John 3:16:
"God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, that whosoever shall believe in him shall have eternal life."
Where does that say anything about whether a pagan can be saved? I've heard universalists point to that verse as an argument that everyone is saved, but that is plainly a heresy, refuted in many laces within the bible.
>> If you spoke in terms of scripture <<
I presumed a basic bible literacy when I referred to Naomi, Cyrus, Moses, etc. Are you really incapable of finding out where in the bible the righteousness of these people is hailed?
>> I might be able to understand what you're trying to point out, <<
If the more complex reasons to spread God's word are too incomprehensible, the first should be simple enough: "Jesus told us to." And again, I presume a basic bible fluency enough that you could (a) recognize that that IS in the bible (b) if for some reason, you needed chapter and verse, you could find it with the help of a concordance.
>> focusing on extraneous stuff <<
It's actually none of our business whether a pagan might be saved. What is our business is that we are morally obligated to preach the gospel to that pagan. So, actually what I did is I brought the conversation from an abstract issue to what we are commanded by Jesus to do. And I don't think you can get simpler in logic than "Jesus told us to."
But because some intellectuals like to know more of the why, I gave further reasons.
>> NOTHING to do with leading people to Christ, only to Catholicism. <<
Again, what I did was shift the issue from an abstract discussion to one which defines our moral obligations. And I never mentioned one word about Catholicism. But since the Church is the body of Christ, and Catholicism is the church which was founded by Christ, bringing someone to Catholicism is identical to bringing someone to Christ. So had I focused on bringing people to Catholicism, I would still have been bringing people to Christ.
What do you not understand about "WHOSOEVER?"
If the more complex reasons to spread God's word are too incomprehensible, the first should be simple enough: "Jesus told us to."
You're right. Jesus told us to spread HIS word, not the Catholic church's.
If you're bringing someone to Christ I understand, many Catholics have brought people to Christ, and I dare say probably more than any other donomination thoughout history, but the focus of the Catholic church is not centered on Christ, it's centered on itself.