A writer in the NY Times bemoans that some Senator's actions
are a result of his being an anti-Pelagian. Now I knew Pelagianism Pelagius was
a friend of mine, and he is not a bad guy…so to say.
Let us lay out what the three folks said, in brief. Paul
said man was saved by grace alone. In extremis, if God gave you grace, and you
never knew it, then no matter what you were saved. Pelagius, an Irish monk of
sorts (the author of the Times piece says British but by then the Brits were
falling backwards and Pelagius was from the Irish school with Columbanus),
wander into Rome at the end of the 4th century and states that man
can be save by good acts as well. Now this upsets Ambrose, a bishop, and in
turn Augustine his pupil, who then attacks Pelagius using the principle of
grace from Paul. Still following this folks?
The Times writer notes:
In multiple speeches, an interview and a widely shared
article for Christianity Today, Mr. Hawley has explained that the blame for
society’s ills traces all the way back to Pelagius — a British-born monk who
lived 17 centuries ago. In a 2019 commencement address at The King’s College, a
small conservative Christian college devoted to “a biblical worldview,” Mr.
Hawley denounced Pelagius for teaching that human beings have the freedom to
choose how they live their lives and that grace comes to those who do good
things, as opposed to those who believe the right doctrines. The most
eloquent summary of the Pelagian vision, Mr. Hawley went on to say, can be
found in the Supreme Court’s 1992 opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Mr.
Hawley specifically cited Justice Anthony Kennedy’s words reprovingly: “At the
heart of liberty,” Kennedy wrote, “is the right to define one’s own concept of
existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” The
fifth century church fathers were right to condemn this terrifying variety of
heresy, Mr. Hawley argued: “Replacing it and repairing the harm it has caused
is one of the challenges of our day.”
Actually it was salvation from good deeds not grace. But I
guess the writer never read Pelagius. The condemnation was Augustine and the
Pauline school and the Western Church. The Pauline School demands complete
submission assuming grace whereas the Pelagian school demands on lifetime of
good acts. So go figure.
I find this analysis less than compelling but of interest to see a revival of the Pelagian controversy.
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