Dear Readers
A couple of weeks ago, I posted the first of my intended postings on Grace, then once more got sidetracked. In that post on April 2, I excerpted from Philip Yancey's book Grace Notes (first published in the mid-90s, I think), and in yesterday's "reading" from this book, he had more to say about grace, and I've decided to repost that selection here for my second post on grace. (By the way, the conference he mentions attending was held in New Harmony, Indiana, and I also attended with 100 or so other writers, would-be writers, publishers, and others who wanted to use any gift that they had been given for writings to be used for other Christians. It was a "Writer's Conference" thought up by well-known author Walt Wangerin, who hosted the conference and who at that time lived in nearby Evansville, Indiana. Good conference!)
From the April 10 reading in Grace Notes (today's reading from the book Finding God in Unexpected Places (254-57).
"Not long ago I attended a conference held on the restored grounds of a century-old utopian community in Indiana. As I ran my fingers over the fine workmanship of the buildings and read the plaques describing the daily lives of the true believers, I marveled at the energy that drove this movement, one of dozens spawned by American idealism and religious fervor.
"It occurred to me, though, that in recent times the perfectionist urge has virtually disappeared. Nowadays we tilt in the opposite direction, toward a kind of anti-utopianism. Many churches have formed twelve-step groups that by definition center on members' inability to be perfect.
"I confess my preference for this modern trend. I observe far more human fallibility than perfectibility, and I have cast my lot with a gospel based on grace. Most utopian communities--like the one I was standing in--survive only as museums. Perfectionism keeps running aground on the barrier reef of original sin.
"How can we in the church uphold the ideal of holiness, the proper striving for Life on the Highest Plane, while avoiding the consequences of disillusionment, pettiness, abuse of authority, spiritual pride, and exclusivism?
"Or, to ask the opposite question, how can we moderns who emphasize community (never judgment), vulnerability, and introspection keep from aiming too low? An individualistic society, America is in constant danger of freedom abuse; its churches are in danger of grace abuse.
"With these questions in mind, I read the New Testament epistles. I took some comfort in the fact that the church in the first century was already on a seesaw, tilting now toward perfectionistic legalism and now toward raucous antinomianism. James wrote to one extreme; Paul often addressed the other. Each letter had a strong correcting emphasis, but all stressed the dual message of the gospel. The church, in other words, should be both: a people who strive toward holiness and yet relax in grace, a people who condemn themselves but not others, a people who depend on God and not themselves.
"The seesaw is still lurching back and forth. Some churches tilt one way, some another. My reading of the epistles left me yearning for a both/and church. I have seen too many either/or congregations."
A couple of weeks ago, I posted the first of my intended postings on Grace, then once more got sidetracked. In that post on April 2, I excerpted from Philip Yancey's book Grace Notes (first published in the mid-90s, I think), and in yesterday's "reading" from this book, he had more to say about grace, and I've decided to repost that selection here for my second post on grace. (By the way, the conference he mentions attending was held in New Harmony, Indiana, and I also attended with 100 or so other writers, would-be writers, publishers, and others who wanted to use any gift that they had been given for writings to be used for other Christians. It was a "Writer's Conference" thought up by well-known author Walt Wangerin, who hosted the conference and who at that time lived in nearby Evansville, Indiana. Good conference!)
From the April 10 reading in Grace Notes (today's reading from the book Finding God in Unexpected Places (254-57).
"Not long ago I attended a conference held on the restored grounds of a century-old utopian community in Indiana. As I ran my fingers over the fine workmanship of the buildings and read the plaques describing the daily lives of the true believers, I marveled at the energy that drove this movement, one of dozens spawned by American idealism and religious fervor.
"It occurred to me, though, that in recent times the perfectionist urge has virtually disappeared. Nowadays we tilt in the opposite direction, toward a kind of anti-utopianism. Many churches have formed twelve-step groups that by definition center on members' inability to be perfect.
"I confess my preference for this modern trend. I observe far more human fallibility than perfectibility, and I have cast my lot with a gospel based on grace. Most utopian communities--like the one I was standing in--survive only as museums. Perfectionism keeps running aground on the barrier reef of original sin.
"How can we in the church uphold the ideal of holiness, the proper striving for Life on the Highest Plane, while avoiding the consequences of disillusionment, pettiness, abuse of authority, spiritual pride, and exclusivism?
"Or, to ask the opposite question, how can we moderns who emphasize community (never judgment), vulnerability, and introspection keep from aiming too low? An individualistic society, America is in constant danger of freedom abuse; its churches are in danger of grace abuse.
"With these questions in mind, I read the New Testament epistles. I took some comfort in the fact that the church in the first century was already on a seesaw, tilting now toward perfectionistic legalism and now toward raucous antinomianism. James wrote to one extreme; Paul often addressed the other. Each letter had a strong correcting emphasis, but all stressed the dual message of the gospel. The church, in other words, should be both: a people who strive toward holiness and yet relax in grace, a people who condemn themselves but not others, a people who depend on God and not themselves.
"The seesaw is still lurching back and forth. Some churches tilt one way, some another. My reading of the epistles left me yearning for a both/and church. I have seen too many either/or congregations."
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