Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan has suggested that this emphasis on salvation by faith alone, and the resulting emphasis on one’s inner state over one’s outward actions, may have had a cultural consequence of privileging intent over impact when considering our actions and their outcomes.12 That is, if a person’s truest internal self is the reference point, it becomes easy to focus on “what I meant,” and to assume that meaning well is enough to be let off the hook, even if one’s actions unwittingly harm others.
