Quote:
Originally Posted by Dumbledore
I am curious...do Catholics view Justification as by faith alone or are works still mixed into the picture?
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Ant..., er I mean, DUMBLEDORE,
Being a recent convert to the Catholic church I have found the Catholic teachings to be an interesting and chaotic phenomenon.
There are official teachings that the church is unwilling to discard. (Can't admit to ever making an error can we?) However, what gets preached from the pulpit can be a different thing entirely. The official statements issued at the Council of Trent against the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone have never officially been refuted, but we Catholics ignore a lot of the official teachings.
I have heard many sermons on justification by grace through faith alone in the Catholic church. This really resonates with my Lutheran upbringing. However where the Lutherans really try to distance justification from good works, the Catholics always tie the two together.
Lutherans: We are justified by grace through faith - works has nothing to do with it.
Catholic: We are justified by grace through faith - therefore works must follow.
That's how I have seen it work itself out in my church.
Tu Amigo, Pablo