Thank you for directing me to this reading Sir. It was entirely relative to our introduction. Hearing your understanding of Martin Luther is provocative. Your tone is as easy to read as I'm sure it is to hear on Sundays. With Faithfulness is our Future.
Doug, I respectfully disagree with the tone of your article, and here's why: the dichotomy you're drawing between teaching virtue and the gospel is, in my view, a false and dangerous one. In a world as chaotic and morally compromised as ours, raising children to be functional, responsible adults requires a deliberate effort to cultivate habits that align with both classical and Christian understandings of virtue.
While I commend the emphasis you place on the primacy of the gospel, the practical application of this principle doesn't align as neatly with your argument. Take, for example, the virtue of honesty. Instilling honesty in children requires intentional effort to counteract their natural tendencies to exaggerate, misdirect, or hide the truth. Stories like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" or "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" have historically been used to teach these values, emphasizing human agency and responsibility. These narratives show children that dishonesty can lead to lasting, often irreversible consequences. This is a truth that stands independently of the doctrines of salvation and justification.
Yes, we all require God's grace and mercy, but this reality does not negate the fact that dishonesty can destroy lives—whether through ruined careers, broken relationships, or lost opportunities. Teaching children the importance of integrity is not, as you suggest, a pursuit of a "gospel of self-help." Rather, it's a recognition that virtuous living has real-world consequences, both positive and negative.
I think it's likely that when you were raising your children, you taught them that they were capable of honesty and that you expected them to develop this habit. This expectation aligns with a long tradition of Reformed thought on child-rearing. Martin Luther himself warned of the dangers of neglecting a child's moral education, stating, "Nothing can more easily earn hell for a man than the improper training of his own children; and parents can perform no more damaging bit of work than to neglect their offspring, to let them curse, swear, learn indecent words and songs, and permit them to live as they please.”
Your article suggests what Luther should have written was, “Nothing can more easily earn hell for a man than not keeping the gospel at the very forefront of his children. Do not get too caught up teaching them not to curse, swear, learning indecent words and songs.”
Luther's words underscore the importance of teaching specific moral behaviors and that such programs do not necessarily threaten gospel teaching. The gospel should not be sidelined, but at the same time, we shouldn't falsely pit teaching moral behavior against teaching the gospel as if they were on opposite ends of a spectrum. A child raised with a robust understanding of morality is all the more aware of why we require accepting and resting in God’s grace.
Thank you for directing me to this reading Sir. It was entirely relative to our introduction. Hearing your understanding of Martin Luther is provocative. Your tone is as easy to read as I'm sure it is to hear on Sundays. With Faithfulness is our Future.
-rwa
Doug, I respectfully disagree with the tone of your article, and here's why: the dichotomy you're drawing between teaching virtue and the gospel is, in my view, a false and dangerous one. In a world as chaotic and morally compromised as ours, raising children to be functional, responsible adults requires a deliberate effort to cultivate habits that align with both classical and Christian understandings of virtue.
While I commend the emphasis you place on the primacy of the gospel, the practical application of this principle doesn't align as neatly with your argument. Take, for example, the virtue of honesty. Instilling honesty in children requires intentional effort to counteract their natural tendencies to exaggerate, misdirect, or hide the truth. Stories like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" or "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" have historically been used to teach these values, emphasizing human agency and responsibility. These narratives show children that dishonesty can lead to lasting, often irreversible consequences. This is a truth that stands independently of the doctrines of salvation and justification.
Yes, we all require God's grace and mercy, but this reality does not negate the fact that dishonesty can destroy lives—whether through ruined careers, broken relationships, or lost opportunities. Teaching children the importance of integrity is not, as you suggest, a pursuit of a "gospel of self-help." Rather, it's a recognition that virtuous living has real-world consequences, both positive and negative.
I think it's likely that when you were raising your children, you taught them that they were capable of honesty and that you expected them to develop this habit. This expectation aligns with a long tradition of Reformed thought on child-rearing. Martin Luther himself warned of the dangers of neglecting a child's moral education, stating, "Nothing can more easily earn hell for a man than the improper training of his own children; and parents can perform no more damaging bit of work than to neglect their offspring, to let them curse, swear, learn indecent words and songs, and permit them to live as they please.”
Your article suggests what Luther should have written was, “Nothing can more easily earn hell for a man than not keeping the gospel at the very forefront of his children. Do not get too caught up teaching them not to curse, swear, learning indecent words and songs.”
Luther's words underscore the importance of teaching specific moral behaviors and that such programs do not necessarily threaten gospel teaching. The gospel should not be sidelined, but at the same time, we shouldn't falsely pit teaching moral behavior against teaching the gospel as if they were on opposite ends of a spectrum. A child raised with a robust understanding of morality is all the more aware of why we require accepting and resting in God’s grace.