they would pollute the sacred faith with their selfishness and cripple its
effectiveness.”
He said, “Doesn’t this follow our dogma?” and looked at the people
sitting at the sides, some of whom were clergy. They nodded. [ 3 ] “But is
spontaneous goodwill,” he continued, “anything other than the morality
into which everyone is initiated from early childhood? This morality is
intrinsically earthly, but it becomes spiritual when faith is the inspiration
for it. Who else but God can tell from people’s moral life whether they
have faith or not—given that everyone lives morally? God alone, who
infuses faith into us and seals it there, is able to recognize and tell the dif-
ference. Therefore I submit that goodwill is morality inspired by faith.
Morality that comes from our faith is intrinsically effective for our salva-
tion. Every other type of morality does not bring us salvation, because we
practice it in order to earn merit. Therefore people who mix goodwill and
faith all find themselves without lamp oil—that is, people who connect
goodwill and faith inwardly rather than attaching them together out-
wardly. Mixing and connecting goodwill and faith would be like a ser-
vant standing by the back seat of a carriage in order to get in beside a
church leader. It would be like bringing a doorkeeper into the dining
room to sit at the table next to a powerful, influential person.”
[ 4 ] Then someone from the first row on the right stood up and said,
“My opinion is that goodwill is religious devotion combined with compas-
sion.I support this opinion as follows: Nothing can appease God more
than religious devotion from a humble heart. Religious devotion con-
stantly asks God to give us faith and goodwill. The Lord says, ‘Ask and it
will be given to you’ (Matthew 7 : 7 ). Therefore what we are given has both
faith and goodwill in it.
“I say that goodwill is religious devotion combined with compassion,
because all true religious devotion feels compassion. Religious devotion
moves our heart to the point of groaning; and what is that groaning but
compassion? The feeling does indeed pass after we are done praying, but it
nevertheless returns when we pray again. And when it returns there is a
religious quality to it, showing that we have goodwill.
“Now, anything that advances our salvation our priests attribute solely
to faith and not to goodwill. What is left for us then except to ask for
both faith and goodwill with religious devotion and fervent prayer?
“When I read the Word, all I could see was that faith and goodwill
are the two means of being saved; but when I consulted the ministers in
the church, I heard that faith is the only means and goodwill is nothing.
singke
(singke)
#1