I have recently engaged in an uncomfortable pastoral conversation about the doctrine of original sin and the ideas of justification by faith and repentance; important propositions found Scripture, alighted upon during the Protestant Reformation, and expressed within the evangelical movement of the modern era.
There is rightfully, a biblical, liturgical and ecclessiological argument for some form of cognitive acknowledgement the fall; of our human weakness and corruption as an a priori condition to faith, justification, and reception of God's forgiveness and mercy. However, an approach to gospel proclamation that lays emphasis on this comes into sharp dispute with certain types of human experiences. For some the good news of God's love and mercy is overshadowed by the bad news of very real human tragedy to the point where it can barely be heard. How might a mother who has experienced the pain of losing an unborn child be led to understand that unless she turns to Christ she is irrevocably lost, when her baby will never have the same opportunity to respond? Or what of the profoundly disabled person who may have a limited ability to process such propositions and articulate a response to God's gift of grace in Christ. All this causes us to revisit questions such as: what does it mean to be born in sin? How do we 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ' and be saved?
I wonder whether the Lord Jesus only ever calls us to respond with the limited understanding and strength we have in accordance with the psychological development appropriate to our stage in life, and in a sense our response is always a gift from God; a response that flows from the love God has for us from the very beginning. Balthasar in particular describes faith as seeing God in the light that radiates in and through the form of Jesus Christ - a glory that contains the whole Christ event in all its rich, salvific and eternal effect. Perhaps to catch a small glimpse of that light is enough without necessarily being able to recognize the full significance of the glory as a whole. When we catch a glimpse of God's light in Christ we look and are transported into love itself; a love that continues forever. This glimpse may or may not reach us through conventional, traditional or predictable means. Scripture, the Church, worship - the liturgy, sacraments and preaching are important, but these things are surely, as the writer to the Hebrews says of the ancient temple, an earthly copy; a vital pointer towards heavenly reality which is spiritual and mystical.
Whatever stage of physical, cognitive, spiritual development a human being reaches, I wonder whether there is always opportunity to discover Christ's love and respond to God. The Spirit of Christ is always speaking and is poured out upon all creation for the redemption of the whole world.
For a fully developed adult, it makes sense that true repentance and sorrow for sin is required. An adult person should have reached a point of maturity and responsibility, with an understanding of abstract concepts logical, ethical and aesthetic necessary to be able grasp the message and challenge of Christian teaching. For the young child, a simple trust in the friendship of the Lord Jesus is entirely appropriate. A mind that is exploring the world through human connections and story will come to faith this way. For the still-born babe, a surrendering into love; the silent love found in the Father's everlasting arms is all that is needed. For the profoundly disabled person with a mind that remains a mystery to those offering loving care and support, it is the simplicity of being a beautiful child made in the image of God.
So then, the preaching of salvation, for pastoral reasons, should not emphasize the a priori condition of sinful humanity, but rather the a priori love of God, who was in the beginning before all things loving the world into being.
Jesus once said to a confused teacher of Israel, '... no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit' (John 3.5b-6). Just as we have no control over our physical birth, perhaps ultimately we have no control over our spiritual birth. Both require us to submit to the gentle work of God in the world by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
