I have a question, and hopefully someone can answer it for me.
Often I see Protestants posting titles of books written by Protestants aimed at Catholics, like Dr. Eckleburg posted here yesterday:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2023605/posts?page=1908#1908
And I have read portions of some of these books, which are available in any Christian bookstore, and from what I can tell, the thesis is always more or less the same. The theory is that Catholics believe (fill in the blank) and because they believe this they are quite possibly going to burn in hell. Catholic readers of the book or the Protestants who witness to them are told how grave this situation is and that the only possibility to assure Salvation is to leave the Church. Protestants are reminded that nothing is more important than this. What never seems to be addressed is the unsaid implication that the late, beloved parents, grandparents, spouses, siblings and children of these Catholics are burning in hell, but that it is too late for them.
This seems to be the general mode of apologetics in these bound, elongated tracts. It is not defense of Protestant doctrine, it is actually an attack on Catholic doctrine with a Protestant interpretation (often coupled with liberal doses of misrepresentation) of why the Church is wrong.
So, my question is this, can ANYBODY give me the name of a current or recent Catholic book that indicates that mainline Protestants are possibly damned for their beliefs? Can you tell me where to buy a SINGLE book that tells Protestants that they must become Catholic to be saved from the fires of hell?
Good question. I for one would never pretend to play God and tell anyone they were condemned to hell, or worship the devil. Only my God can determine those things.
I think that is a wonderful question and truly shows the priorities of both groups.
Can someone answer?
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I can't. To be honest, in my experience, Protestantism hasn't really much of a subject of interest in the Church.
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I can't. To be honest, in my experience, Protestantism hasn't really been much of a subject of interest in the Church.
Correction above.
All the Catholic writers I know write about Catholicism. I suppose there might be some stray crackpot who'd rather write a hatchet job on another religion, but I haven't encountered him.
So, my question is this, can ANYBODY give me the name of a current or recent Catholic book that indicates that mainline Protestants are possibly damned for their beliefs? Can you tell me where to buy a SINGLE book that tells Protestants that they must become Catholic to be saved from the fires of hell?
Three points:
First, most Protestant writers are not so myopic as to say Catholics are going to hell. The books I've read about Catholicism by Protestant authors are careful to simply post the Scriptures which reveal the blatant idolatry of Rome, permitting the reader to draw his own conclusions.
Further, as regards the Reformed, we believe that only God knows the heart and we are very careful not to speculate on other people's salvation. No church on earth is perfect and no one has everything right 100% of the time or else they would be God. Read the Westminster Confession of Faith...
"V. The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error;[10] and some have so degenerated, as to become no Churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan.[11] Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth to worship God according to His will.[12]
Of the Church
All men are called to preach the Gospel in truth and love. Rome squirms because when that Gospel is preached Rome is shown to be in error time after time.
Secondly, there are dozens of books by writers like Scott Hahn who outline the restricted nature of salvation in Catholicism. Your own catechism at vatican.va says exactly that...
846"Outside the Church there is no salvation" How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336
Seems quite exclusive.
Now the Catholic apologist will point to 847 and 848 saying the RCC gives a break to those who are "ignorant."
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338 847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.337
Lol. God in heaven, thank you for teaching me "the Gospel of Christ and His church" and for keeping me "ignorant" of such foul errors as "other Christs" and "co-redeemers" and the alchemy of transubstantiation and confessional mediators and "infallible" false bishops of Rome, etc.
Finally, nowhere in Protestant literature is there anything even remotely like the edicts of the Council of Trent which loudly and with great finality and clarity of purpose curse to hell all those who believe in the Biblical truth of their justification by faith alone in Christ alone and who have confidence in that fact.
No one possess the hubris of Rome. None.
Do they think St. Peter and St. Paul are in hell?
Seems like I have a memory trace from somewhere in my 61 years of coming across a few. I have no idea about any keywords etc. They weren’t of particular interest at the time nor since.
I invite you to post 5 or 10 of these type of books available for sale to the general public.
Scurrilous phamphlets, tracts, and comic books are available from any number of kooks but I would hope are not so small minded as to paint Protestantism with that broad brush.
An Infallible Catholic document no matter when printed is still infallible. Correct? It is stil current. Correcct?
UNAM SANCTAM Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.