Grace Changes Everything

I was reading the Total Politics interview with Archbishop Cramer and his thoughts on the interplay between religion and politics. If you frequent my blog then you will not be surprised that I found this topic interesting having a strong faith myself and a long standing interest in politics then the considerations of how they are linked, especially as it isn't just a philosphical discussion but one that impacts me every day. If my religion clearly dictated certain policies, and I believed my religion to be true, then surely that would mean I would be obliged to agree with that political path. conversely If some new laws come into effect that affect religious groups or practices then these may directly or indirectly affect me.

Each political party has proponents who argue that their party is most compatible with Christian belief and practice and in the run up to the election I predicted, and saw occur, that some people would come out and claim Jesus as their own. Cramer on his Blog argues for an understanding of the roots of conservativism from its Christian roots and how they should impact it now. Part of me really admires this, the reference to the original beliefs, of all parties, is something that is good and should be done. In addition to this the promotion of Christian views within politics and how they should affect us is also something I believe is a good cause. To say that something which Jesus obviously claims will affect our entire mindset and yet then decided that it shouldn't affect our thoughts on politics seams quite strange to me.

So this is where we get to the actually point of this post and where the title comes from, why I disagree with enforcing Christian morals upon people, even if I personally believe they are good and worth promoting. Grace.

It is the most amazing theological concept and truly separates Christianity from all other religions, it should prevent a judgemental faith and insure an inclusive and welcoming community for all, even if people never choose to follow Jesus. However like so many things it is easily corrupted and turned into a reason to judge and too feel superior to others.

Put simply Grace means that your salvation, your acceptance and reconciliation with God, has nothing to do with your actions or even thoughts, it is all dependent on God. It should lead to the realisation that actually as a Christian you are just as flawed and imperfect as any non Christian, it should lead to the realisation that even if I don't go out beating people up the anger I feel towards people means that I too can not judge them.  If this was true then forcing someone to conform to Christian morals no longer makes sense form a Christian perspective, after all they will deep down dislike them and not believe in them which according to Jesus is just as bad. On top of that the Christian perspective on life is that the fleeting moments that exist in this life aren't actually that important, rather the eternity in the new heaven and new earth are what really matter, so why bother