In listening to Keller recently about the issue of moralism, and in reading what you’ve written here, I am reminded and comforted by the HUGELY important lesson that even my righteousness if but filthy rags before the Almighty.

How often the church misses this!! We must be in constant prayer and hope that we can learn to look past the act and to the heart of our actions. In my own church tradition (Southern Baptist) it is almost inconceivable that “doing the right thing” could be harmful. Moralism abounds.

Keller’s assertions have some very far-reaching implications especially regarding Kantian deontological ethics which states that an act, in and of itself, can be “right” or “wrong,” irregardless of the heart/motive involved. Much more work philosophically needs to be done to hammer this out and make it even more practical for the laity in the church.

Thanks for the blog post! Please continue pressing on for my own sake and for the sake of the gospel.

-trevor