Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on May 02, 2011 | Comments (0)


Christianity is not Politically Correct

Christianity may not be considered as being PC (politically correct) and Christians may not know it. At a conference on comparative religions, theologians from all faiths discussed the uniqueness of their faith. They questioned the uniqueness of Christianity's doctrine of the Incarnation and the Resurrection. Other religions have had different versions of gods born in human form and accounts of their return from death. They asked C. S. Lewis what was the uniqueness of Christianity? Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace."

There is a difference between God’s grace Love and legalistic love. Legalistic love is conditional, exclusive and transcendent. God’s grace Love is unconditional, inclusive and within us all. The notion of God's Love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached goes against humans’ tendency to depend on their own works. Other religions teach what we must do to earn the approval of God’s love. The Buddhists have an eight-fold path, Hindus have the doctrine of karma, Hebrews have the law given by Moses and Muslims have the code of the Koran. This love is conditional depending on what is done and exclusive depending on who does it.

The New Testament is different from other religions. It offers the choice between grace and legalism. Scripture tells us, “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”. John 1:17. Grace tells us we must get into the grace of God’s Love to do God’s will. Jesus gave us the New Commandment to Love others as He loved us. Being in God’s Love is how He loved us. We must get in His Love to do what God’s Love calls us to do. Our problem is we are not always in God’s Love. There are things we must do, but they are not what to do. They are based on how to do it. We have two faculties. The rational head sees the physical unseen. The conscious heart discerns the spiritual unseen. When we consciously open our heart we can focus on the grace Presence within.

Jesus constantly talked about a world filled with God’s grace. Matthew 6:25-34: 25 “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 Your heavenly Father knows you need them. 33 Seek first his (grace Love), and all these things will be given to you as well. It may not be politically correct to say the uniqueness of Christianity is grace. It may not be obvious to many either inside or outside of the Faith. But it is true.


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