Marriage Faithfulness

Doesn't Have to be a Fantasy

Published on March 20, 2008 By KFC Kickin For Christ In Marital Issues

I've been thinking alot about marriages lately.

Maybe it's because of this latest infidelity involving our NY Governor. Where is the commitment level? Did you see the pain and shame on the Governor's wife's face? Can you imagine what's going through his children's minds?

Marriage, has been under attack these last so many years and I'm wondering what we can do about it. Families are hurting. Children are feeling abandoned and lost. Schools and workplaces are even affected. Who's to blame here? Society? Media? Circumstances? The evil adulterer who lured one spouse away from the other? Men and women not being faithful to their vows?

Faithfulness is a hard virtue to come by these days. Commitment seems to be a bad word. It doesn't help that the media seems to give permission to unfaithfulness or at the very least make excuses for it. You can see it everywhere.

Eight out of 10 Americans think adultery is wrong. Nine out of 10 believe that faithfulness is very important in a successful marriage. But recently the NY times said adultery is normal. They said this:

"It’s been done by many other creatures, tens of thousands of other species, by male and female representatives of every taxonomic twig on the great tree of life. Sexual promiscuity is rampant throughout nature, and true faithfulness a fond fantasy."

Really? Do you think that? Well I suppose if you want to compare us to animals, but I don't. I believe we were made in the image of God and his desire was for us to have one partner for life. He knew how destructive it would be otherwise. Look at all the hurt caused by those who have wandered away from his best for us. Look at the children's faces and the pain and toll divorce or adultery has had on us all.

It wasn't meant to be this way.

Comments (Page 5)

lulapilgrim

on Mar 25, 2008

KFC POSTS:

“Furthermore, I am not the only one, nor the first, to say that faith alone makes one righteous. There was Ambrose, Augustine and many others who said it before me.”

Now here comes the fun part in this discussion.

The Roman Catholic writer Joseph A. Fitzmyer points out that Luther was not the only one to translate Romans 3:28 with the word “alone.” At 3:28 Luther introduced the adv. “only” into his translation of Romans (1522), “alleyn durch den Glauben” (WAusg 7.38); cf. Aus der Bibel 1546, “alleine durch den Glauben” (WAusg, DB 7.39); also 7.3-27 (Pref. to the Epistle). See further his Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen, of 8 Sept. 1530 (WAusg 30.2 [1909], 627-49; “On Translating: An Open Letter” [LuthW 35.175-202]). Although “alleyn/alleine” finds no corresponding adverb in the Greek text, two of the points that Luther made in his defense of the added adverb were that it was demanded by the context and that sola was used in the theological tradition before him.

Robert Bellarmine listed eight earlier authors who used sola (Disputatio de controversiis: De justificatione 1.25 [Naples: G. Giuliano, 1856], 4.501-3):

Origen, Commentarius in Ep. ad Romanos, cap. 3 (PG 14.952). Hilary, Commentarius in Matthaeum 8:6 (PL 9.961). Basil, Hom. de humilitate 20.3 (PG 31.529C). Ambrosiaster, In Ep. ad Romanos 3.24 (CSEL 81.1.119): “sola fide justificati sunt dono Dei,” through faith alone they have been justified by a gift of God; 4.5 (CSEL 81.1.130). John Chrysostom, Hom. in Ep. ad Titum 3.3 (PG 62.679 [not in Greek text]). Cyril of Alexandria, In Joannis Evangelium 10.15.7 (PG 74.368 [but alludes to Jas 2:19]). Bernard, In Canticum serm. 22.8 (PL 183.881): “solam justificatur per fidem,” is justified by faith alone. Theophylact, Expositio in ep. ad Galatas 3.12-13 (PG 124.988). To these eight Lyonnet added two others (Quaestiones, 114-18): Theodoret, Affectionum curatio 7 (PG 93.100; ed. J. Raeder [Teubner], 189.20-24). Thomas Aquinas, Expositio in Ep. I ad Timotheum cap. 1, lect. 3 (Parma ed., 13.588): “Non est ergo in eis [moralibus et caeremonialibus legis] spes iustificationis, sed in sola fide, Rom. 3:28: Arbitramur justificari hominem per fidem, sine operibus legis” (Therefore the hope of justification is not found in them [the moral and ceremonial requirements of the law], but in faith alone, Rom 3:28: We consider a human being to be justified by faith, without the works of the law). Cf. In ep. ad Romanos 4.1 (Parma ed., 13.42a): “reputabitur fides eius, scilicet sola sine operibus exterioribus, ad iustitiam”; In ep. ad Galatas 2.4 (Parma ed., 13.397b): “solum ex fide Christi” [Opera 20.437, b41]). See further: Theodore of Mopsuestia, In ep. ad Galatas (ed. H. B. Swete), 1.31.15. Marius Victorinus (ep. Pauli ad Galatas (ed. A. Locher), ad 2.15-16: “Ipsa enim fides sola iustificationem dat-et sanctificationem” (For faith itself alone gives justification and sanctification); In ep. Pauli Ephesios (ed. A. Locher), ad 2.15: “Sed sola fides in Christum nobis salus est” (But only faith in Christ is salvation for us). Augustine, De fide et operibus, 22.40 (CSEL 41.84-85): “licet recte dici possit ad solam fidem pertinere dei mandata, si non mortua, sed viva illa intellegatur fides, quae per dilectionem operatur” (Although it can be said that God’s commandments pertain to faith alone, if it is not dead [faith], but rather understood as that live faith, which works through love”). Migne Latin Text: Venire quippe debet etiam illud in mentem, quod scriptum est, In hoc cognoscimus eum, si mandata ejus servemus. Qui dicit, Quia cognovi eum, et mandata ejus non servat, mendax est, et in hoc veritas non est (I Joan. II, 3, 4). Et ne quisquam existimet mandata ejus ad solam fidem pertinere: quanquam dicere hoc nullus est ausus, praesertim quia mandata dixit, quae ne multitudine cogitationem spargerent [Note: [Col. 0223] Sic Mss. Editi vero, cogitationes parerent.], In illis duobus tota Lex pendet et Prophetae (Matth. XXII, 40): licet recte dici possit ad solam fidem pertinere Dei mandata, si non mortua, sed viva illa intelligatur fides, quae per dilectionem operatur; tamen postea Joannes ipse aperuit quid diceret, cum ait: Hoc est mandatum ejus, ut credamus nomini Filii ejus Jesu Christi, et diligamns invicem (I Joan. III, 23) See De fide et operibus, Cap. XXII, §40, PL 40:223. Source: Joseph A. Fitzmyer Romans, A New Translation with introduction and Commentary, The Anchor Bible Series (New York: Doubleday, 1993) 360-361.

For starters, you'll be glad to know (NOT) that in doing my research to respond to this I learned of more vile, hateful things that Luther wrote about "the papists, the monks, nuns and priests. They are creatures of the devil and of the ANtichrist, who do not serve God at all but see the Kingdom of heaven and the service of God purely in the traditions of men." This is from Luther's Works, 23, 26). At Smalkalden in 1537, he prayed that God might fill all Protestants with hatred of the Pope. One of his last and most violent books, is directed "Against the Papacy at Rome, Founded by the Devil, Wittenberg, 1545. He calls Pope Paul III, the "Most Hellish Father", addressing him as "Your Hellishness" instead of "Your Holiness". There's lots more, but to keep SC from yawning himself to sleep, I'll stop digressing!

So, here Luther said something like but these Catholic guys said "faith alone" before me?

I checked these out and found references to most if not all of them.... I know positively that you'll understand when I say that we should always take things and read things referred to in Scripture in their proper context, context, context.

Charles Hodge maintained the Chruch Fathers used the phrase "man is justified by faith alone." Scottish Protestant James Buchanan is famous for saying that Augustine and others down to Bernard used it as well. Faber, (The Primitive Doctrine of Justification) and the ANglican Archbishop Usher (Answers to a Jesuit Challenge) say that the faith alone formula was used among Basil, Ambrose and Jerome. The latest reprint contains a foreward by evangelical J.I Packer, which states that these citations of Basil, AMbrose and Jerome, are isolated cases and at the least did not mean anything near what Luther contrived it to be. Buchanan fails to address the context in which faith alone is used by Basil, et al, all of which are attempting to make a sharp distinction between justification by faith and the Jewish ceremonial law, not between faith and works of moral obedience.

Also over the years, Buchanan's claims have been refuted by qualified Evangelicals like Alistar McGrath, Norman Geisler and Ralph MacKensie, not to mention a number of Catholics.

Of Augustine, Luther himself writes, "Hence, faith alone justifies when it takes hold of htis (Christ)....Here we are perfectly willing to have ourselves called "solafideists" by our opponents. Not finding the teachings of sola fides amongst St. Augustine's teachings, LUther concluded of him, "Augustine has sometimes erred and is not to be trusted. Although good and holy, he was yet lacking in the true faith, as well as the other fathers...But when the door was opened for me in Paul, so that I understood what justification by faith is, it was all over with Augustine." (Quote taken from Luther's Works, 54, 49.)

In 54, 10, Luther writes, "It was Augustine's view that the law...if the Holy Spirit assists, the works of the law do justify....I reply by saying, "NO".

In 54, 72, On his views of Jerome, Luther stated, "I know no doctor whom I hate so much, although I once loved him ardently and read him voraciously, Surely there's more learning in Aesop than in all of Jerome."

54, 33, Luther wrote, "I have no use for Chrysostom either, for he is only a gossip. Basil doesn't amount to anything, he was a monk after all, and I wouldn't give a penny for him.

Aquinas also mentioned "faith alone" once in his writings: "Therefore there is no hope of justification in these (the law), but in faith alone." and again no where near the same sense as Luther.

And yes, it's fact that the Catholic Church did not approve any Bible versions containing "allien" or "sola" in Romans 3:28. And the Council of Trent specifically condemned the teaching of justification by faith alone and stated, "And so no one should flatter himself bewcause of faith alone, thinking that by faith alone he is made an heir and will obtain the inheritance...." Session 6 chapter 11.

"But neither is this to be asserted, that they who are truly justified without any doubt whatever should decide for themselves that they are justified, and that no one is absolved from sins and is justified except him who believes with certainity that he is absolved and justified and that by this faith alone are absolution and justification effected." Chapter 9.

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