Right Behavior Inherits Eternal Life

According to the traditional Calvinist view, that's exactly it. One can notice, if you look through some Medieval literature, a particular image showing up time after time. It's the idea of an "account book" in heaven, where you have your debits and credits recorded. If you come out on the plus side of the ledger, you're in.The Calvinists did away with the account book and reversed the formula. Instead of works earning one's entrance to heaven, the formula went as follows: first faith, then grace, then works. If you have genuine faith (and one had to keep investigating one's heart to see if it was genuine--it might be fake), then grace would descend upon you, and someone who has grace will naturally do good works. But faith comes first and is the deciding factor.At least that's the way I understand it.This message has been edited by robinrohan, 11-18-2005 07:14 AM

Are you suggesting that when God turns on the light, the Calvinist view is made clear?Between the two, Calvinism and Catholic, I prefer the Catholic myself. Do good deeds. But then I haven't perceived any click of a switch.This message has been edited by robinrohan, 11-18-2005 09:57 AM

I wasn't exactly referring to salvation. I was talking about what is transparently virtuous and what is not transparently virtuous.If you do a good deed, then that deed is good apart from any effect it has on your salvation.But having faith is not on the face of it transparently good or bad. If one defines it as believing a certain doctrine (there is a God, or Jesus is God, or Jesus is your Savior, or what have you), then believing such a doctrine, if the doctrine is true, helps no one but yourself. What's so great about that?This message has been edited by robinrohan, 11-22-2005 07:23 PMThis message has been edited by robinrohan, 11-22-2005 07:24 PM

If man's definition of good and bad does not correspond to God's in some sense, then the concept of "conscience" makes no sense. If we are morally blind, we cannot be blamed for our immorality. If faith is defined this way, then it consists of not resisting God's "supplies of belief." It doesn't really matter how you define it. Man still has to do something. Otherwise, damnation would make no sense. So no, God does not do everything.