{"id":1516,"date":"2011-09-14T20:32:51","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T03:32:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=1516"},"modified":"2011-09-20T16:00:31","modified_gmt":"2011-09-20T23:00:31","slug":"peter-marty-distorts-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/?p=1516","title":{"rendered":"Peter Marty distorts faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Marty on \u201cThe art of trusting\u201d:[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Middle Ages, fides<\/em> was the key word for faith. Believers understood the life of faith mostly as an intellectual assent to certain propositions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn place of fides<\/em>, Luther helped popularize<\/strong> the word fiducia<\/em>, meaning personal trust<\/strong>…. Deep Christians trust their whole life<\/strong> to God<\/strong>\u2026.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By making faith into an \u201cart,\u201d something we must do, Marty turns faith into a work.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Rather, Luther helped popularize<\/strong> the following:<\/p>\n

1. Luther helped popularize<\/strong> that faith is purely<\/strong> passive.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout any merit or work of our own, we must first be justified by Christian righteousness, which has nothing to do with the righteousness of the Law or with earthly and active righteousness. But this righteousness is heavenly and passive<\/strong>. We do not have it of ourselves; we receive it<\/strong> from heaven. We do not perform it<\/strong>; we accept it by faith, through which we ascend beyond all laws and works.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2. Luther helped popularize<\/strong> that faith is election<\/strong>. Faith is God\u2019s doing. The Lord elects<\/strong> us:[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that I<\/strong> cannot<\/strong> by my own understanding or effort believe<\/strong> in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him.\u00a0 But the Holy Spirit has called me <\/strong>through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified<\/strong> and kept me in true faith<\/strong>.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Luther helped popularize <\/em><\/strong>that faith is a gift<\/strong> given in baptism. Thus salvation comes from outside of us, in spite of us. To say that God calls us does not mean that God invites us and we must respond in faith. Rather, God does it all: He elects us, sanctifies us, and keeps us in true faith.<\/p>\n

Luther: \u201cThus we see what a great and excellent thing Baptism is, which snatches<\/strong> us from the jaws of the devil and makes God our own\u2026.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Baptism does not give a spark of the Spirit to which the believer adds his personal trust. Baptism does not give merely \u201cthe pilot light\u201d of the Holy Spirit which later can be fanned into the flames of being \u201cfilled with the Spirit.\u201d[7]<\/a> The Christian life is not a matter of becoming skilled in the art of trusting God.<\/p>\n

Nor can the Holy Spirit be quantified<\/strong> or increased so that some are shallow and others are \u201cdeep Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Luther helped popularize<\/strong> that the infant<\/strong> is given faith in baptism. Baptism gives eternal life and the Holy Spirit.[8]<\/a> Luther: \u201cEven if infants did not believe \u2013 which, however, is not the case, as we have proved \u2013 still their Baptism would be valid\u2026.\u201d[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Peter Marty, by omitting these four items and how they work together \u2013 as if fiducia <\/em>were the point! \u2013 gives the false impression that Luther\u2019s Reformation was about something we do: <\/strong>\u201ctrust their whole life to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

No. To be faithful to Luther \u2013<\/p>\n

God gives<\/strong> faith to the infant<\/strong> in baptism<\/strong>, not<\/strong> by the infant\u2019s \u201cunderstanding or effort,\u201d <\/strong>because the Holy Spirit \u201ccalls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

Thank God my salvation does not depend on the art of trusting, on my feelings, my mental state (whether I have Alzheimer\u2019s, Schizophrenia, or Down\u2019s Syndrome), my doubts and questions, the faith of the church, or me (in any way, shape, or form) \u2013 lost and helpless as I am.<\/p>\n


[1]<\/a> Peter Marty, \u201cThe Art of Trusting<\/a>,\u201d The Lutheran<\/em>, August 2011, p. 3; emphasis added.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Phrases from Marty\u2019s article that make faith a work: \u201cTrust works like this unworried state of confidence;\u201d \u201cDeep Christians trust their whole life to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Luther\u2019s Works<\/em> 26:8; emphasis added.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Cp. John 6:44: \u201cNo one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him;\u201d John 6:65: \u201c\u2026no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father;\u201d John 15:16: \u201cYou did not choose me, but I chose you.\u201d<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Small Catechism, Explanation to the Third Article of the Creed; emphasis added.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Large Catechism, Infant Baptism, #83, Tappert, p. 446; emphasis added.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ephesians 5:18 is mistranslated from the Greek to English in the RSV and NRSV. \u201cFilled with the Spirit\u201d here is explained by the context of how the Ephesians should conduct themselves in worship \u2013 addressing one another with songs, singing, and giving thanks. See Problems with ALPHA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Small Catechism, Baptism, Questions 2 and 3.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Large Catechism, Infant Baptism, #55, Tappert, p. 443.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Small Catechism, Explanation to the Third Article of the Creed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Marty on \u201cThe art of trusting\u201d:[1] \u201cIn the Middle Ages, fides was the key word for faith. Believers understood the life of faith mostly as an intellectual assent to certain propositions. \u201cIn place of fides, Luther helped popularize the word fiducia, meaning personal trust…. Deep Christians trust their whole life to God\u2026.\u201d By making […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1516"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1518,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516\/revisions\/1518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crossalone.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}