Posted on 06/28/2008 3:25:43 PM PDT by NYer
Issue: What does the Catholic Church mean by the phrase, "Outside the Church there is no salvation" (extra ecclesiam nulla salus)?
ResponsE: All salvation comes through Jesus Christ, the one Savior of the world (cf. Acts 4:12). His Holy Spirit dispenses those graces through His body, the Church. "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (Lk. 10:16).
Quoting from various documents of Vatican II and Pope Paul VI, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 776) explains:
As sacrament, the Church is Christ’s instrument. She is taken up by Him also as the instrument for the salvation of all, the universal sacrament of salvation, by which Christ is at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God’s love for men. The Church is the visible plan of God’s love for humanity, because God desires that the whole human race may become one People of God, form one Body of Christ, and be built up into one temple of the Holy Spirit. (see also nos. 846-848)
Discussion: There are two principal errors when it comes to the Church’s teaching on extra ecclesiam nulla salus. Some reject this teaching as both incorrect and arrogant. Others interpret this statement to condemn all those who are not visibly united to the Roman Catholic Church. To come to the proper understanding of this teaching, we must examine it within the context of divine Revelation and Church history. This examination will reveal that the phrase was not formulated to express who would go to heaven and who would go to hell, for only God will judge that. Rather, the phrase expresses an understanding of the Church in relation to her role in the salvation of the world.
Translation or Interpretation?
Many people translate the Latin phrase extra ecclesiam nulla salus as "Outside the Church there is no salvation." This translation does not seem entirely faithful to the Latin meaning, and contributes to the misunderstanding of the phrase.
The Latin word "extra" is both an adverb and preposition. Depending on its use in a sentence, the word has different meanings. When used to describe spatial relations between objects, the word is translated as "beyond" or "outside of"(e.g., beyond the creek is a tree; or, James is outside of the room). When used to describe abstract relations between concepts or intangible things, the word is commonly translated "without" (e.g., Without a method, it is difficult to teach). Within the phrase in question, extra is a preposition describing the abstract relationship of the Church to salvation. Considering the Latin nuances of the word, a proper translation would be, "Without the Church there is no salvation." This translation more accurately reflects the doctrinal meaning of the phrase.
Scriptural Foundations
In the Gospel of Mark, after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and gave them the commission, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk. 16:15-16).
In order to accept or reject the Gospel, each person must have it preached to him. If acceptance or rejection of the truth were based on private revelations given to each man, woman, and child, there would be no need for Christ to commission the Apostles to preach the Gospel. Jesus desired to reveal Himself through His body, the Church. While this passage condemns those who reject the truth, it does not condemn those who have not had the truth offered to them as Christ intends.
The New Testament clearly teaches that salvation is a gift offered by God in various ways to all men. Adam, Abel, and Enoch lived between the first sin and the covenant of Noah. They were bound by original sin. All are considered to be in heaven. Enoch did not even die, but was taken to God before death (Heb. 11:4-5). These men were neither baptized nor circumcised, but nonetheless saved.
When the gentile centurion came to Jesus in Capernaum and asked for the healing of his servant, Our Lord agreed to go to his home, but the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Mt. 8:8). Jesus replied:
Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from East and West and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth (Mt. 8:10-13).
Jesus makes a clear distinction between those who are sons of the kingdom (that is, those who have knowledge of and accepted of the faith) and those who are not. He includes in the kingdom of heaven many of those who are not. Jesus graces us with His incarnation, and His presence is known through His Body, the Church. The Church carries on the work of Christ here on earth. Those to whom the Church has not preached the Good News will be judged by God in a manner known to God and tempered with His mercy. As St. Paul explains:
When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my Gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus (Rom. 2:14-16).
Sacred Tradition
Many people who claim that God restricts salvation to baptized Catholics cite the Fathers of the Church to prove their assertions. While space does not allow an exhaustive analysis of the Fathers, there are several necessary points to keep in mind. First, the Fathers must be understood in the context of their writings, not in the context of the one quoting them. The majority of the Fathers who wrote on this topic were concerned about those who had once believed or had heard the truth, but now rejected it. Many of them believed the entire world had heard the Gospel. Their words were not directed at those who, by no fault of their own, did not know the Gospel of Christ.
The Fathers do affirm the inherent danger in deliberately rejecting the Church. For example, St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote at the turn of the second century, "Be not deceived, my brethren; if anyone follows a maker of schism, he does not inherit the kingdom of God" (Letter to the Philadelphians 3:3). In the third century, St. Cyprian of Carthage wrote, "whoever is separated from the Church and is joined to an adulteress [a schismatic church] is separated from the promises of the Church, nor will he that forsakes the Church of Christ attain to the rewards of Christ. He is an alien, a worldling, and an enemy" (The Unity of the Catholic Church 6, 1). In the fourth century, St. Jerome wrote, "Heretics bring sentence upon themselves since they by their own choice withdraw from the Church, a withdrawal which, since they are aware of it, constitutes damnation" (Commentary on Titus 3:10-11).
On the other hand, many of the Fathers did write about those who were invincibly ignorant of the Gospel. Of these, the Fathers accepted that salvation was open to them, even if in a mysterious way. The Fathers recognized that the natural law of justice and virtue is written on the hearts of all men. Those who respect this law respect the Lawgiver, though they do not know Him. As St. Justin Martyr wrote in the second century:
We have been taught that Christ is the first-begotten of God, and we have declared Him to be the Logos of which all mankind partakes (Jn. 1:9). Those, therefore, who lived according to reason [logos] were really Christians, even though they were thought to be atheists, such as, among the Greeks, Socrates, Heraclitus, and others like them . . . those who lived before Christ but did not live according to reason were wicked men, and enemies of Christ, and murderers of those who did live according to reason, whereas those who lived then or who live now according to reason are Christians. Such as these can be confident and unafraid (First Apology 46).
In the third century, St. Clement of Alexandria wrote: "Before the coming of the Lord, philosophy was necessary for justification to the Greeks; now it is useful for piety . . . for it brought the Greeks to Christ as the Law did the Hebrews" (Miscellanies 1:5). Origen wrote, "[T]here was never a time when God did not want men to be just; He was always concerned about that. Indeed, He always provided beings endowed with reason with occasions for practicing virtue and doing what is right. In every generation the Wisdom of God descended into those souls which He found holy and made them to be prophets and friends of God" (Against Celsus 4:7). In the fifth century, St. Augustine wrote: "When we speak of within and without in relation to the Church, it is the position of the heart that we must consider, not that of the body . . . All who are within the heart are saved in the unity of the ark" (Baptism 5:28:39).
Magisterial Pronouncements
Throughout the history of the Church, the Magisterium has accepted and synthesized these teachings. Recognizing that God will judge our hearts according to the gifts we have received, invincible ignorance—that is, ignorance which cannot be overcome by ordinary means—tempers divine justice. Those who have knowledge of the truth are expected to accept it. Those who have not been given this gift will be judged according to the law written on their hearts. Two noteworthy examples of this position are found in Pope Boniface VIII’s bull Unam Sanctam (1302) and Pope Pius IX’s encyclical Quanto Conficiamur Moerore (1863).
Boniface VIII wrote concerning the nature of the Church and the supremacy of the Pope. He did not write concerning the damnation of those who have never heard the Gospel. After expressing the truth that there is only one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism and one Church, he explained that supreme authority of the Pope is both temporal and spiritual. He then ended by declaring: "We declare, say, define, and pronounce, that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." This is not a statement demanding that everyone know the supremacy of the Pope to be saved, but rather is a truthful claim that the Pope authority from God as the legitimate successor of St. Peter, to whom Our Lord entrusted the keys of the kingdom.
Pius IX clearly expressed the full teaching a century ago. His writing distinguishes between those who are invincibly ignorant and those who have willfully separated themselves from the Catholic Church:
There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace. Because God knows, searches, and clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and nature of all, His supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments. Also well-known is the Catholic teaching that no one can be saved [without] the Catholic Church. Eternal salvation cannot be obtained by those who oppose the authority and statements of the same Church and are stubbornly separated from the unity of the Church and also from the successor of Peter, the Roman Pontiff, to whom the custody of the vineyard has been committed by the Savior (no. 7).
Sacrament of Salvation
In an expression of the authentic Magisterium, the college of bishops further explained this doctrine in the context of Christocentric sacramental theology at Vatican II. Echoing the words of St. Paul, the Council described the Church as the Spouse and Body of Christ (Lumen Gentium, nos. 6-7). Jesus is one with His Spouse, the Church (cf. Eph. 5:32). The two form the one Body of Christ visible on earth. Christ is the Head, and He ministers through His body as the sacrament of salvation (Lumen Gentium, no. 9). To whom does He minister? Both His body and those apart from the body, that he might draw all men to Himself (ibid., no. 13). In this way, the Church dispenses to all men the graces of salvation won by Christ. Those who knowingly reject these graces are lost. Those who accept them are saved. Those who do not have the opportunity to accept the grace can be saved because of the presence of the Church in the world (cf. 1 Cor. 7:12-16). If they are saved, they are saved through the Church without their knowledge of that grace.
Vatican II declares:
[Many] of the most significant elements and endowments which together go to build up and give life to the Church itself, can exist outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church: the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements. All of these, which come from Christ and lead back to Him, belong by right to the one Church of Christ. . . . It follows that these separated Churches and communities as such, though we believe they suffer from the defects already mentioned, have been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church (Decree on Ecumenism, no. 3).
Come Aboard!
This teaching of Christ and His Church is not meant to allow indifferentism or exclusivism. Baptism and unity with the Catholic Church provide the only assurance of salvation, but not the only means. "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but He Himself is not bound by His sacraments" (Catechism, no. 1257, original emphasis).
The will of God is for "all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4). To fulfill His will, Jesus commissioned the Apostles to preach the Gospel and baptize those who would embrace it (Mk. 16:16). He gave us the Sacrament of Baptism and unity with the Church as the ordinary means of salvation. By Baptism we are made sharers in the life of Christ. When we participate in the fullness of life within the Church, we remain obedient children of God with the Church as our Mother. To provide assurance for the salvation of all men, we must fulfill the command of Christ to evangelize the world and bring all into His Body, the Church.
Because God is not bound by the sacraments, He makes the grace of salvation available to all in ways unknown to us. This is the basis for the Church’s teaching on "Baptism of desire" (cf. Catechism, nos. 1258-60, 1281). This occurs, for example, when one seeks Baptism but dies first, or when one dies without explicit knowledge of Christ, but would have embraced the truth had it been presented. Only God can judge their souls.
The Church is the ark through which men are saved. Noah and his family were the only men saved on the ark, but even animals who had no understanding of the matter were saved with them. As the ark saved all on it, even those who had no knowledge, so does the Church, as the universal sacrament of salvation, dispense the graces won by Christ and applies them to all men of every place and condition. In a way mysterious to us, this salvation is offered to all, and God, who judges the hearts of all, will determine their destiny.
“Whom?”
Look, it has been good fun, but now we are wasting time. I have to get ready for tomorrow.
Douay-Rheims dates to 1582 (?). In the 18th century Bishop Challoner improved the fluidity of the language, so to speak, using the King James Version when the use of it did not effect the Catholic truth of the text.
I’m betting you have the DRC, most of them are.
Compare a few verses from your printed version to http://www.drbo.org, or check the front few pages for reference to Bishop Challoner.
Don’t take my word for it, though. The wiki writeup is pretty good: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douay-Rheims#Challoner_Revision
It’s a deeper question than you think.
I’ve gotten to the point that any book I plan on keeping is leather bound.
Definitely worth the investment...especially if there will be little Petronski’s to benefit from the purchase.
I am going to send you an email about a recent purchase of mine.
“How can you have contrite repentant faith in Christ and not attempt to live by His Laws?”
They do. If you overall don’t, then you don’t have contrite repentant faith. Not all who call themselves evangelical or born again do, and an overall unChristian life disqualifies them from claiming saving faith, although statistically it is evangelicals who typically manifest far more evidence of regeneration than those whom the Roman Catholic Institution calls members.
“although statistically it is evangelicals who typically manifest far more evidence of regeneration than those whom the Roman Catholic Institution calls members.”
Of course you have empirical evidence of this claim, not mere flawed perception. The “Roman Catholic Institution”...that’s rich lol.
Where in Scripture is the Church defined this way? Your definitions of the Church simply do not fit with Scripture, and is truly a ‘tradition of man’
How would you make sense of the following?
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Mat 81:15-18
Where do you take your concerns? Makes no sense whatsoever without the visible Church Christ established with teaching authority, and the power to loose and bind.
Think about it. Would Christ establish his Church – to teach the way, the truth – and allow thousands of interpretation as to what is the truth? If the Church doesn’t teach the Truth, Christ is a liar. If He would allow multiple versions of Truth, he’d be an idiot. I don’t believe He is either.
Good Lord. Do you mind not directing people to the website of an explicity Church-condemned, false “apparition”?
My apologies, I was not aware of that connection, only wanted to link to that Bible, available from many sources.
Religion Moderator, could you please delete my post 103?
I just picked up the Loreto addition, very nicely and modestly done in bonded leather, $50 delivered.
Before any little Petronskis get out of diapers, we’re going for the big boy.
Petronski - you rock. Thanks for updating that link...
Disclaimer: I don’t get a dime off of that Bible or any website selling it. It’s just that I discovered it and I love it so much (the Haydock is built-in!) that I wanted to spread the Word (pun intended).
I have neither time nor energy to debate you on the meaning of who the church is. When you can produce chapter and verse that outlines the existance of the RCC, not including the misleading view espoused regarding the translation of the word rock, let me know. Otherwise, you are scripturally wrong.
Re. “flawed perception:”
My “perception” is that a church which doctrinally hold to demonstrably unScriptural teachings, and which effectually fosters nominal Christianity even by it’s own criteria (and for which Catholics like Ted K need not fear real discipline), cannot claim to be the one true church, nor attack her competition until her cleans her own house up.
Weekly Church attendance (12 denominations polled, Christian and nominal Christian): 37% Christian Pentecostal/Foursquare and 35% of Assemblies of God churches reported they attended every Sonday. The lowest figure for weekly Sunday attendance was that of 6% for Catholics, and 11% for the Episcopal church.
Bible Reading: the highest was 75%, by those going to a Pentecostal/Foursquare church who reported they had read the Bible during the past week (besides at church), while the lowest was among Catholic at 23%
Volunteer church work (during past 7 days): Assemblies of God were highest at 30%, with the lowest going to Catholics at 12%
By denomination, 61% of the those associated with an Assemblies of God church said they had shared their faith at least once during the past year, followed by 61% of those who attend a Pentecostal/Foursquare church, and ending 14% among Episcopalians and just 10% among Roman Catholics
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=93 See also http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=15
81% of Pentecostal/Foursquare believers strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches , followed by 77% of Assemblies of God believers, and ending with 26% of Catholics and 22% of Episcopalians. http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=92
73% (highest) of Pentecostal/Foursquare believers strongly affirm that Christ was sinless on earth, with Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists being tied at 33%, and the lowest being among Episcopalians with just 28%
64% of those in Assemblies of God churches (versus only 9% of Catholics) strongly DISAGREE that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others they will earn a place in Heaven [salvation on the basis of merit].
56% of Assemblies of God (versus 17% Catholics) Christians strongly DISAGREE that Satan is just a symbol of evil [rather than a real being]http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=92
70 % of all Catholics in the age group 18 to 44 believe the Eucharist is a “symbolic reminder” of Jesus [it is, of His death], indicating they do not believe it is Jesus actual body and blood [as Rome erroneously teaches]. New York Times/CBS News poll, Apr. 21-23, 1994, subsample of 446 Catholics, MOE ± 5% New York Times/CBS News poll, Apr. 21-23, 1994, subsample of 446 Catholics, MOE ± 5%.
Only 30% of Catholics said believe they are really and truly receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine. 1992 Gallup poll
Age 65 and over, 51% of Catholics said they believe in the above doctrine. New York Times and CBS poll of Catholics. http://www.catholicapologetics.com/ba3.htm
66% of Catholics supported women’s ordination to the priesthood, and 73% approved of the way John Paul II leads the church. Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in U.S. Beliefs by George Gallup, Jr. and D. Michael Lindsay (Morehouse Publishing, 1999). Copyright © 2004 — The Gallup Organization www.gallup.com
80% of Catholics believe it is possible to disagree with the pope on official positions on morality and still be a good Catholic. Time/CNN nationwide poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Sept. 27-28, 1995; subsample of 500 Catholics, MOE ± 4.5%
77 % of Catholics polled “believe a person can be a good Catholic without going to Mass every Sunday, 65 percent believe good Catholics can divorce and remarry, and 53 percent believe Catholics can have abortions and remain in good standing. 1999 poll by the National Catholic Reporter. http://www.catholictradition.org/v2-bombs14b.htm
31% of faithful Catholics (those who attend church weekly) say abortion should be legal either in “many” or in “all” cases. Copyright © 2004 — The Gallup Organization Gallup Survey for Catholics Speak Out: 802 Catholics, May 1992, MOE ± 4%
Catholic women have an abortion rate 29 percent higher than Protestants. Alan Guttmacher Institute http://www.catholicleague.org/research/catholic_women_and_abortion.htm
See Table of brief casual Religio-Political relations. http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/liberaltable2.html
That’s a bit surprising, since your eternal salvation depends on the answer.
When you can produce chapter and verse that outlines the existance of the RCC, not including the misleading view espoused regarding the translation of the word rock, let me know.
That is a non sequitur. Christ never told anyone to write a Bible. The Catholic Church defined and protected the Bible through the ages. The Bible is an important part of the Church, and is read every day at Mass, but the Church established by Christ does not need the Bible. The Bible itself says it does not contain everything Christ taught. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John21:25
Why do you believe the Bible contains everything you need for salvation?
Wow! I've been around a long time, have read a bunch of strange posts -- but this is the first time I have read a post by someone who claimed to be God Almighty!
“although statistically it is evangelicals who typically manifest far more evidence of regeneration than those whom the Roman Catholic Institution calls members.”
Statistically speaking I’ll compare your specific denomination to Catholics the world over any time in total numbers if you like statistics. But the Catholic Church has many sacraments and beliefs passed down through the ages from Christ onward. It wasn’t meant to be easy.
Your “evidence” consists of public opinion polling, mostly self-identification questions.
“Are you saved”? “Yes”
It is far easier to PERCEIVE that your faith (whatever that is, you have failed to mention it) has far more “regeneration” than the The Church that Christ set up here on earth. Protestants in general have 10,000 differing viewpoints, theologies, and interpretations of Scripture. Certainly, such flexibility leads one to pick and choose and “feel” that they are correct and regenerated.
Along with this is the general view among Protestants of “being saved” by accepting Christ. This self inspired theology is not Scriptural (yes you can give me Scripture citations and I could match each of yours to the contrary, but that has been done over and over on FR) nor based in Tradition of His Church. But it does allow many to believe that they are regenerated by this and this alone. It’s a little more complex than that.
Who led the Church prior to Scripture being written? Do you really believe that Christ let his Church unguided, unaided, without leaders? You have not accepted the Fullness of his Word. But, I don’t condemn you. In fact, I applaud certain aspects of people who worship at Protestant churches. I feel we have more in common relative to non-believers and those of other religions.
However, if you want to denigrate the Catholic Church because of man made polling and self ingratiating perceptions, then feel free.
That's cause you don't have it figured out yet...
You guys think God gave someone in your religion the authority to change God's written words...You guys don't even believe the scripture...How you going to interpret it if you don't believe it???
God says He makes the interpretation...He says we are to believe what He says, when He says it, where He says it and who He says it to...File the writings of your 'fathers' in the round file cabinet and go buy a bible...You'd be amazed what's in there...
Well I've never head that one before from someone who claims to be a Christian...But heh, muzlims don't need the bible...Bhuddists don't need the bible...Satanists don't need the bible...
But you see, that's not really true...You guys need a bible...You need just enough scripture, however distorted you make it, to justify calling yourself Christians...
That's quite a statement...You don't need the word of God...
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