Law and Grace and Calvin

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“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates … thou shalt open thy hand wide unto him … Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” Deut 15:7-11 KJV (KIV is the only to insert the word “wide” … obligation to charity has no limits.)
“it is better to give to several that are not objects of charity, than to send away empty one that is” Jonathan Edwards
“As God bestoweth his benefits upon us, let us beaware that we acknowledge it towards him, by doing good to our neighbors whom he offers unto us, so as we neither exempt ouselves from their want, nor seclude them from our abundance, but gently make them partakers with us, as folk that are linked together in an inseparable bond.” John Calvin’s sermon on Deut 15

These thoughts come from Marilynne Robinson’s essay Open Wide Thy Hand explaining that liberalism (meaning grace, mercy and generosity) as seen in America has its roots in Moses, Calvin and the Puritans, all who are typically misrepresented as gloomy and legalistic in popular and academic circles.

Comments

Matt said…
Yes, most of the progressives have had very noble intentions. Even the ones rooted in more radical enlightenment thought rather than Christian thought. The problem was never the intention, but the result. I believe the most fundamental progressive/liberal fault is the tendency to assign far too much weight to intentions (and too much optimism that results will match intentions).
June 13, 2013 at 10:57 AM
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