Ping!
Thanks for posting.
Some of my own thoughts:
When I am standing at that judgment throne, will the God of the universe know me or not? Jesus said that it didn’t depend on what I preach/teach/prophecy or what miracles I have performed — it depends whether He knows me — not whether I know Him. Humbling to the core.
On that judgment day, perhaps instead of blowing our own horns about our own spiritual accomplishments in front of God, perhaps if we threw ourselves on his mercy at even that last moment, He would have mercy on us, as He did with the thief on the cross.
Very interesting article! I quite enjoyed it!
“What do you mean?” “I mean that all God wants us to do—all the time—is to ask Him what He wants us to do, and then do it. That covers everything, doesn’t it? Instead of asking ourselves, ask God!” Surprised, my father replied, “You know, you’re right!””
Of course this is what Christians believe. We just deny the Pelagian and semi-Pelagian view that man is working for his own salvation. We pray, like Augustine, saying “Grant what Thou commandest, and command what Thou dost desire.” In other words, we believe the scripture that it is God who “works in us both to will and to do” of His good pleasure.
As a result of this, we deny the vanity of man which thinks that he can add one jot or tittle to the work of God on our souls. We affirm, with Paul, that salvation comes not by him that runneth or him that willeth, but of God who sheweth mercy; that salvation is the free gift of God on an undeserving sinner, and that our righteousness is not earned, but is imputed by faith in Jesus Christ. That’s all. There’s nothing nefarious about this. Evidently the author wasn’t content with the idea that he is unable to earn his way to heaven.
SAGE WISDOM
EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE,
I LEARNED FROM NOAH’S ARK
1. Don’t miss the boat.
2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.
4. Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
5. Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. For safety’s sake, travel in pairs.
8. Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you’re stressed, float awhile.
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
11. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting. . .
How many times are you going to post this kind of stuff? Is it time for the “Let’s You and Him Fight” game again???
Peter Kreeft is a great thinker and writer. I have quite a few books by him, and tend to re-read some of them, as they are so full and rich with illuminating content. They are so packed that I always seem to pick up points and nuances I missed in the first reading (sort of like when I read one of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's books, or one of Frank Sheed's books).
Here are a couple of Dr. Kreeft's books that I read first, and I would highly recommend them for everyone, young or old, new to the faith or not:
May the Holy Spirit who guided Peter Kreeft away from his erroneous thinking and to the light of genuine Truth, guide all others who are seriously seeking the Truth to that same genuine, precious light.
Have a great evening, and thanks again NYer for this article.
*****But no one reads the Bible as an extraterrestrial or an angel; our church community provides the colored glasses through which we read, and the framework, or horizon, or limits within which we understand. *****
Ah yes, no one comes to the Bible without any influence from another.
Thanks for posting. I want to finish reading in the morning.
The words in the bible aren't visible?
When I read “Mere Christianity” I too felt that it expressed the faith of my family when I was growing up. And my parents (esp. my dad) were devout and knowledgeable Roman Catholics.
And Lewis was neither a Catholic nor a Calvinist so I guess his book lives up to its title pretty well.
But the one of his that is truly a must read is “The Abolition of Man”, and it’s very short. Most people could probably read it in an afternoon.
This makes no sense. Gratitude leads to signing up for obligations, in virtually every aspect of life. It is God who forms and cultivates Gratitude in our hearts, not "the self." To dismiss Gratitude as a mere passing and unreliable fancy is entirely unwarranted.
From my observation, Evangelical Protestant church members significantly outstrip their Catholic counterparts in willingness to volunteer their time and money for the cause of Christ (notwithstanding that many Catholics do act on their faith).
Doctor Kreeft should visit Europe more often. The Catholic churches are quiet places and it isn't because of the massive reverence. If you close your eyes and listen, you can hear the slow gurgling of Secularism's waters swallowing the pathetic remains. Granted, the (liberal) Protestants fare no better on this score, but they don't go about calling themselves "majestic and unsinkable."
Almost everything that is happening in European Christianity is in those bare and spare evangelical (to use the American term) congregations, yet they somehow prosper without supposedly indispensible sacred images and objects. When we rely on the "majesty" of the visible Church, we are not focused on the incomparable Majesty of God.