"All of the traditions have their gift to give to the larger phenomenon of Christendom. But for the mainline Protestant tradition, intellectual culture is a huge part of it," is a statement I have no difficulty agreeing with. I identify myself as Lutheran, but I allow for error within this denomination as well as a particular strength it can offer. The fact that if falls within the larger umbrella of "Christendom" is essential. I do not, for example find other religions as satisfying to the necessary tenets of faith.
I mean that human sanctity is not the starting point. How could it be? By what authority can human life be possibly derived? It can only be found in Christ. In a God that loved us so deeply he gave His one and only son for our redemption. There isn't another religion- no other analogue- that so profoundly demands this sacrificial attitude as its only possibility of existing.
We are only Christian, only redeemed, only aware of this possibility, through a thoroughly unconditional sacrifice and revelation of that sacrifice.
What discomforts me about Marilynne Robinson's words are that she does not identify this as her starting point. For a person of faith, I can imagine no other beginning.
No comments:
Post a Comment