The Forgotten Doctrine of Virtue [Video]

The Forgotten Doctrine of Virtue:

Grace, Martin Luther, and the Divine Masterplan

by Don Kenobi

“What do you think of Martin Luther?” I asked the Oldman one day.

“What I think of Martin Luther?”
He nodded slowly, for what felt like a very long time, before he began.

“Martin Luther… he did what he had to do. The 95 theses and all that. My honest opinion is simple: every Christian ought to revert to the Catholic Bible, because Martin Luther had no authority, divine or otherwise, to remove books from the same Bible he used during his priestly formation.

To be clear, I do not share the subtle bile hidden in plain sight among some contemporary Catholic commentators. Perhaps it is because, as an African, I believe strongly that the schism which broke the Church into Catholics and Protestants was ordained by God for two reasons.

One: to check the excesses of the Catholic Church.
Two: to raise men of greater personal virtue, who would then raise others, who would challenge and eventually end the slave trade.

What am I saying?
That the schism was ordained by God so that a part of His body would, in due season, be outraged enough by the slave holocaust to work for its abolition. Because God is always on the side of suffering humanity.”

God and Suffering Humanity

“About suffering humanity: some forty years ago, listening to the BBC, a wise old man — his name long forgotten — was asked:

‘On whose side is God?’

He answered cheerfully:

‘God is always on the side of suffering humanity.’

This was during the long Palestinian–Israeli conflict. That answer became an article of faith for me. It cleared my eyes. It taught me that God does not care about religion. He is always on the side of suffering humanity.”

Saul of Tarsus and the Priority of Virtue

“Consider this: if God cared about religion the way people imagine, how do we explain Saul of Tarsus? A non-Christian. A man who actively supported the killing of Christians. Yet he became the most revered of the early disciples.

He never met Jesus in person. There is no explanation except the simplest one:
When dealing with men, God does not care about religion.”

“What does He care about? Let me guess two things.

One: that He created man in His own image.
Two: that while any man still breathes, he remains part of His divine masterplan.”

The Murderer on Death Row

“There is the story of a French prisoner executed decades ago for murder, now on the path to canonization. On death row he underwent a profound transformation.
Between crime and death, he found his way back into God’s masterplan.

What was his religion before he killed a man? Whatever it was, it failed him. On that basis God should be bothered by the failure of the religion, not the actions of the man.

But religion is only a lamp to illuminate our paths as we trudge the steep narrow way.

Could the Almighty frown on any religion that illuminates the paths of men or women on that narrow way? I leave you to answer that.”

Back to the convicted man. His religion had failed him, but it was not charged with the murder he committed. And the murder did not stop him from finding his way back into God’s masterplan.

What value then was his religion at that point?

A famous hymn says:
“Just as I am, I come to Thee.
Myself I cannot better make.”

We cannot make ourselves better.

Every Christian understands this: all who wish to be better must come exactly as they are to Jesus, the fountain of living waters.
Just come as you are.
He will do the rest.”

The Bold Claim About Virtue

“For as long as any human being still has the possibility of coming to Jesus, how could God care primarily about their religion?

Come. Just come.
Let Me wear a new nature on you.
Without that new nature we cannot have a relationship.

I make bold to say that what matters to God is virtue — often heroic virtue — with which we conduct our lives, regardless of religion.

What is virtue?
Simply the quality of being morally good.

There are virtuous people in every religion on earth, even among so-called heathens. Likewise, there are people in every religion with no virtue at all.”

Virtue and Being Known by Name

“I believe that being virtuous is a prerequisite to being known by God by name. Jesus called Saul — an unbeliever — by name.

Was Saul virtuous? I leave you to answer.

Being virtuous, however, is not enough to place us inside God’s masterplan. A lump of clay by itself is not useful. Virtue is like the quality of the clay that attracts the potter.
He scoops it up and leaves the dirt.”

“Virtue is the right soil quality.
It brings you to God’s attention — your personal advertisement.

As Saint Peter says:
Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

The Virtuous Pagan

“Catholics have a concept in theology that addresses nonbelievers who were never evangelized and had no opportunity to recognize Christ, yet lived virtuous lives.

Virtuous is a strong synonym for righteous. Others are conscientious, honorable, pure, upright, spiritual.

To paraphrase Saint Paul:
Those who obey the law will be declared virtuous in God’s sight, even if they were never instructed in it.

Why was this necessary?
Because many historical figures were admired by Christian tradition for virtue and wisdom.

Socrates. Plato. Aristotle.
And Marcus Aurelius — whose private journal on humility and discipline became one of the great books on character.”

My Ancestors at the Time of Christ

“Now set aside the famous names.

Consider my ancestors at the time of Christ. They lived along some great river — Niger, Nile, it does not matter.

They never heard of Christ.
They never heard the Ten Commandments.
Yet they lived according to the same universal precepts of virtue.

How?
Because every known precept of virtue appears across Scripture, Tradition, and world philosophy.”

Lumen Gentium and Salvation

“Can such people be saved? And if so, how?

Lumen Gentium — one of the most important Catholic documents of the last century — addresses this directly.

Those who do not know Christ through no fault of their own, yet sincerely seek truth and obey conscience, may be saved by the grace of Christ.

Not because of virtue alone,
but because Christ’s grace can reach them even without explicit knowledge of Him.”

The Wedding Banquet and Virtue

“My own reflections long ago led me to the same understanding.

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet speaks to this mystery.

A king prepares a feast.
The invited guests refuse.
He sends servants to the crossroads.
They gather the good and the bad.
But one man is found without a wedding garment and is cast out.

Virtue can be seen as the wedding garment.

It is what makes them acceptable before the king.
It is what allows them to sit in the seats abandoned by the first guests.
And who were the first guests?
You and I.”

The Forgotten Heart of Christianity

“Nothing is more important than virtue.

Any theology that diminishes the need for virtue, uprightness, and righteousness is anathema.

When Jesus said:
Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness,
He was pointing to virtue — the wedding garment.”

Grace and Virtue

“What about grace?

Grace requires no effort. It is a gift.
But virtue is different. Virtue is developed through diligent practice.

What we do repeatedly, we become.

Aristotle said:
Excellence is never an accident.
Replace excellence with virtuousness and the meaning remains the same.”

Without virtue you cannot have a personal relationship with God.

Can we have a relationship with God solely through grace?
The answer is not gentle: absolutely not.”

The Gold Coin Story

“I give a beggar a gold coin and ride away.

That is grace. A gift.
But how can I have a relationship with him? I never see him again.

The possibility of a relationship lies in what he does with that coin.

Does he help others?
Does he transform lives?
Does he become known for generosity?

One day I hear of him.
I realize it is the man I blessed.
I seek him out.
Call him by name.

He could reject me.
Or he could embrace me.

Only then do we have a relationship.

Grace is transformed by virtue into a relationship.”

Clay, Grace, Virtue

“Grace is the lump of clay.
Virtue is the skill that shapes it into something worthy.”

Luke 13 makes this clear.
‘We have eaten and drunk in your presence.’
That is grace.

But Jesus calls them workers of iniquity.
The opposite of iniquity is virtue.

Jesus effectively said:
Depart from me, you virtueless one.”

Workers of Virtue

“The surest way to make God know your name is to be a worker of virtue.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Virtue is works.”

Back to Martin Luther

“Back to Martin Luther.

He had no authority to remove books from the Bible used in his own priestly formation.

He once wrote of the Apostle James:
‘I will not have it in my Bible. Jimmy mangles the Scriptures.’”

“Many non-Catholics are alarmed that Catholic Bibles have more books.
But it is the Protestant Bible that has fewer.
Let that sink in.”

Don Kenobi 

Started in Rome: 27 December 2023, 07:30 GMT plus one.
Completed in Luton: 30 December 2023, 09:03 GMT.

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/0-iijVSDDXI