Theological Understandings of Mediated Grace - 2903 Words

Theological Understandings of Mediated Grace When approaching the concept of grace, many people often assume that it is â€Å"other† - a mysterious force that exists beyond human understanding. They believe that grace is a divine gift that cannot be humanly grasped because of its supernatural nature. Others believe that mediated grace - God as experienced through the senses in a purely human manner - is a vital way to bridge the ontological gap (an extreme difference in being that separates the earthly and the divine). Christian theologians from the beginning of the faith have debated the qualities attributed to this phenomenon because of its sheer importance; when dealing with vastly different elements, such as humans and God, the†¦show more content†¦While most theologians agree upon the existence and importance of mediated grace, they often disagree upon the exact nature of its role. What this conflict yields though, is not a sense of discord and disunity, but a greater appreciation of the immense horizo n of grace as perceived by humanity. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the clash between Martin Luther and the tenets of the Roman Catholic Church (represented here by their Decree on Justification that was presented at the Council of Trent). Luther saw grace as the way to salvation, while the Catholic Church intimated that grace itself was salvation. In his treatise on Christian Liberty, he said â€Å"very great care must always be exercised so that no man in a false confidence imagines that by such works he will be justified or acquire merit or be saved; for this is the work of faith alone.†[8] He referred to this kind of grace as â€Å"alien righteousness,† which he claimed was â€Å"instilled in us without our works by grace alone.†[9] Unlike the Thomistic precepts that the Council of Trent was working from (Aquinas’s theory of deification), Luther did not believe that grace affected an ontological change in the person. On the other si de, the Trent decree maintained that â€Å"One truly merits salvation through good works in grace.†[10] Luther feltShow MoreRelatedTypes Of Christian Ethics By H.richard Niebuhr1677 Words   |  7 Pagesof H. Richard Niebuhr. Teachers use it as a clear typology of varieties of Christian faith more than as a constructive argument for a particular approach to Christian ethics. 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Second, thanks to my professors and advisors at Drew University, Karen Brown, Jonathan Reader, and Roger Shinn, whose advice and insights have helped to shape the focus and hone the arguments of this book. Third, the