There’s always been a division of ‘Grace,’ and ‘works,’ within the Christian community.
That’s a reason for many throughout Christian history doing one thing in their private life and doing a ‘good’ public deed. They believed/believe that the ‘good’ they do will outweigh the sinfulness of their nature.
It’s not just the Catholic Church, either. I was raised Catholic, so I was on the inside of that issue. ALL the religious institutions have folks within them that have believed/followed this false belief. Many, many of the large buildings, be they medical or religious or financial are built on the flawed premise of doing good deeds as a way to even out the sinful nature.
Indeed - so true!
It boils down to pride.