Ryan Reeder
Rel 353
Keith Lane
March 12, 2001
Essay One
What is justification? What is perfection? The founders of Lutheranism and Methodism, Martin Luther and John Wesley, came to an understanding in expounding their ideas of justification and perfection. Simply put, according to Luther, justification is how men are saved. Wesley's idea of perfection is that a man grows to love God with all his heart, mind and soul. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I see some truths in these ideas, but also feel that they could be taken further.
According to Luther, justification is the forgiveness of sins. This forgiveness comes through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who took upon himself the sins of the world. Because of Christ's atonement, all mankind may be justified (saved) through accepting him and his grace. By becoming free from sin, man is no longer subject to the law. He becomes a new creature in Jesus Christ. By grace alone, then, man is saved, or justified.
Wesley says that perfection comes through loving God. This is the first and great commandment. Through loving God, we can lose all desire to sin. This doesn't mean that we won't still make mistakes or err. But by becoming perfect in Christ and through his love, we are saved.
Latter-day scriptures teach of justification and perfection. Many of the revealed truths correspond with Luther's and Wesley's basic statements. Salvation, however, is contingent upon obedience to the principles and ordinances of the gospel. On the occasion of the organization of the Church, Joseph Smith wrote a revelation which addressed some of the basic ideas that religious leaders before him had thought about. "All men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God" (Doctrine and Covenants 20:29). However, the next verse explains, as Luther taught, that this salvation doesn't come through our own merits, but from the grace of Jesus Christ through his atonement, "And we know that justification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true" (D&C 20:30). The following verse teaches, as Wesley proposed, that sanctification, or perfection in his understanding, while also dependent upon the grace of Christ, involves the love of God that Wesley talked about. "And we know also, that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true, to all those who love and serve God with all their mights, minds, and strength" (D&C 20:31). It's interesting to note that the next verse addresses one of the central differences between Calvinism and Arminianism-"But there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God." Thus, in a few verses, on the occasion of the restoration of his Church, the Lord confirms or denies the religious ideas of the reformers, Luther, Wesley, and Calvin.
Two of the last three verses of the Book of Mormon are also highly pertinent to this discussion. As Moroni concluded his record, he addressed the issues and process of justification, sanctification, salvation and perfection. He confirms what has already been said-that it comes through Christ's grace, and that a love of God is involved. He wrote: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him [becoming perfect is through Christ's grace, as Wesley taught], and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength [loving God is an essential part of this process, as Wesley showed], then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ [however, unlike what Wesley said, loving God isn't synonymous with perfection, rather it is a prerequisite to receiving Christ's grace, which is where perfection comes]; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God [again, addressing the issue of whether a man can fall from grace].
"And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God [here we get into Luther's idea again, that the gift of justification is given through Christ and is outside of our own power to bestow upon ourselves] through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins [here is Luther's teaching that grace is made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We also see that it involves a remission of sins], that ye become holy, without spot [Ultimate perfection] (Moroni 10:32-33).
Here then, we see what Luther and Wesley taught about justification and perfection, and how it conforms with modern scripture in The Book of Mormon and The Doctrine and Covenants. The importance of these doctrines is immense, as they pertain to the eternal destiny of mankind. The plan of salvation, God's work and glory, and the mission of Jesus Christ, are intimately tied to these principles. We see that the Lord inspired Luther and Wesley with some of the principles of these vital doctrines.
Essay Two
In "Bishop Spong's Call for a New Reformation," he posits that the scientific revolution has resulted in a need to reevaluate and reform traditional Christianity. Citing how individual scientists have put forth new theories, he claims that many of the basic tenets of Christianity must be eliminated. Some of the scientists he mentions include Copernicus, who originated a heliocentric solar system; Newton, who formulated various laws of physics and motion; Darwin, who put forth the theory of evolution; and Freud, who became the father of psychoanalysis. Finally, Spong cites twelve ideas of Christianity that the work of these scientists eliminates, as follows: 1. Traditional Theism, the way God is traditionally defined, is dead. 2. Without this theistic structure, Christology becomes bankrupt. 3. The Fall is absurd in light of evolution. 4. The Virgin birth is impossible to explain through natural processes. 5. The miracles, or invocations of supernatural powers, are also impossible by the laws of physics. 6. The atonement on the cross is meaningless. 7. Christ's resurrection was not literal. 8. The ascension was based on a three-tiered idea of the universe, and cannot be explained with modern understanding of the universe. 9. No scripture can be used as a final authority for anything for all time. 10. Prayer is pointless. 11. Guilt, as it is used to influence human behavior, is immoral. 12. Religious teachings should be based on political correctness, showing tolerance and acceptance of all peoples and behaviors.
The ideas of Bishop Spong leave no room for any further need for Christianity. There really doesn't seem to be much difference between Spong and atheism. Spong may simply be trying to incorporate principles of science into religion, but he leaves no room for religion and faith. He denies God, Christ, the atonement, the resurrection, the Fall, miracles, the efficacy of prayer, the power of the word, sin, and by implication, everything else in traditional Christianity. He mentions no devil or Hades, for example-but these cannot exist in his world order. Prophets, revelation, the idea that God ever spoke to man are out the window. With the ideas he puts forth, everything that he might claim to believe about Christianity is logically unsubstantiated. According to Spong's logic, the earth was created as science has posited it. By random chance, it developed an environment conducive to life. After billions of years, the first of man's ancestors evolved. These men gradually gained intelligence and reasoning skills, and learned to write a few millenia ago. In order to explain their surroundings, they concocted myths of various forms, throughout the world, involving various supernatural processes. Through historical processes, the cult of Yahweh among the Jews became one dominant myth. This myth system called for a Redeemer. A man named Jesus claimed to be this redeemer, preached acceptance and toleration for a while, and was eventually executed. His followers propagated this belief system throughout the known world. Eventually, mankind began the scientific revolution. As we realize the place of this planet in the universe, natural laws of physics and biology, and explain why we think the way we do, we eliminate the need for this belief system, and should replace it with its core, which is to tolerate and accept all people. There is no purpose to life other than the advancement of the race. There is no life after death.
Spong's ideas set off strong warning bells for me. Through the light of The Book of Mormon and modern revelation, warnings are given that ideas such as these are inspired of the devil, and mean the downfall of man. Moroni warns of a day when it shall be said that miracles are done away. Nephi and Lehi explain the logical conclusions for a denial of sin and law. The Book of Mormon confirms and witnesses to the reality of Jesus Christ and to the truthfulness of the Bible. Truth does not contradict itself, thus, either Spong's ideas of religion or science or both, are faulty. Science is not built on a firm foundation. It develops from the testing of hypotheses. If hypotheses hold out, you can create a theory or law to explain the world around us. It's sort of a modern, methodological mythology in its creation. Modern Christendom grew out of the apostasy, and while it still contains much of truth, many essential parts of the gospel have been removed, causing discrepancies and other errors to come forward, and become as accepted fact as the basic truths of the gospel. When Spong sees Christianity, he sees it as a system of errors which do not reconcile with modern ideas of science, and in a confrontation between the two must be ceded to scientific thinking. When I look at the gospel, I see a system of truth. I see science as another, different way of finding truth. They are not incompatible. Spong takes his view of the gospel and replaces it with modern, popular ideas of universal tolerance. I don't see the need.
Back to Papers