Replies

"I would prefer you accuse me of being incongruous, rather than the less accurate “dichotomous” label. That rankles me a bit- since I have shown you Scriptural HARMONY between St. Paul and St. James scriptural gifts to us - and NO LESS than with the guidance of the Holy Spirit- "

No, in what I referred to you set justification by faith as being opposed to pleasing God by love. You took a statement of hyperbole which does not describe justiifyiong faith that "worketh by love" that the article referred to, and and set it in opposition to the what they article taught, asserting "does not seem to fit very well at all into your description." Rather, what you perceived did not fit very well at all into its description.

"and the best you can do with your Faith Alone ideal is to validate its contradiction- by attributing definition to Paul for that which he DID NOT write and at the same time dismissIn or revising what St. James DID In fact say about your Sola...You can’t Square that between these two New Testament authors- and make it fit no matter how hard you try.... I am beginning to see through the scriptural rabbit holes you are trained in and enjoy so much- and I think I am starting to see a situation where for you.... and this might sound weird.... where you find having “Faith”, in “your own Faith” to be of a critical importance.... "

What incongruity of ignorance is this? Apparently (as is the norm for students of RC propaganda) you hold to the fallacy that sola fide means a faith that is alone justifies rather than it being the faith which effects works being that which purifies the heart in the washing of regeneration.

As even Luther himself formally taught:

faith is a living and an essential thing, which makes a new creature of man, changes his spirit... Faith cannot help doing good works constantly... if faith be true, it will break forth and bear fruit... where there is no faith there also can be no good works; and conversely, that there is no faith.. where there are no good works. Therefore faith and good works should be so closely joined together that the essence of the entire Christian life consists in both. if obedience and God's commandments do not dominate you, then the work is not right, but damnable, surely the devil's own doings, although it were even so great a work as to raise the dead... if you continue in pride and lewdness, in greed and anger, and yet talk much of faith, St. Paul will come and say, 1 Cor. 4:20, look here my dear Sir, "the kingdom of God is not in word but in power." It requires life and action, and is not brought about by mere talk. Works are necessary for salvation, but they do not cause salvation... faith casts itself on God, and breaks forth and becomes certain through its works... faith must be exercised, worked and polished; be purified by fire... it is impossible for him who believes in Christ, as a just Savior, not to love and to do good. If, however, he does not do good nor love, it is sure that faith is not present... where the works are absent, there is also no Christ... References and more by God's grace. http://peacebyjesus.net/Reformation_faith_works.html

Consider the SS Puritans who often had a tendency to make the way to the cross too narrow, perhaps in reaction against the Antinomian controversy, as described in an account (http://www.the-highway.com/Early_American_Bauckham.html) of Puritans during the early American period:

“They had, like most preachers of the Gospel, a certain difficulty in determining what we might call the ‘conversion level’, the level of difficulty above which the preacher may be said to be erecting barriers to the Gospel and below which he may be said to be encouraging men to enter too easily into a mere delusion of salvation. Contemporary critics, however, agree that the New England pastors set the level high. Nathaniel Ward, who was step-son to Richard Rogers and a distinguished Puritan preacher himself, is recorded as responding to Thomas Hooker’s sermons on preparation for receiving Christ in conversion with, ‘Mr. Hooker, you make as good Christians before men are in Christ as ever they are after’, and wishing, ‘Would I were but as good a Christian now as you make men while they are preparing for Christ.’”

And that maybe it can even become paramount... I could be wrong, but Do you think it possible for someone?- to have a zealous Faith IN their own Faith?

Certainly but non-sequitur. But Catholicism fosters faith in one's own merit and that of Herself for salvation, including by such reactionary misleading statements as

"nothing further is wanting to the justified [baptized and faithful], to prevent their being accounted to have, by those very works which have been done in God, fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life, and to have truly merited eternal life." (Trent, Chapter XVI; The Sixth Session Decree on justification, 1547) Likewise Canon 32 teaches that if anyone says that the one justified by the good works that he performs by the grace of God does not truly merit eternal life, and in case he dies in grace, the attainment of eternal life itself, let him be anathema.

There is a contextual sense in which works justify, meaning they justify one as being a believer as it did Abraham, having fruit that accompanies salvation (Rm 8:14; Heb. 6:9,10) and thus fulfilling the affirmation given thru imputed righteousness. (James 2:23; Gn. 15:6; Rm. 4:1ff) And God rewards the faith of believers as expressed in works by the Spirit, (Heb. 10:35) though man the only things man can - and must - claim any credit for is his disobedience, but as regards what obtains justification then it is effectual faith, not any moral merit

Got tied up… but I’ll ramble on…

But Catholicism fosters faith in one's own merit and that of Herself for salvation,

No..no...no.... You are misrepresenting the doctrine.. This is where you are missing it.... there is NO “ones own merit” unto Justification- that is taught by the Church- never has been. And in the same vein where in the “bible alone” kerfuffle you ignore the Apostles and St. Paul’s teaching through tradition and oral history-obvious no NT existed in Conversion - you also dismiss the fact the EARLY Church fought AGAINST the very same heresy of good works Salvation of Pelagius and the error of his thinking. Pelagianism was and IS a heresy...
Non-sequitur’s aside—you are needing false premises to validate your belief as that faith in faith becomes primacy….

Likewise Canon 32 teaches that if anyone says that the one justified by the good works that he performs by the grace of God does not truly merit eternal life, and in case he dies in grace, the attainment of eternal life itself, let him be anathema.

No, no - you are not interpreting 32 properly… as it clearly begins:

CANON XXXII.-If any one saith, that the good works of one that is justified are in such manner the gifts of God,

This – the second to LAST Canon on Justification… is simply referencing someone who has been already justified – and doing good works in the manner of gifts OF God….
It.Does.Not.Say. as you wrote- “One justified by Good Works”. That would again contradict everything in Trent.

Most important – it would contradict The VERY FIRST Canon on Justification of the Church Council of trent responding to thr reformers..… the First usually being the MOST important::

CANON I.-If any one saith, that man may be justified before God by his own works, whether done through the teaching of human nature, or that of the law, without the grace of God through Jesus Christ; let him be anathema.

Here are some reference points as well from the catechism of the Church.

2007 With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator.

2008 The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit.

2009 Filial adoption, in making us partakers by grace in the divine nature, can bestow true merit on us as a result of God's gratuitous justice. This is our right by grace, the full right of love, making us "co-heirs" with Christ and worthy of obtaining "the promised inheritance of eternal life." The merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness. "Grace has gone before us; now we are given what is due.... Our merits are God's gifts."

2010 Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God's wisdom. These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer. Prayer attends to the grace we need for meritorious actions.

NOW - that does not mean people may incorrectly assume that for themselves – they can “do good” for their eternal reward…. There are those for sure… many feel that all that is nece. and we see it even today in the mindset of our politicians, who think they do “good” enough work to even allow them to support abortion- proudly- No that is NOT Church teaching.. they think they are saying “Lord, Lord”… not even close…
Heck- the word “CHRISTIAN” has been watered down today in our subverted culture to mean exactly that--- a good person, who does good things. No, no, no. subversion through and through. Certainly in Matt 25 we will have to give an accounting of what we did with God’s Grace… and many will be surprised…

So in a flipped sort of way …- yes in fact there are a majority of Catholics – who are what you would call “Faith Alone” justified as they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb through Baptism – even confirmed with the Holy Spirit- and that their intellectual belief as Christ – Lord and Savior is intact – but that they really need not “do” anything beyond that. That Good works born of Love are NOT necessary for their Salvation as yet they believe…. And that 1 hr of Mass every Sunday is too much to ask… woe to them… They think that “GOAT” is something only to do about Tom Brady…. But not them….

And yet still, they did not “earn” their Baptism- how could they ? It was through God’s grace they began their slate toward salvation, “to standeth or falleth”.
As stated in Trent- it is a process – not a one time, lifetime pass-

….you hold to the fallacy that sola fide means a faith that is alone justifies rather than it being the faith which effects works being that which purifies the heart in the washing of regeneration.

Yes guilty as charged… You may not hold that “fallacy” but I’ve run into the non-Catholic who certainly do…. And again “SOLA” means Only, Alone…. Faith alone…. The minute you say “ faith which effects works” you begin to move away from the Sola position as I see it. As you cited- works were equally affected by the Work of the Devil as well. I think early rebel Luther did believe as well though- although he thought he was cagey enough to dance around what he knew was the immovable, as you cite from him- with Paul’s words nagging him… “Faith without Love is nothing:

Works are necessary for salvation, but they do not cause salvation... (Luther)
Now I don’t know when in his transformation Luther taught this- I would think he distanced himself from this Catholic thinkin near the end… but this IS exactly what the Church teaches…. GOOD Works are necessary- and it is the grace of God working through us from the beginning of our Justification. If you think of it as a life-long continual process faith and works cannot “work” alone to achieve the purpose of Justification.. Good Works then are NOT not “signs” of our Faith- or something that “proves” our Faith for reward… which is what I encounter often… I do not think this is a universally held belief in the non-Catholic world… so I reject your understanding of my position as total fallacy…

So it brings me back to the point of Love which was my very original point. Love cannot be absent from the Salvific process- and that is our biggest stumbling block. The ego pushes away the idea that it is God who works THROUGH us - IN LOVE, and not of our own doing. We can do nothing without God- every atom of our being is given us by God. Love therefor as Luther wants it- cannot be a symptom or tool on our sanctifying journey- it IS the journey… and we err if we think we can isolate and have faith without it. But once we get there… we can do great things - that's where the Saints get to. And we are all called to be saints.. So.. in response to that God Given Grace, we are to LOVE GOD - and LOVE our neighbor- as ourselves continuously… its the whole deal- not a byproduct...
As St. Augustine wrote then:

Thus every commandment harks back to love. … Love, in this context, of course includes both the love of God and the love of our neighbor and, indeed, “on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets”—and, we may add, the gospel and the apostles.

Its everything. Not one Christian comment should be absent giving deference to Love. Yeah its sappy- I know…but it’s the theme of the Book…

I think were a lot closer in agreement than you will allow yourself to think. But we can at least agree on C.S.Lewis (love him or hate him) analogy…. That Faith and Works are like a pair of scissors- both blades are necessary for the scissors to work properly.
“Alone” neither blade can do very little on its own…