Therefore, it is the perfect tool for rationalizing the irrational. Why not use it to promote whatever needs promoting. What needs to be promoted in religion is a fix for sin. There's no better fix for anything than faith. It cures whatever ails you. But the propaganda faith is a cure in name only. Being in conflict with evidence and rationality, it puts supposed believers in conflict with the world around them. A description of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1. It says "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see." In most minds, this would be the equivalent of blind faith, assuming that to "not see" means to not know. The quote could be rationalized due to its vagaries, but its usual interpretation is that faith does not need to be based on anything but a person's own whim. Notice that the more corrupt that type of faith gets, the purer it gets. Gambling is an example. Expecting to win in Las Vegas is that type of faith. In other words, the writer of Hebrews did not know how to separate real faith from gullibility. You have to realize that the writers of the epistles of the New Testament did not have everything figured out. Paul said (in a muddled way) people do not need anything more than faith to get saved (Gal 2:16)—that is, faith in a pagan ritual causing God to forgive sin. To Paul, faith was just a fix-all slogan replacing the need for overcoming sin. But in fact, faith is the culmination of all other moral characteristics and cannot exist without morality. How can the end point of morality be the starting point? Christ applied faith to many diverse situations demonstrating that it is an inherent element of all that people do. Examples include healing the sick (Mark 5:34), casting out demons (Mat 17:20), walking on water (Mat 14:31), moving mountains (Mat 21:22), and providence (Luke 12:28). Of course, it was always deficient in sinners, which Christ was trying to tell them. If sinners are such gods, why are they so incapable? From the definition of faith in Hebrews and Christ's examples, we see that faith involves dependence. But dependence could be corrupt. It's dependence with knowledge that creates faith. Without knowledge, it's gullibility, which is commonly called blind faith. Therefore, faith could be defined as knowledgeable dependence. Gullibility is ignorant dependence. Knowledge and morality are interdependent creating a chicken and egg phenomenon. Morality creates a value and need for knowledge, since constructivity depends upon knowledge. Sin creates nihilism as a hate for knowledge, because truth exposes the sin. When adding up all of the concepts which go into faith, it demonstrates that faith is a product of morality. Morality has to exist before faith can exist. How then can faith replace all other responsibilities in fundamentalist theology? Fundamentalists assume that sin cannot be overcome, but the sinner is said to be justified through faith in a pagan ritual called atonement. The starting point is supposed to be faith. Relying upon faith without overcoming sin is starting at the end point. The only reason why faith is given the role of a magical fix in Paul's theology is because it was so mysterious that it could be exploited in creating a substitute theology for the difficult path of overcoming sin. The logic is that no one can really overcome sin; so instead faith does it all. That's like saying General Motors cannot really make car parts, so instead they create automobiles. The end result cannot be a substitute for the components that go into it. Christ did not say faith saves without works, as Paul claimed (Eph 2:8,9). Christ said, "The Son of Man will come with his father's glory accompanied by his angels. When he does, he will repay each man according to his conduct" (Mat 16:27). Conduct and works are the same thing. Works matter, because conduct matters. Conduct is relevant, when each man is repayed according to his conduct. He also said, "I solemnly assure you, if a man is true to my word he shall never see death (John 8:51). Not seing death means getting saved. To get saved, people have to be true to Christ's words. He taught people how to be moral. And he said, "I tell you, unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the Kingdom of God (Mat 5:20 ). It means people do not get saved without being moral. An example of what people are supposed to do is the parable of the good Samaritan. It goes as follows: (Luke 10:30-37) "There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jerico who fell prey to robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and then went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road; he saw him but continued on. Likewise there was a Levite who came the same way; he saw him and went on. But a Samaritan who was journeying along came on him and was moved to pity at the sight. He approached him and dressed his wounds, pouring in oil and wine. He then hoisted him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, where he cared for him. The next day he took out two silver pieces and gave them to the innkeeper with the request: 'look after him, and if there is any further expense I will repay you on my way back.' "Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the man who fell in with the robbers?" The answer came,"The one who treated him with compassion." Jesus said to him, "Then go and do the same." Christ gave a command to do something. This parable was given in response to the question of what needs to be done to "inherit everlasting life," which means to get saved (Luke 10:25). On judgement day, the saved are separated from the unsaved on the basis of the works that they did, as stated in Mathew 25:31-46. "Then he will separate them into two groups, as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The sheep he will place on his right hand, the goats on his left. The King will say to those on his right: 'Come You have my father's blessing! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me, in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the just will ask him: 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you drink? When did we welcome you away from home or clothe you in your nakedness? When did we visit you when you were ill or in prison?' The king will answer them: 'I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me." "Then he will say to those on his left: 'Out of my sight, you condemned, into that everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was away from home and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing. I was ill and in prison and you did not come to comfort me.' Then they in turn will ask: 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or away from home or naked or ill or in prison and not attend you in your needs?' He will answer them: 'I assure you, as often as you neglected to do it to one of these least ones, you neglected to do it to me.' These will go off to eternal punishment and the just to eternal life." This description of judgement day clearly states that whether anyone gets saved depends upon the works that they did in human life. To Chapter 6. |