16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” John 3:16-21 NASB
36“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36 NASB
1“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4“And you know the way where I am going.” 5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:1-6
The Msgr is promoting a false doctrine. If what he says is true then the Hindu who earnestly seeks after God is "saved". As would be the Mormon. As would be the Muslim. As would be the Buddhist, etc.
No. As the Gospel writer above has clearly indicated it is only through faith in Christ that one gains Heaven.
The Greek behind John 14:6 makes His words emphatic. In essence Jesus is saying compare Me to any other way you think you can get to Heaven. I alone am it.
The NT is clear on this. There is no other way.
(I'm always bemused that Protestants insist, on the one hand, that works have nothing to do with salvation, and on the other, seem to insist that one's salvation is dependent on one's theological understanding of the same. If that conscious theological understanding is not a "work," then what is?)
36“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36 NASB
Most excellent citation! You see here a contrast between two groups of people: those who "believe in the Son" and those who "do not obey the Son". Notice that "belief" is contrasted with "disobedience," implying that those who "believe" authentically also "obey". (Notice that "faith alone," without the corresponding "obedience," doesn't seem to count for much.)
But this only describes two categories of people. It doesn't address the question of persons who don't know the Son (through no fault of their own) and so can't *consciously* believe in the Son, though their lives may be ordered in docility toward God such that they would be "obedient" to the Son if they understood the necessity for that, and actually are obedient to him to the extent that they understand that obedience.
Can such persons be saved? If God so wills, they can. If they are saved, they are saved through the merits of Christ, even though they may not have the grace of consciously understanding that.