G.R.A.C.E.

Grace, they say, is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. I don’t remember when I first heard that nifty mnemonic acrostic, but I know it was at a young age, and I don’t think I’ve outgrown it. It’s just a hook to hang some teaching on, and it’s a fine, sturdy hook.

But I have studied some more theology since then, and have learned that we can argue about anything, including definitions of grace. So here are some alternative acrostics; something for everybody.

For the Truly Reformed:

God Rejects And Conversely Elects

For dispensationalists:

Getting Raptured After Charting Endtimes

For pietists:

Good Religion = Affective Christian Experiences

For Barthians:

God-centered Redemption Allows Christocentric Eschatologizing

For the Christian existentialist:

Genuine, Real, Authentic Christian Existence

For the Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians:

Go Re-enact All Christ’s Example

For fundamentalists:

Gotta Really Agressively Confront Ecumaniacs

For the Roman Catholics:

Gazing Raptly At Consecrated Eucharist

(or)

Getting Right Archbishop Catholicizes Everything

For the Thomists working the Nature-Grace Boundary:

God Reaching Across Creation’s Expanse

For Dante, especially in his Purgatorio:

Getting Rendered Acceptable, Climbing Eagerly

For Anglo-Catholics:

Getting Ritualistic After Cranmer’s Execution

For the Eastern Orthodox:

Greek, Russian, Antiochene Cultural Expectations

For the other Eastern Orthodox excluded from that list:

Giddily Receiving Apophatic Creationless Energies

For Open Theists:

God Reconsiders, And Cooperates Exquisitely

For feminist theologians:

Gender Revolution Anticipates Church Evolution

For the cessationists:

Generally Renouncing All Charismatic Experiences

For evidentialist apologists:

General Revelation And Convincing Explanations

For presuppositional apologists:

Gospel Repentance Accomplished, Circularity Ensues

For sojourners:

Government Redistribution Allows Communal Economics

For pentecostals:

Glossolalia Received After Conversion Experience

For charismatics:

Gombala Ramazoody Alleluia Chombalahombala Essanahanashanahana

For theonomists:

Gospel Requires Absolutely Crushing Enemies

For the emergents:

Generational Resentment Against Conservative Evangelicals

Sorry if I left you out; or if I didn’t leave you out.

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