Rawls, prior to his passing in 2002, was a professor at Harvard University and is most famous for his work, "A Theory of Justice." In it, Rawls brilliantly lays out a secular argument for the establishment of a universal notion of justice. His work is often referred to as a primary text of political philosophy. But what many people don't know is that when Rawls was pursuing his undergraduate degree in Princeton University, he became deeply interested in questions of theology and doctrine-- even to the point of writing his undergraduate thesis on the issue of human depravity and the Christian faith adequately titled, "A Brief Inquiry into the Meaning of Sin and Faith." Rawls was quite the brilliant theologian and had a great understanding of the issue of sin and the sovereignty of God. Just listen to the robust language he uses to describe man's relationship to God:
The human person, once perceiving that the Revelation of the Word is a condemnation of the self, casts away all thoughts of his own merit. He sees that the givenness of God is everywhere prevenient, and that he possesses nothing that has not been given. He knows that what he has received has been given by some “other,” and that ultimately all good things are gifts of God. Therefore in the face of this givenness of God, in the face of His perfect and righteous mercy, he knows that he has no merit. Never again can he hope to boast of his good deeds, of his skill, of his prowess, for he knows that they are gifts.
The more he examines his life, the more he looks into himself with complete honesty, the more clearly he perceives that what he has is a gift. Suppose he was an upright man in the eyes of society, then he will now say to himself: “So you were an educated man, yes, but who paid for your education; so you were a good man and upright, yes, but who taught you your good maners and so provided you with good fortune that you did not need to steal; so you were a man of a loving disposition and not like the hard-hearted, yes, but who raised you in a good family, who showed you care and affection when you were young so that you would grow up to appreciate kindness — must you not admit that what you have, you have received? Then be thankful and cease your boasting.” Thus there is no man so upright that the Word of God beside his goodness will not condemn. There is no goodness that beside God’s goodness does not become a “filthy rag.” (239-40)
Despite his brilliant elucidation reminiscent of Augustinian theology, Rawls falls away from the faith after witnessing the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust and goes from wanting to pursue a life of Episcopalian priesthood to a life of agnosticism. As I read on the life of Rawls, I often realize that I was not too far off from his quarter-life faith crisis dealing with a perfect and holy God amidst a world wrought with chaos, religious insincerity, persecution originating within the church, and unintelligible expressions of the Christian faith in dealing with difficult questions of sin and suffering. But by the grace of God, He redeemed my thought and gave me hope-- not in any particular philosophy, although He showed me that the pursuit of God is the pursuit of wisdom; nor in the identification with any particular church, although He gave me a renewed love for His bride and the local church; but He restored my faith in the person of Jesus Christ. That is enough to turn the agnostic within me back to Christianity. Even though I may never write a "Theory of Justice," may my life reflect the beauty of my Lord, Jesus Christ.
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