[King Black Robe]

What did MSNBC think he believed? Hahahahah! So Mel thinks I am going to hell? I am supposed to be bothered by this? I love the guy! Good for him. Fortunately for me, he is not the guy deciding who goes to hell and who does not. But I do not take offense to that at all. Of course he thinks that. He is not calling me a bad person. We are all sinners. His point is about the process of redemption, that is, how mankind actually receives salvation. On all the important things we agree -- God, sin, Christ, etc... Whether he thinks I have to be a Caltholic or not is no big deal.

But nice try at dividing to conquer, MSNBC. Won't work.

[roses of sharon]

Dittos!!!!!!!

60 Min tried this on Sunday.

Old playbook.

[twigs]

Excellent response! I am protestant; my husband is Catholic. We both tease each about this all the time, but both of us believe that if you believe the truth, you go to heaven. My husband struggles with it more than I, but he grew up hearing the nuns tell him his beloved Lutheran Grandmother was going to hell. He didn't believe it then and they paved the way for him to later marry a protestant.

[HairOfTheDog]

But nice try at dividing to conquer, MSNBC. Won't work.

Mel is no victim of MSNBC. He did this interview to promote his film and the quotes are his. For what its worth, Christians would have to be united in order to be divided, the nasty arguing on this website alone indicates to me that there is no love-loss between the 50-odd denominations of churches in my community.

[BlackElk]

What a gracious response! Thank you. Please also understand that Mel is misreading Catholic doctrine if he thinks that his wife or you must be specifically a member of the Roman Catholic Church to enter heaven. The RCC excommunicated Leonard Feeney, SJ, and the Feeneyites of the 1950s and afterwards for teaching that. Feeney publicly repented and returned to Catholicism. Some followers did not. These doctrines are far more complex than the Classics Comix version of Catholicism that results from poor catechization.

NSQ: The Scriptures teach that outside the church there is no salvation. We Catholics believe (and you are not surprised at it though you undoubtedly disagree) that the Church founded by Jesus Christ is the Roman Catholic Church established by Him upon Simon bar Jonah whom He renamed Peter and to whom He gave the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and that Peter passed those keys of authority to Linus who passed them to Cletus who passed them to Anacletus and so forth through John Paul II in our own time. We also believe in the Mystical Body of Christ which includes all those validly baptized but mere membership in which does not guarantee salvation. To further confuse non-Catholics (and because it is true), we also believe in baptism of blood and baptism of desire. The purpose of all this is not to debate but to state some of the complexities not referenced by Gibson or his interrogator. It also is no surprise to me that non-Catholic Christians believe otherwise.

We should all copy King Black Robe's post, frame it and place it in plain sight in our homes because his post has this matter exactly right. He is not indifferent to the differences but understands that it is God, not Mel and not any of us, who makes the salvation decisions as to each of us.

Whatever Mel's errors may be, thank God for him and for the movie that opens in mere weeks. May God utilize that film to fulfill his own plan which just has to be better than any of ours!

Let us all also remember RobbyS in our prayers as he undergoes surgery today.