Not really very absurd. My understanding is that the Catholic teaching is that you remain in a state of grace even if you commit venial sin. In fact you can commit a multitude of venial sins and still be in a state of grace. Yet James tells us that one stumble and we become guilty of all.
You are misreading James. James says if you go around judging people using the law to make yourself look good and to “demonstrate” how bad other people are then you will be judged on the same basis. That is why James says we should act in mercy to others so that mercy will be shown when we fall short.
As for venial sins, those sins do not destroy the relationship we have with God, they weaken the resolve to maintain that relationship but they dont destroy that relation ship.
Now, are you going to tell me that a man who sins continually, albeit what you would call venially, is truly righteous? Not by any definition of righteous I know. How can someone like this stand before God? Because our sins are covered.
You are misapplying that james passage, and cutting it short of the main teaching (verses 12-13). What it is saying is that if you go around like a pharisee judging others because they arent as “holy” as you, when it coems time for God to judge He will not give any leeway at your sentence. So the moral James concludes with is that if we show mercy God will show mercy.
Further, a soul who is guilty of venial sin cannot enter Heaven unless even those impurities are forgiven either in this life or in purgatory. Your “covering the filth” position doesnt work because it would mean God is letting a filthy diaper into his presence as long as it is wrapped in a beautiful gift box.
What need to cover if a person is truly made righteous?
The “cover” in that passage is not to be taken in the sense of imputation, it is to be taken in the sense that because God cannot technically forget the sin is overlooked, especially considering the wide testimony that sins are purified, washed away, etc (eg Ps 51), further if you keep reading the Psalm 32 a bigger picture emerges:2 Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and
in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6 Therefore let** everyone who is godly** pray to you
while you may be found;
11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad,
you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
The description here is one of INNER transformation, not a covering. If it was a covering in the sense of imputing an alien status then “in whose spirit is no deceit” would be out of place, and his bones and weakened strength would not be cured. The phrases “everyone who is godly” and “upright in heart” dont fit either.
Remember, David was ALREADY a believer before he wrote this Ps 32. This Psalm was written because he lost his salvation through grave sin and had to repent to regain it (become justified again).
Do you really think that you have discovered something new, that your ideas are going to destroy Protestantism? I don’t really think so. They haven’t convinced me.
One thing needs to be made clear, I PERSONALLY did NOT come up with something new, as if the whole world was blind until I came along (God Forbid!). Catholics before me have been making these claims (I have, at most, rephrased things and added bits here and there to make a more specific case). With this information I am focusing my time on the real issue, and it goes far beyond the go-nowhere-cycle of Protestants appealing to Romans while Catholics appeal to James.
I am convinced that the information available, ESPECIALLY due to the free technology allowing maximum Bible study (eg online Lexicons that reference every occurrence of a word), will lead to the demise of the classical Protestant position. I have said this before, and I will say it again, it is no mistake that Protestant webpages and books defending Sola Fide do NOT address the usage of terms like “logizomai” in the Bible. .
