Posted on 01/02/2002 1:15:38 PM PST by Theresa
There is considerable confusion about the Catholic teaching of salvation. I found this on the internet. It was written by a former Presbyterian who became Catholic as an adult. It should be easy to understand he explains the docterine very well. .........
The phrase (in Latin, "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus" or "Outside the Church there is no salvation") is a very ancient one, going back to the very early days of Christianity. It was originally meant to affirm the necessity of baptism and Christian faith at a time when
(a) A number of Christians were being tempted under torture to renounce their faith and deny Christ. (He's talking about the Roman Empire and Nero's persecution of Christians, throwing them to lions and such.) (b) Large groups of Christians were being led into "pseudo-Christian" cult-type groups, which were actually just a front for pagan philosophy and religion. (Such as the cult of Mithras which I think was practiced around the time after Jesus died.)
In response, bishops repeated that, if a person were to be aware of the meaning of Christ and then freely deny him or reject him, they had essentially turned away from God and the salvation he offers.
As Christians, we believe that we are saved only through Jesus. As St. Peter reminds his audience in Acts 4:12: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." In most cases, this means that we believe baptism in water, in the name of the Trinity, is the fundamental requirement for salvation.
However, even from the beginning, the great Christian writer and teacher St. Augustine said that the salvation imparted through baptism can also be imparted through other means: specifically, through the "baptism of blood" (a non-Christian who dies defending Christian beliefs or holy places) and "the baptism of desire" (a non-Christian who has expressed a firm desire to become a Christian, and who shows all the signs of living a Christian life, but who dies before baptism). In both of those cases, the Church has always recognized that the Holy Spirit leads people to God in ways which we cannot always explain or document.
God is able to save anyone he chooses. We trust that he often does this is ways that are not obvious to us, within the hearts of individuals who are sincerely seeking the truth. Otherwise, it would imply that all of humanity was excluded from salvation before Christ came, and that much of humanity (which has not had the opportunity to hear the Christian message until recently) was doomed to be eternally separated from God. This would imply a very cruel and elitist God. Our belief as Christians and Catholics is that God desires the salvation of all people … even those who are not Christian. How he achieves that, however, is a mystery. But we know that our God is a loving God who would not allow people to suffer on account of an ignorance that they were not responsible for.
The Church teaches that baptism, faith, and a life lived in Christ are necessary for salvation. However, Vatican II also taught that, within every human heart, God places the law of conscience. Everybody has a deep sense of right and wrong which ultimately comes from God, and which will lead people to God if they attempt to follow their conscience faithfully. Because Jesus is God, those who move in the direction of God (even non-Christians) are ultimately moving in the direction of Jesus. And if they are moving in the direction of Jesus and His truth, ultimately they are expressing a desire for the salvation that God gives. The Church teaches that, while it is certainly easier to receive salvation as a Christian, it is not impossible to receive salvation in other religions.
This is a challenging situation: on one hand, we must be respectful of the good things to be found in other faiths, and encourage people to live their faiths with sincerity and love.
On the other hand, this does not mean that all religions are the same. We believe that Christ is the ultimate revealing of God to the world, and that the more we know about his message, the greater the chance that we will accept his offer and be saved. We must therefore continue to preach the message of the Gospel, and encourage interested non-Catholics to examine the claims of our faith, without in any way coercing or intimidating them.
Father Feeney was an American priest who, back in the 1940s, taught that if a person was not a Roman Catholic, they were condemned to hell. This has never been the accepted teaching of Catholicism, and Father Feeney was reprimanded by the Vatican for his mistaken understanding.
Nevertheless, there are groups which continue to hold to this strict interpretation, even after the Pope and bishops have specifically rejected it.
The phrase "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus" teaches us that salvation is only through Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. But God is able to save whomever he pleases, whether they are baptized in the Roman Catholic Church or not.
It is important to remember that "the Church" in this phrase does not refer exclusively to the Roman Catholic Church. Salvation is a great gift, and God is a loving Father who wants all of his children to receive it. How he works this out, however, we will only understand in heaven. That is why, whenever we quote "Outside the Church, there is no salvation", we should also remember that "God is in no way bound by the sacraments."
Until then, we continue to proclaim Jesus as Lord (evangelization) and engage in respectful dialogue with followers of other religions, to discover the truths that God had revealed to them to guide them toward salvation, and to share with them the truth as we have discovered it in Christ.
No he never said this. No pope has ever said this. The crux of the teaching is that there is no salvation outside the Church. In other words, everyone who IS saved was joined to the Catholic church in some way whether they understand that they were or not. Any kind of truth they have that the church also holds puts them in communion with the Church, even though it is an imperfect communion.
Right. So will I and am I am Catholic. You still don't understand.
Neither do I, please refer to my post #57 and tell me how the actual RC dogma fits into your assumption that we (all non-catholic Christians) are somehow joined into the RC church even though we don't believe what it says we MUST believe in order to be saved. Thanks.
Banzai is Japanese for "divine wind".
I am not taking sides. I am trying to find out what the Catholic church currently teaches. I found a satisfactory answer at that web site I referred to in a previous message.
Many people are originally Catholic, Baptist, Moslem, etc because their parents decided for them when they were very young. These children do not have a choice in the matter. Many indoctrinated children choose different paths once they are free to choose. These people become ex-Catholics (Baptist, Muslims, etc) through no fault of their own.
Our society has wisely decided that children under 18 are not capable of choosing to have sex with an older person. Religion is a much more significant life choice than a sex act. We need to recognize that a child under 18 is also not capable of choosing a religion that is forced upon him by an adult.
Banzai is Japanese for "1000 years." Kamkazi is Japanese for "divine winde."
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[Japanese, (may you live) ten thousand years : ban, ten thousand (from Middle Chinese muanh, uan) + zai, year (from Middle Chinese swiajh, suaj).]
This is a damnable heresy and calls Our Lord and Saviour a lie to His face.
Living a good life? Then why did Christ have to offer His Body and His Blood on the cross as propitiation for sin? If living a good life were all that it took to enter the Kingdom of God, Christ would have never have to had come.
John 14:6 tells us that Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. There is no other way but through Him.
Anyone who professes to be a Christian yet denies these words of Christ is nothing more than a tare sewn among the wheat. Don't be fooled. At harvest time, the wheat and tares will be seperated. The wheat shall be gathered into His barn. But the tares will be cast into the fire and consumed.
It's that simple.
Absolutely correct, my friend. To wit, the thief on the cross next to Jesus didn't get taken off the cross and get baptized when he asked Jesus to remember him when He entered His kingdom.
And Jesus promised him that on that day, he would be with Him.
With the power of the Holy Spirit's quickening the person hearing the Word, yes ma'am!
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
--Romans 10:17
Ambiguous question. Please rephrase.
"In fact, those who through no fault of their own are not aware of the Gospel of Christ and the Church, but who nonetheless search sincerely for God, and with the help of grace attempt to carry out His will, known through the dictates of their conscience – they too can attain eternal salvation.
"Nor will Divine Providence deny the help necessary for salvation to those who have not yet arrived at a clear knowledge and recognition of God, and who attempt, not without divine grace, to conduct a good life."
The Pope dropped the ball on this one. This appears to be a dictate of man, not of Christ.
Only one exclamation point is necessary.
At any rate, sure people are responsible for this ignorance. You bet they are. Why? Adam.
It is not left up to interpretation at all. When Christ said that no one comes to the Father but by Him, He was referring to the shedding of His blood and His resurrection. That is what the Father sent Christ here for to secure the salvation of the believer. And this sacrifice is found only in Christ.
There is no room for interpretation here. That's like interpreting what the meaning of "is" is.
By the way, "the golden rule" will not get you into Heaven.
Through Christ, we receive mercy and avoid a fair judgement, the results of which not one of us truly desires. Those who sin without knowledge of Christ will ONLY receive a just punishment, the fact that Christians receive mercy and grace is not inherently relevant to the issue of justice for the unbeliever. No one will be found guilty who is not guilty, God shall be fair to the unbeliever.
Since salvation is the avoidance of just punishment, and is available to all who place their faith in Christ, the importance of Evangelism springs up. If those who were un-knowing of the Gospel of Christ were automatically forgiven, then Evangelism would in fact COST people their salvation. This seems to be the opposite of Biblical teaching.
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