The Catholic Church struck back at the Reformation with the Counter Reformation. This produced repression highlighted by the inquisition, condemnation of Galileo and religious wars throughout Europe.  Luther and his fellow "protestants" went on to develop their own denominations and many teaching "Grace" alone is what is necessary for "Salvation".

If we look at the definition of grace in the Catholic Encyclopedia, we will find a bewildering display of words as if written by bureaucrats and lawyers explaining the conditions of God’s will and action in a corporation or government.  So many inconsistencies occur in applying this concept of God’s gift that so many justifications and explanations were necessary to keep this theory afloat.  In fact the Church has Actual Grace and Santifying Grace as if Actual Grace is not sufficient.  And there is also Justified Grace for justifying something and Prevenient Grace that is before all other grace, and appears to be an attractive force.

If Grace of any kind exists, humans showing Grace or God showing Grace it must work somehow, by some mechanism. 

What is Grace?

If there is such a thing as grace, or what appears to us as grace, and if it is a gift available to all, then it must be a condition or property of our universe.  Such a condition could be viewed as a field, a spiritual field around us and all of creation.  In this way the Grace Field will be what the Christian theologians call "prevenient grace" - coming before. 
Now according to this little theory, grace would be available to all conscious beings, Christian and non-Christian.  And this is a step in the right direction.  And any saving grace would be available as universal salvation.    
In as much as the current Christian view of Grace makes little sense and is very arbitrary, but many people feel and know what they call the Grace of God, our field theory of grace is as fine a speculation as there is.   If we beleive that God is, then there must be a Field and that Field extends as part of God, and it will vibrate - as all fields will and do.  Now if something vibrates, there will be waves sent out - emitted.   These waves will more out - diffract - as ripples, and could interact through resonance and be "detected" by another thing - or receiver - on the same or similar frequency or wavelenght which happens to all waves that scientists can detect.

Technique

Take a deep breath, hold it, exhale and relax.  Think about someone who needs help - a problem; visualize it; visualize God or the Spirit or the energy of God coming to help that person; let that thought go as a wave into space.  View your concern in peaceful, forgiving terms.  Concentrate, visualize, then let it go and “let it be up to God if it is harmonious”. 

This last step in this technique is what Luther meant when he said that we can do nothing to save ourselves.  But the previous steps are what we can do. 

The Next Reformation will investigate these questions. And we think that Grace is available to all, immersing all, as gravity extends and enmeshes all objects.

Some Protestant mystics denounced eternal punishment as incompatible with the love of God.  The view that God is love did become more prevalent, bringing about a change in theology.  Love makes sense.  Original sin makes no sense, except allegorically.  Retribution is a problem in the bible.  The Jews wanted it, lived by it, but they also wanted mercy, the mercy of God.  God’s love is unconditional, but it appears to stop short with final judgement, and then becomes conditional on, according to Luther, Faith and God’s Grace.   
Just as the view of God on a throne doesn’t make sense now, the view of God giving out Grace makes no sense.  God’s gift of Grace always appears arbitrary and supernatural.  We always hear preachers say we can do nothing to deserve it.  This was learned from earthly Kings who gave grace.

Grace has several meanings.  What we have discussed here is a possible mechanism for the Christian belief of Grace as the unmerited favor of God for blessings and salvation. Another definition is "elegance, poise, dignity and finesse".  And also, Grace, or blessing, before meals.  In Latin "gratus" meant pleasing and thankful. 

Resonance Boxes

This is a favorite demonstration of sound vibrations.  Two wooden boxes with the open ends facing each other, with identical tuning forks. When the tuning fork on the right, is struck, it vibrates, vibrates air, that vibrates the othe tining fork, that vibrates and movesthe ping pong ball. Photo courtesy of Department of Physics, Purdue University.

Spinoza, an Italian philosopher of the 17th century,  wrote that the ultimate object of religious devotion is perfect harmony of the universe.  Grace, the gift from God, which is a gift of God, is harmonic interactions with creation.  Grace must follow Spiritual Laws, and not be arbitrary.  All laws and action must follow cause and effect and not simply what man views as divine choice.