From Justification, Sanctification, and Grace, from Dr. Bob:
I recall a conversation I had some years ago with a young man in Britain, in the old Compuserve forum days. He, an atheist/agnostic, said something to the effect of, "All religions are the same, there's basically a set of rules to follow, and if you obey them, you get rewarded by going to heaven."
And I agreed with him (to his surprise) with one caveat: that Christianity is the one exception to his otherwise astute observation. In Christianity, it's not about doing something different, it's about being something different.
So how does that work? And aren't Christians all about being good, following the Bible, going to church, and condemning and judging those who don't?
Yeah, all too often we are. Sad but true. But that's not really how it's supposed to work, you know.
Read the whole thing. Then, if you want to, read his follow-up post, The Sword of Grace. One quote:
Christianity is not merely another framework of moral codes by which to live. It is not comprised solely of the teachings of a charismatic leader, urging compliance to please or placate God or promulgating some hidden wisdom. It asserts at its very heart an outrageous claim: that those who relinquish their right to self-centered autonomy by submitting to God through the specific and exclusive portal of Christ will become judicially guiltless before their Creator. It further claims, perhaps even more outrageously, by this act to re-create the person so submitting, in a manner so thorough and profound that the individual can no longer be thought of as the same person who existed prior to that moment of choice and submission.
