#Faith Without Works

[momentsbeforemass]

Faith or works?

“You can’t earn your way into heaven.”

On my way into the Catholic Church (I’m a convert), this was one of the objections my Protestant friends raised.

It’s grounded in the classic (misguided) idea that for Catholics your relationship with God is all about doing things (works of mercy, certain prayers, etc.) with little or no actual personal connection or faith.

It’s usually followed up by an assertion that salvation is a gift from God (that part is true).

The point being that (as they saw it) the supposed hyperfocus on “works” in the Catholic Church was unnecessary at best. At worst, it was a distraction or even an obstacle to faith.

Were my friends right? That there’s a conflict between faith and works, and in that conflict the Catholic Church has it wrong?

Actually, the Catholic Church isn’t focused on works to the detriment of faith. More importantly, there is no conflict between faith and works.

Sadly, this is one of the classic ways that Christians mess things up. And end up turning Christianity into something it was never meant to be. Here’s what I mean:

With the best of intentions, people try to make the Faith simpler and easier – by taking one positive good (like faith) and putting it above all other positive goods. With the idea that if they do this one thing well, then everything else will work itself out.

It’s a very understandable impulse, because the Faith is complex and nuanced (just like life, just like people). But in the long run, hyper-focusing on one positive good almost always ends up putting it in conflict with other positive goods (like works).

BTW, this same sort of thinking is the source of the (very not Catholic) manufactured conflict between faith and reason.

Back to faith and works. Against the “faith alone” perspective, St. James pushes back hard in today’s first reading when he says, “faith without works is dead.”

If that’s true, then what is the relationship of faith and works?

Pope Leo the Great put it simply, “while faith provides the basis for the works, the strength of faith comes out only in works.”

Faith alone is not enough.

Not because you or I have to earn God’s love (hint – we can’t earn it, it’s freely given by God). But because works are the unavoidable result of a living faith. Here’s what I mean.

My mother owns some woods that have a small creek running through them. One day, I decided to walk up the creek to find its source. I eventually found the place where it comes up out of the ground.

I put my foot over the spot, and for a moment the water stopped flowing. With no new water coming in, I could see the bottom of the creek start to emerge as the water drained away. And then it started to fill back up.

I looked back and saw water welling up around my foot and starting to flow again. The living spring that fed the creek was more than a match for my feeble attempt to disrupt it.

That is the relationship between faith and works that Leo the Great is talking about.

That is, if you have a living faith, works will well up out of you. Like me trying to block the flow of the spring, you will not be able to prevent yourself from living out your faith through corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Just as the water in the creek points to the living spring, our works point to the living faith in us.

It’s not faith or works. It’s faith and works.

May God bless you richly with both.

Today’s Readings

[thomastanker02]

We cannot truly call ourselves Christians if the world has not completely changed the way we live our lives.

Pure, undefiled religion before God is to follow his word, and reflect his character back to this world of sin and death.

James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans, and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself untrained from the world”.

In order to truly be followed of Christ, we must live like him.

We must go to those who are suffering, provide for those who have no where else to turn, and be there for those who have fallen between the cracks of society.

Jesus went to these people, peached to them, ate with them, was joyous with them, and even wept with them. As Christians, we just do the same.

A Christian life is not about lifting yourself up, but lifting up those around you, and we cannot do so without being wholehearted followers of Christ and doers of his word.

How can we claim to love Jesus, abs then not do what he says?

What child says that they love their parents, and then immediately goes and disobeys them?

James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”.

If we believe in Christ, we must act like it. If we love those around us, we must show it. If we claim to be doing the will of the Father, then we must be doing so.

How can we shine brightly to this world if our wick is not lit?

God bless, Jesus loves you ✝️❤️

[albertfinch]

Scripture Of The Day - November 14, 2022

1 Corinthians 3:9 - "For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building."

Some believers think faith is a one-way street. They believe in God and wait on God to do the work. They think belief is the only thing they need.

That person does nothing but sit still and procrastinates, waiting for God. "Well, I'll just pray about it." they use waiting on God as an excuse for their own lack of engagement. "If God means for me to have it, I'll have it," they reason.

In order to advance in God's purpose for your life, you have to be engaged in the process. God definitely plays a role, but so must you.  James 2:26 - "As the lifeless body is dead, so faith without actions is dead."

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

[superbdonutpoetry]

Preconceived Notions

Unbelievers and the religious have all these preconceived notions about what Christianity is and what it isn’t. They tie one’s behaviour in with being a true Christian, always quoting the phrase,”walk the talk”, but being a true believer is not dependent on one’s deportment, but rather what one believes to be the saving gospel of Jesus Christ in this present dispensation. Period. They are…

[chadbrodrick]

The text emphasizes that genuine faith is demonstrated through actions, referencing James' teaching that faith without works is dead. While salvation is by grace through faith alone, true faith must manifest in good deeds. Examples of Abraham and Rahab illustrate this principle, reinforcing the need for faith to be active and transformative.

[skillandsavvy]

Steady Your Faith With Action

The relationship between faith and works has been a topic of curiosity in religious and non-religious conversations, alike. While faith is the foundation of our relationship with God, the role of works in demonstrating and living out that faith is even more important. The scriptures provide clear guidance on this matter, emphasizing that genuine faith is accompanied by action. With this in mind, …

[slowtumbling]

Heiwa Haiku 718

Right words mean nothing. God-talk without God-acts isOutrageous nonsense.James 2:14-17 More at haikuhowareyou.com.

[notclevr]

James Talarico, democratic house rep

[iamentertainmentclub-blog]

What I've Been Working On...

Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). I have been working on my character—on how I can be a better person, and how I can strengthen my relationship with the Lord. This journey requires dedication, meditation, mantras, and prayers. It demands discipline and focus, waking up every day to ask my Creator, “What do You require of me?” Then, waiting patiently for a reply, and being diligent to…

[clumsypuppy]

who is your favorite AA character? 👁️👁️

ziska… I hope capcom brings her back someday

[thomastanker02]

The book of James tells us that faith, without works, is dead (James 2:20).

What exactly does this mean? Doesn’t Hebrews say that without faith, it’s impossible to please God? Aren’t we saved through our faith in Jesus?

Now hold your horses! Let’s take this one step at a time.

The book of Hebrews says that “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

This means that Christians must believe that God exists, and that we exist to serve him. If we don’t, then it does not matter how many good works we do here in this Earth. If we do not have faith in Jesus, and give our hearts to him, our fates are sealed in the depths of hell.

In order to please God, we must have faith in him, his character, his goodness, and in his love for us. One cannot willingly serve something that they don’t believe in.

So, why does James say that our faith, without works, is dead?

Think of it like this.

A beautiful, fruitful olive tree cannot grow without the seed first being planted in the ground. Without the seed, there would be no tree. It does not matter how many times you cultivate, water, and take care of the soil. Without a seed, a tree will not grow.

This is an image of how God sees our faith in him.

Our faith in God is the seed that revive when we put our trust and our very lives into the hands of Jesus.

This seed will then begin to grow as start on our new way of life, and on our walk with Christ. God is the gardener of our hearts. It’s on our walk with him that he takes out the weeds of bitterness and self righteousness, and the tree of our faith begins to grow in its place. This tree will soon bear fruits of peace, love, kindness, and empathy for others.

It’s when these things begin to grow inside of us that something begins to happen.

We can no longer sit on the side lines while injustice rages on in the world. We can no longer sit in sin and feel ok with it. We can no longer ignore our homeless neighbors without a heavy conviction taking hold of us.

This is only the beginning of the new Christian life that God has called us to receive. The faith we have out in Jesus has blossomed within our soul, and it calls us to action.

Faith transforms us from the inside out. It renews our insides, so our outsides can reflect the glory of the Lord. It’s through this transformation that we can reflect the character of the living God, and we become shining lights to this dark world.

Faith is the springboard that propels us to live like Christ. If we must follow him, we must also live like him. What sort of apprentice doesn’t follow the techniques taught by his master? What kind of student does not follow the lessons of his teacher?

If we claim to love God, but don’t live like him, then we should be utterly scorned.

God refuses to be represented by those who don’t reflect his character. The God of truth will not be represented by liars, adulterers, and thieves.

We are called to follow the Lord in Spirt and in truth. This calls for an inward transformation that only God can bring about within us. Once he has begun this process, our lives will begin to reflect it. God’s power is so mighty that it cannot be hidden. If we have an encounter with the Lord, we will show it, just like how Moses face was shining when he came down from Mt. Sinai (Exodus 34:35).

However, the fruits cannot exist without the tree. The fruits does not stay on the gardener’s land, the tree does.

If we do not have this seed of faith within us, we do not have a permanent place on God’s land. If we stop bearing fruit, then we will eventually be cut down.

This is why bearing fruit is so important, as it shows and reflects God’s character to a world that does not know him. But God is not looking for just fruits, but a tree that produces them.

If we don’t have faith, we can’t be useful to God. If we don’t have faith, we can’t rely on God, and in his healing power to put us back to together.

Jesus says that if we do not abide in him, we will produce no good fruits, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).

We must revive the seed from the garden we in order to grow. If we don’t, then we are useless to the Father, and will be gathered up and burned.

So rely on God. Put your faith in him and watch how he transforms your life from a weedy mess, to plentiful farmland.

God bless, Jesus loves you ✝️❤️

[taddymason]

DRS3P2 LEAKS

Congratulations, Jay Walker, you are not only one of the most mischaracterized characters in the fandom, but also by your own family!

[utilitycaster]

"hope as a lived practice of getting involved and doing the right thing" honestly best cooldown ever

[superbdonutpoetry]

Hebrews 11:6

Many – as in the vast majority of people out there in the world are under the impression God controls the world and micro-manages peoples’ lives. He doesn’t. God isn’t the gopher many so-called Christians make Him out to be. In fact, the devil who the Bible calls “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), controls governments, unbelievers, nominal (denominational) Christianity, cults,…

[glitter-stained]

I do think it bears repeating, fanfic writers can write whatever the fuck they want. It's not their responsibility to introduce readers to the canon because they are not writing canon they are writing fanwork!

If someone reads a fic about a coffeeshop and they assume the characters are coffeeshop part-timers, and it causes them issues in fan spaces because the characters in the source material are assassins, that is 100% on the reader for assuming that the hurt/comfort coffee-shop no cape AU was a fair representation of the source material. It's not supposed to be. Fanfic writers have no obligation to be canon-compliant.

If someone reads a fic that is not canon compliant, that is not the writer trying to convince you of their interpretation of canon. You should not assume that every fic is a character study with the same identical relationship dynamics as in canon because most fanworks are not an extension of canon nor are they obligated to be. And yes, even if the trope in question is popular fanon, even if other people will see it as gospel and not engage with source material and yk what, even if the trope itself, in the context of the actual source material, does a disservice to the character's arc. Because fanfics are not just fandom work, though it's very important that they are, they are also stories in and of themselves, works that have value proper to itself and writers do not owe you canon compliancy.

I've written a fic with many fanon elements, including pit rage, and you know what, I like this fic. I wrote it because I wanted to write about a depressive episode with psychotic characteristics and I thought Jason -and elements from fanon Jason- would be interesting to explore that idea with, and I wrote about pit rage because I wanted to write about catharsis, and the pessimism that comes with growing up in fear of the idea of the cycle of violence and how internalized psychophobia (and classism but that wasn't explicit) feeds into that fear, and how the addition of an element like the Pit, which literally makes feeling emotions dangerous, in the context of a severe depressive episode, would fuck into that interplay, and screw Jason's priorities enough to trigger the switch from passive to active suicidality. There are other examples of fanon tropes I found interesting to explore in that fic, but I'm focusing on the pit rage thing in this example because it shows up a lot in this discourse.

I have read the damn comics. I mostly see late-onset Pit Madness as patchwork to salvage late post-crisis Jason, which I'm not often interested in as I don't often acknowledge those stories (especially with all the retcons and maybe retcons established since then), and I think using it in the context of Under the Hood is a disservice to his character. But just because that trope can be a disservice to an analysis of his character in canon, doesn't mean it can't be good for in the story I am telling right now, which holds value in and of itself, because it has helped me process feelings and others have told me it has helped them and I do not owe anybody canon compliancy.

So when some little fucker commented a long ass paragraph on my fic about how it was one of the worst fics he'd ever read because everyone was OOC and condescendingly explained to me that my fic was way too nice to the batfam and none of them would do that- yk, I was angry. Because that fic was 5 chapters long and they commented on chapter 5. They had all the opportunity to stop, or at least not comment on their hate-read (which is a practice I've never understood). And most importantly, they assumed shit about my knowledge of canon based on their inability to view my work as anything but an extension of the canon they consume. They very clearly wanted something out of my jason-centric jason & batfam members fic that the tags should have told them they would not find there and instead of, I don't know, reading fucking Task Force Z, they decided that it was on me. But their inability to view my writing in its context, recognize my work for its own worth and stop assuming things about people they don't know for five fucking minutes was actually the problem. And it's, frankly, insulting as fuck.

I very rarely get hate comments, and that one was a long time ago -actually now that I think about it, it was almost an entire year ago. Readers are usually very nice to me and honestly, after how stressed I was of getting hate for the horse movie fic, I can't emphasize enough how much I love you guys and how lovely you've been.

However, I see takes on this website that shove the responsibility of "fanon" and people not engaging with the source material onto fanfic writers all the time and that annoys me so much. Canon is plural, self-contradictory, often OOC, has a multitude of problematic takes and honestly in the context of the batfam specifically, it's very depressing: I struggle to imagine them ever actually getting to the happy ending as a family together. So if Dick and Jason's relationship wrt Bruce makes me sad and I want to write or read fics in which Dick stands up to Bruce and protects his little brother, or I need the catharsis of a story about pit rage, or I'm mad at dc for glazing tim at the expense of other robins or at tim for being rude to a character i like, and i retaliate by putting tim into jason fanboy jail, that's just fine actually. That's a non-issue.

This essay has become way longer than I thought considering how simple the idea is, so here's the TLDR:

#1: Don't like, don't read.

#2: Fic writers do not owe you canon compliancy.

#3: Fic writers are not responsible for whatever fanon belief you're mad at.

#4: Stop assuming shit about fic writers based on what they write, you do not actually know these people.

#5: Fanfic is not just an extension of canon those are stories of their own merit.

#6: You have to respect fic writers even when you don't like their fic.

Or, to be even more concise:

Just don't be a dick.

[anachrosims]

Y'ALL.

Just got a preliminary interview for Project & Design Estimator I (job quotes, AutoCAD, Salesforce) within the company I work for.

I've been on the job hunt and the job market is b r u t a l right now. It feels so good to have someone go, "I am very impressed by your history and skills."

It's just a prelim interview, it's next Tuesday. Please please please send me your good luck/confidence/charisma, God knows I need all three.

You have no idea how much a shift into this type of work would mean for me and my future prospects, especially as a college dropout. I don't even know what the pay will be, but I assume it's even marginally more than what they're paying me now.