Posted on 12/29/2015 11:47:48 AM PST by Jan_Sobieski
In comments likely to enhance his progressive reputation, Pope Francis has written a long, open letter to the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, Eugenio Scalfari, stating that non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences. Responding to a list of questions published in the paper by Mr Scalfari, who is not a Roman Catholic, Francis wrote: "You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don't believe and who don't seek the faith. I start by saying - and this is the fundamental thing - that God's mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience.
"Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience."
[...]
In July, Francis signalled a more progressive attitude on sexuality, asking: "If someone is gay and is looking for the Lord, who am I to judge him?"
(Excerpt) Read more at timesofindia.indiatimes.com ...
One must believe in Him first, repent of their sins and then be baptized.
If you're asking how one becomes a Christian may I recommend reading John chapters 3, 5, and 10.
If you have any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them.
You can freepmail me if you'd like to keep it private
Especially with the changes this one is making. There is much more to this.
In comments likely to enhance his progressive reputation, Pope Francis has written a long, open letter to the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, Eugenio Scalfari, stating that non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences.
No need to bring our ex-wife's into it.
I most certainly have a belief in Christ.
Ok. Good to hear. Wasn’t sure from your conversation with the other poster.
She posted that passage and it went straight to my heart and so I thought I was supposed to ask her, since this has been troubling me and there it was in her post.
Ahteists don’t care about going to Heaven because they don’t believe in it. They think when you die you go in the ground and the worms eat your eyeballs and that’s as good as it gets.
So I come to the three questions you put to me in the article of August 7. It seems to me that, in the first two, what is in your heart is to understand the attitude of the Church to those who don't share faith in Jesus. First of all, you ask me if the God of Christians forgives one who doesn't believe and doesn't seek the faith. Premise that - and it's the fundamental thing - the mercy of God has no limits if one turns to him with a sincere and contrite heart; the question for one who doesn’t believe in God lies in obeying one's conscience. Sin, also for those who don't have faith, exists when one goes against one’s conscience.
Yes, Virginia, there is salvation outside the Catholic Church.
You posted: “Pope Francis has written a ...letter ...stating that non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences.”
Now back to the headline:
“You don’t have to believe in God to go to heaven”
“Forgiven” and “Go to heaven” are not synonymous. If they were synonymous, then we would be told the sinful woman (Luke 7:48) would have suddenly left the earth and gone to heaven or the paralytic man would instantly have gone to heaven (Matthew 9:1-7) BUT that IS NOT what we are told.
Here are a couple of passages which show that forgiveness and salvation are not equivalent: Psalm 103:12, Mark 2:5, Luke 23:43, Mark 1:4 (coupled that with Acts 19:3-4).
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I agree.
The word of God says that “He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved”
Shall be saved, not is saved.
2Peter 2:20-22
[20] For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
[21] For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
[22] But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
You also ask me, in conclusion of your first article, what we should say to our Jewish brothers about the promise made to them by God: has it all come to nothing? Believe me, this is a question that challenges us radically as Christians, because, with the help of God, especially since Vatican Council II, we have rediscovered that the Jewish people are still for us the holy root from which Jesus germinated. In the friendship I cultivated in the course of all these years with Jewish brothers in Argentina, often in prayer I also questioned God, especially when my mind went to the memory of the terrible experience of the Shoa. What I can say to you, with the Apostle Paul, is that God's fidelity to the close covenant with Israel never failed and that, through the terrible trials of these centuries, the Jews have kept their faith in God.
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You do not need any church to be saved.
The Revelation calls us out of the corrupted churches, to the plain, simple belief in Yeshua. It is all between you and him.
Read John’s first epistle; it tells the whole story.
Steer away from the rantings of men; believe only that which is written plainly in the scriptures, and ignore the added (italicised) words on the pages.
The word was written for us, as individuals, not for the nicolaitans to twist to their own power.
When you have read and prayed over the word, and fully understand it, then find a congregation based on what is written in the word.
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It's happened before. The Church not only survived such incidents but produced many Saints since. This fact alone should give any doubter pause.
Did Francis study theology under Joel Osteen?
I don't even know where to begin.
Thanks for posting that verse. I’ll have to look up a good commentary on that.
ebb tide, why did you ping me to your response to Mrs. Don-o?
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