Most Holy Trinity Parish

Tucson, Arizona

8/05/2005

"Freedom Versus Fear"

"Freedom Versus Fear"

You can never bring about the Kingdom of God by means of fear (see Romans 14:16-17). It is not the Kingdom of God if it is brought about by fear or coercion. God allows and respects the freedom of creatures, even to the point of rebellion and blasphemy! The realm of freedom is a prerequisite of virtue, just as it is of sin. It is God’s great risk.

The freedom to fall is also the freedom to rise. It’s precisely in our failure, our experience of poverty, weakness, emptiness that we come to experience God’s restoration and healing love. You can say, Oh, that’s dangerous, it sounds like you’re justifying sin. But I’m just trying to be the ultimate realist. Salvation is sin overturned and outdone, as God expands and educates our true freedom. Free will and freedom of conscience are at the heart of the doctrine of grace and at the center of Christian morality.

from The Price of Peoplehood

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