Bruce Charlton’s Parable of the Medical Student
A doctor must first attend medical school. School is finite and much shorter than medical practice; but (If opportunities are grasped), that which is learned at school may have “permanent” and beneficial effects on the large future beyond.
Thus the benefits of medical school are best grasped when the student knows he is destined for a long professional practice.
Thus we are meant to be confident in our salavation, confident that we resurrect and go to Heaven after this life. Confidence is correct.
-thus Bruce Charlton. I was tempted to excerpt the whole thing, so you might as well go read it, it’s short.
A student could be motivated in medical school by the fear of failing and not becoming a doctor. Their ultimate motivation would still be becoming a doctor, but in an abstract and remote way. Getting through medical school would just be another hoop to jump through. Cheating would begin to look attractive. And if something came up to prolong their education, perhaps some remarkable new explosion of effective medical knowledge they needed to learn they would be angry. Haven’t I already worked hard? they would say.
On earth some might work toward heaven as an abstract and remote goal. There are these things called commandments and these things called ordinances, you must compile a sufficient resume of them to earn your reward. If you had this point of view, if someone offered you a shortcut to heaven where you didn’t have to do anything, you would be excited and jump on it. Cheap grace, we’ll call it.
Or if you were beavering away at the commandments and all the rest and a prophet came along and suggested tithing your herbs and carrying the soldier’s cloak an extra mile and adding a whole new mindset and attitude on top of what you were already doing, you might scream in frustration. Works, we’ll call it.
Or a student could go to medical school because they wanted to be a doctor and could study hard because they needed to know this stuff. The student would be puzzled by cheating and a by a shortcut that promises to jump all the learning and take them straight to the degree. What would be the point? If you don’t know the material, you need to learn the material. If there were an explosion of new medical knowledge the student needed to stick around a little longer to learn, the student would be excited. That much a better doctor! would be their attitude.
The key is to be destination-minded.
For a long time the whole debate between grace and works hasleft me cold. It all seemed to be a category error, both sides of the debate. I read Latter-day Saint apologists explaining ‘by grace ye are saved after all ye can do’ and they seemed to entirely miss the point, though what the point was I could not say.
But now I think I could say. The point is being destination-minded. Its the same mental revolution I underwent when I realized that for most important purposes, sinning and simply failing are all the same thing.
It doesn’t matter why you are unfit as yet for the kingdom of heaven. It matters that you are.
It doesn’t matter what exact mix of your own efforts and Christ’s grace you will need to return to His presence. It matters that you need both, and He has assured you that with both you will return.
Rozy
September 4, 2020
Great explanation. I especially like “destination minded” as a way to stay focused on the why. My own explanation of grace v. works is this (from the Book of Mormon) we are saved by grace; saved meaning saved from eternal physical death by the resurrection of Jesus Christ who made it possible for us to live again, and saved from sin IF we repent (or when we repent). We are judged by our works, so we can work smart and hard and get an “A” at our mortal boarding school and received the highest reward, or we can be lazy and get lesser grades. Only God our Father and Jesus Christ have all the information and insights to justly judge us, and why they wait until the last possible moment, allowing us plenty of time and chances to repent and change. No one else has to believe in my explanation, it’s simply what helps me understand the relationship.
Vader
September 4, 2020
“Thus we are meant to be confident in our salvation, confident that we resurrect and go to Heaven after this life. Confidence is correct.”
I should cross stitch that and hang it on my wall.
His Majesty might be displeased, though.
sute
September 4, 2020
“Cheating would begin to look attractive. And if something came up to prolong their education, perhaps some remarkable new explosion of effective medical knowledge they needed to learn they would be angry. Haven’t I already worked hard? they would say.”
I’d like to see the church description of this example. I think one of the problems we have in the church, aside from the spreading progressivist infection, is the nature of any hierarchy populated with imperfect individuals is the tendency to a variety of forms of corruption.
In a way, how often are we “cheating” on the test when we open the scriptures just to say we’ve read them and check the box. Or when we show up at a meeting, etc. I think Jacob 5 in the BoM described this in a different way — the old wood that stops bearing fruit and is good only to be cast into the fire.
As much as we might abhor the progressive influences, the atrophied practice if faith that either corrupts sincerity to fit into the hierarchy is just as bad if not worse. I say potentially worse because these are the individuals that undermine the truly faithful and penitent.
bruce charlton
September 5, 2020
At the level of the analogy; I noticed that the motivation of ‘vocational’ students was on average much better than non-vocational – and in myself I found that the fact that I could imagine practising, on my own, as a doctor; was a powerful motivatr for doing more than a minimum – indeed seeking out educational opportunities.
In the end, I only practiced medicine for a few years; but my attitude was surely the right one.
When it comes to mortal life and heaven, I think it is one of the greatest aspects of the CJCLDS that considerable effort is made to take about, describe, imagine life in Heaven – and this seems to have a strong beneficial effect on mortal life. (I got this point originally from a research book about Mormonism by a non-Mormon religioon and theological scholar).
It is a big contrast with evangelical Protestants, who almost refuse to think about Heaven.
Sute
September 6, 2020
Your last sentence Bruce, could describe the church today as well though. Sadly so, I think.
For a few reasons, I suppose, we don’t talk about the next world so much other than together forever, kinda stuff.
And I absolutely agree it helps strengthen faith and activity to have a picture of the end game. Even better, to have personal revelation on it
Vader
September 7, 2020
Hmm.
My impression is that evangelicals have almost no concept of heaven, but can talk about hell all day.
CJCLDS, curiously, almost never talk about hell, but do have some things to say about heaven.
If CJCLDS are reticent about talking about heaven, it’s out of a sense of sacredness. The temple is a model of entering heaven and of the nature of our life there. We don’t talk much about the temple, for good reasons.