Literary Discussions

Furthermore, how does one reconcile Luther's theology with the phenomenon of a Lutheran minister like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who writes "The Cost of Discipleship" and uses a term like "Cheap Grace."  

Why would a Lutheran minister seem to stress an act of works (martyrdom) if we are "saved by faith through grace without works or law."  And regarding Lura's initial quote that "conscience is Pope" well, Paul in Romans acknowledged that when the nations do the works of the law then they are a law unto themselves.  

Hans Kung puts all of this in a nutshell on page one of "On Being Christian" when he asks "if we live a good life then why is Christ necessary?"  

Jesus says "you are my friends IF you do as I say." That sounds like works to me. Jesus speaks of those "who persevere until the end." Paul speaks of spiritual life as a race. 

When I was a teenage I found a pack of matches that was distrubed by Billy Graham where the matchbook cover was actually a FORM to fill out and mail in saying that you accept Jesus as your savior and this alone would make you "born again" and saved.

Joel Osteen at the end of each show invites the viewers to repeat a prayer with him and afterwards says "we believe that if you have repeated this prayer then you are born again and saved."   I do not believe that it was meant to be so easy as this.  

Gandhi was mentioned earlier in this thread. When Gandhi studied in England as a young man, he made a diligent study of Christianity with a pastor. Gandhi specifically explains in his autobiographical "Experiments in Truth" why he rejected Christianity as his personal religion. Gandhi observed the British Christians sin in the most casual fashion and when he questioned them they explained "oh, we are mystically washed in our baptism and constantly cleansed by the blood of Christ's crucifixion as substitutional atonement." Gandhi explains that he did not desire simply to escape THE CONSEQUENCES of his wrong-doing but if at all possible he wanted to extinguish wrong-doing at its very source. I realize this is Pelagian but I found Pelagius arguments more convincing than Augustine's, and yet of course the West was persuaded by Augustine.