Thursday, November 21, 2019

How our Theologies affect our Attitudes about Trump, His Stable Genius of Umatched Wisdom

Some theologies say "once saved, always saved," which people then tend to think means that they've got a ticket to heaven, and it doesn't matter what they think or do after receiving their ticker--("I'm saved by the faith I displayed on May 29, 1967, the day I accepted Christ or was baptized or was baptized in the Holy Spirit or my heart was strangely warmed.") One might say these theologies make a hard distinction between justification and sanctification, and emphasize justification.

Other theologies say "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." These people hold that salvation is a process, not a point, so that what they think and what they do have continuing bearing on their relationship with Christ. “Sin is not a distance, it is a turning of our gaze in the wrong direction," wrote Simone Weil, in "Waiting for God." These theologies say that if a person "gazes in the wrong direction," it does something to their relationship with Christ. The old KJV called it "whoring." One might say these theologies don't make a hard distinction between justification and sanctification, and tend to emphasize sanctification.

Thus, IMO, the first theologies make it easier for Christians to support His Stable Genius of Unmatched wisdom, while the latter theologies make it more difficult.

Note that evangelicals overwhelmingly prefer the first kind of theology, while pietists and Catholics prefer the latter. 
Your metaphysics determine your ethics, and your theology determines your politics. 

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