GRACE the Miracle of God changing you is useful for those who wish to argue, "I let God make me good so I am superior to you"

Grace is a supernatural gift from God that helps us believe what he taught and revealed, helps us to trust in him totally and to do all things we do for the love of him. The Church says such things are beyond our natural powers. Our job is to accept his grace and co-operate with it. Many people don’t which is why you have some people holier than others.

The doctrine of grace implies that we need help from God. It opposes the Pelagian notion that man is naturally good and can find his own way to God. Grace is an intrinsically judgemental doctrine. The people guess that we are addicted to evil and need help and they guess it for religious reasons. They wickedly start with religious theory instead of starting with people and making the kindest assumption possible. Grace also implies that bad people or those who are not very good are to blame - they have not asked for grace and that was all they had to do.

It is worse to accuse people of becoming bad just because they didn't ask for grace enough than to reason that they became what they are through a process of time. It is savage.

People argue that if you can get to God on your own then why consider God important? They say if you find God instead of God fidning you are making a God of yourself. It is all about you and the choices you have made. God becomes not a goal as such but the crown and the prize for your efforts and your success.

Grace implies we are naturally opposed to true good, should not take credit for our goodness.

The doctrine of grace encourages people to overlook their natural good points.

Self esteem implies we don’t need grace, grace denies our right to take credit and be thanked. Believers give all the credit to God for their good works.

The doctrine of grace is based on the notion that we are forgiven sinners and despite that forgiveness the rights we have are Christ’s not our own. Jesus had to make up for our sins so his good works are credited to our account.

Catholics today say that God’s forgiveness and offer of grace is unconditional. But they add that it is conditional in the sense that we have to claim it to make it real and to let it do something for us. So the only conditions are the ones made by us.

Strangely, despite saying that God's offer of grace and forgiveness is unconditional, the Church endorses the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 20. Matthew 20 states that God's gifts are his own and he has the right to treat lifelong saints the same as last minute converts so he can pay those who worked all day the same as those who did only an hours work. He gives his gifts because they are his and not because he loves the receiver. Treating the one hour workers and the full day workers the same is not unconditional love. In fact it is insulting the good workers.

Grace involves the notion of God putting thoughts in your head. He does that all the time anyway so how do we know which thoughts are right or wrong? Christianity replies that divine revelation in the Bible sorts that out. But this implies that God is reliable when he writes the Bible and not when he works in us. Clearly writing Bibles is far more important than changing hearts. This is bibliodolatry - treating divine revelation as an idol.
 



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