My Two Denarii (too many are happy with the understanding they have)

Two Roman denarii from the time of Christ.

There are only three things that separate those on either side of the Reformation (from my observations):

1.

Salvation is a daily response to Jesus.

vs.

Salvation is a once-and-done decision.

2.

Dead Christians hear our prayers and will pass them along to Jesus.

vs.

Dead Christians have no interaction with this world.

3.

Statues, beads, etc are aids to worship.

vs.

Statues, beads, etc are leftover pagan influences.

#3 - statues and beads - is a matter of acclimation, I think. If  you're exposed enough to something in an inviting or conforming environment, that something becomes a reminder of the comfort. Hence Teddy Bears, locks of hair, photographs, etc. (The reverse is also true: if you're exposed to them in the context of ridicule or contempt, they will recall those feelings.)

#2 - dead Christians - is interesting because all Christians I know ask others to pray for them, and many talk to departed loved ones, so this divide is really more like #3, but formalizing it into a doctrine and the personalities of Mary and the saints is uncomfortable (but not insurmountable).

#1 - once saved, always saved - That's the biggie, IMHO. It's encompasses Luther and Calvin and GARB and many other Reformation-minded strands that recall and reinforce it annually. There are many biblical proof texts on either side, so I won't bother quoting them. Instead I'll remind us that regardless on which side of this we fall, we live and confess and mediate much the same way.

What about the rest? Eg papal infallibility vs. local church autonomy, purgatory vs. immediate presence with Jesus, etc.

I'll bet with time and and better understanding, those would be resolved or melt into the periphery and Jesus would emerge at the center.

Just my two denarii.

Too few want to take the time, and too many are happy with the understanding they have already.

[2014-10-28]

c0