When Grace is not so Amazing...

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When Grace is not so Amazing

Posted on January 30, 2014 by


Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas

Well Bono’s words about Karma and Grace have proved to be a bit popular.  In almost 3 years R&R has had 100,000 visits.  In just 4 days that more than doubled.
But what is it about Bono’s words that so connected with people? What has led 90,000+ people to share it on facebook?

The power of grace
Some of it relates to the interest in what celebrities say.  Some of it is due the arresting combination of raw language and passionate conviction. But a key part is the subject matter itself: because the grace is at the heart of Christianity and Bono’s words captured something visceral and urgent about its relevance and power.

Ethical problems
And yet…doesn’t grace present ethical problems?  Isn’t Karma a lot more fair: you get what you deserve. Doesn’t all this talk of grace give people a free licence to do whatever they want?  If people are simply forgiven by unearned grace, how do we make sense of the Bible’s consistent message about loving your neighbour? And what about Jesus’ teaching about the radical generosity, justice and love in the kingdom of God?

Too often protestant theology has turned grace into a theory or formula which is detached from any ethical demands on how we live.  Grace is presented almost as a ‘get out of jail free’ card to evade God’s wrath and secure your place in heaven. In some churches it is even lined up against concerns for community action or social justice.  Such works are tainted as a ‘social gospel’ where people are seeking to earn their salvation.

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