Robert Barron | – Bishop Barron on “The Crown” and the Primacy of Grace


Have you seen season three of “The Crown”? Here is my new video commentary on how this marvelously written program presents one of the great fault lines in Christianity— namely, the divide between auto-salvation and salvation through grace. Please watch and share!

About The Author

Bishop Robert Barron These are brief and insightful commentaries on faith and culture by Catholic theologian and author Bishop Robert Barron. The videos complement his weekly sermons posted and podcasted at WordOnFire.org.

Comment (45)

  1. We haven't watched season three yet, but we love this series. My favorite scene so far was when the Queen was asking Billy Graham for his thoughts on forgiveness. He said we are supposed to forgive because Jesus forgave the people who were crucifying him. The queen then quoted the entire passage that also said "forgive them for they know not what they are doing." It seems to answer the question of what will happen to those remote tribes who have never heard the gospel, which people sometimes bring up… Looking forward to season 3!

  2. The scene which you spoke of with princess Alice had me in tears. As someone who has returned to the faith( with the help of the Dominican friars) after many years of darkness, I can attest that “faith is everything “

  3. During your stay in France you have certainly read Journal d'un curé de campagne by Georges Bernanos, who by the way was not a Christian. The very last words of that novel are: tout est grâce, everything is grace. Bishop Guy Gaucher has written a book with the same title (published by Le Cerf) which is the written reproduction of a retreat he preached in 2004 for carmelite sisters.

  4. I have found myself like prince Phillip recently. Middle aged with a wife and children and having no faith and feeling lonely and afraid. The most anguishing part is I don't know how to find my way back.

  5. The primacy of Grace.

    I have been on a learning curve lately, facing the fact that I have a strong tendency to try to do good by my own effort. I have this need to prove something to myself, to accomplish, to be better. Not necessarily bad things. But I'm incapable of reaching the ultimately satisfying level of the good on my own. Thank God for grace!

  6. Old men are mostly like that. It’s like the stereotype of surly teenagers: crotchety old men. They are hostile to authority even more than young men, and they lose their patience with everyone over nothing. Weird.

  7. Great account of the only series i watch! Thank you Bishop Barron. It also struck me how faith played an important role in the Queen's life from the beginning. The episode with Princess Alice, the astronauts and Prince Philip's epiphany moments resonated profoundly!

  8. Wikipedia: "Pelagius, an ascetic who is said to have come from Britain, was concerned about the retention of man's moral accountability in the face of God's omnipotence. He strongly affirmed that men had free will and were able to choose good as well as evil. Pelagius denied that original sin had extinguished God's grace in Adam's heirs, and that consequently mankind had the power to do good, to convert themselves from sin by their own power, and the ability to work out their own salvation. Religion's purpose is to teach us virtue, from which we can expect reward from God. By great efforts, it is possible for those in the flesh to achieve moral perfection."

    I find it unwise to take sides on a paradox, although such a statement probably nonetheless sides me with Anglicanism, or maybe Calvinism.

    The underlayer is the battle over The Eucharist and the recognition of authority, the fading of authority, the dispersal of powers, and basically, where the final resting place of authority is (who is the final arbiter of the word? or something like that).

    It's the sort of question that if answered, gives us the ability to discern who is a Saint (one who has attained final salvation), so, the church answered it in the manner nessisary to empower itself to do this.

    It's a truly aggravating paradox, in that the power play involved posits that man as a whole is in majoritaire either leaning towards good or evil, and that we should act to bring about the best conclusion before we grant grace (defined as forgiveness, honestly, although i find translations of grace from the greek or the septuagint to be more mystifying than helpful, so we'll go with love as you suggest, Mr. Bishop Barron, as defined as having the interests of others first).

    So, my Judgement:
    Gratias gratis data

    Perhaps, perhaps, the church falls because it covets the right of saving. As a result, the fetishization of the eucharist is supplanted by the covenant of baptism which more fully and obviously brings one into a consentual marriage with the church, which is what people want.

    Basically, and essentially, the church has miscalculated. 'You've' convinced everyone they're adoptive sons of God, and yet persist in starting the hero's journey from the last supper rather than from the beginning of Christ's ministry (baptism).

    -Sincerely yours,
    God is Gracious

  9. Im a Jordan Peterson fan. but as much as i love him this video makes me realise that he is actually pelagian. In other words he preaches a kind of salvation through self exertion, through carrying your cross and walking up the hill of your destiny. This is fine as far as it goes but there is no talk of Gods love and forgiveness.

  10. I wrote to Matt at the WOF Institute a couple of weeks ago to tell you about this!!! So GLAD you did this video, Bishop!!!! My sister and I LOVED these episodes. Words can't describe. Thank you for doing such a nice job.

  11. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on the 2017 film “First Reformed.” It takes a deep dive into theological questions that many people of faith aren’t asking, but maybe should be. I think you would love it, I know I did.

  12. Thank you Bishop Barron, the scene with Phillip saying “help me” was amazing. I told my wife that that episode was the best thing I’ve ever seen on a television show. We just binge watched “Messiah” on Netflix. It’s kind of a tricky one I’m not sure how I feel about it theologically but I am entertained by it. I wonder if you’d be able to comment on it at some point?

  13. The trouble with 'The Crown', so I understand from what I've read of it, is its distortion and fabrication of events. It is fiction constructed round real characters by people with an anti-monarchist agenda. If they have inadvertently produced a worthwhile religious lesson in the process it has maybe not been a complete waste of time!

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