"Ask yourself the question: how moral is the following? I am told of a human sacrifice that took place two thousand years ago, without my wishing it and in circumstances so ghastly that, had I been present and in possession of any influence, I would have been duty-bound to try and stop it. In consequence of this murder, my own manifold sins are forgiven me, and I may hope to enjoy eternal life."
-Christopher Hitchens
A resurgent point of attack on Christianity has been the morality of grace through Christ's atonement, the central tenant of the Christian faith. For those not familiar with the Gospel, the New Testament lays out the fundamental problem and solution of the human condition:
THE PROBLEM: All humans have sinned, and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This "death" goes beyond a merely physical death, but is rather referring to an eternal separation from the holy presence of God and His perfect love and provision.
THE SOLUTION: "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of
God’s one and only Son" (John 3:16-18).
In short, the Gospel is that Christ offers himself as a substitute. All of humanity's sins are placed on Jesus on the cross, while Jesus' righteousness is in turn given to us as a gift for all who would receive it.
And now the question: is this vicarious redemption moral? Is it right to give an innocent man the penalty for our own shortcomings while claiming his righteousness as our own? Here, I would like to argue that the cross is indeed the most moral choice of action, as it reduces human suffering and maximizes human love and compassion.
First of all, it is essential to remember that Christ knowingly placed himself on the cross of his own volition: he desired to do so for our sake. To illustrate the importance of this, imagine a teenager who, while playing baseball in his back yard, hit a ball through his rich neighbor's ornate window. It could hardly be considered moral for the teenage boy to demand that the neighbor pay for his own repairs. However, what if the neighbor, noting the boy's genuine remorse at his mistake, freely offers to pay for the repairs himself, as he had no shortage of money and knows that the boy's family would not be able to afford it.
A number of positive, moral things would come of such a scenario. Not only will the window still be restored, but this repair will not come at the great expense of the poor family who could not afford the cost. Such generosity will inspire a profound feeling of gratitude in the boy's family toward their neighbor, perhaps even sparking a friendship between the two families which would not have otherwise existed. Indeed, imagine that now the teenage boy freely offers to mow the rich man's lawn for him. What is crucial to note here is that the boy's choice to mow the lawn was not to pay for the window; the window has already been fixed and paid for by the rich man himself. Instead, the boy has chosen to mow his neighbor's yard simply to reciprocate the love and generosity that has already been poured out on him. Needless to say, he will also be a lot more careful with his baseball games from now on as well!
It is the same for those who are genuinely reborn by the gift of grace they receive from Christ. This unmerited love that we have all received inspires us to live more sacrificially and joyfully, not because we have to but because we feel inspired to. Grace gives us the realization that there is more to life than living for ourselves, that loving and serving others unconditionally is contagious and life-giving.
In conclusion, I argue that the unmerited favor offered to all of mankind by Christ is an exceedingly moral theology. It inspires us to give more love and to live more morally than we otherwise would have without the full knowledge of God's personal love and care for our lives. While the cost of this grace, the cross, is indeed very high, Christ freely accepted this penalty and considered the cost worth the freedom and love that it gave to all of the world.
In my next post, I will examine the hypothetical alternatives to grace and their moral implications.
