Dear Brent,
We need a point of reference, a general principle to which we can
refer whenever we need to clarify our thoughts or to bring us
back to our road if we wander away from it. And let our general
principle be this: salvation is a free gift of God, which comes
to us only through Jesus Christ by his grace, won for us by his
saving life, death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead.
Or more briefly: salvation is by grace alone through Christ.
Next, we observe that God our Savior "desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1st Timothy 2:4).
These are my presuppositions. Now, I wish to go through your
message carefully and try to state our Catholic doctrine in
answer to your questions. This method will produce somewhat
rambling results, but I hope you will find them helpful. Of
course, I will need more than one message.
You are concerned for the salvation of three groups of people:
1) those who have not heard the Gospel;
2) those who faithfully follow non-Christian beliefs;
3) those who live good, decent lives by their own moral code, but
without believing in God.
You say that conservative Protestants seem to claim that all
three groups are doomed to hell because, lacking explicit and
intellectual belief in Christ, they cannot please God.
This position seems to you harsh and frightening, but you assert
that "it is at least a consistent answer to the question." Now,
I ask: consistent with what? It seems to me radically
inconsistent with God's infinite WISDOM, if he inspires Paul to
write "God desires all men to be saved" (1st Timothy 2:4), yet he
has left most human beings in situations where they cannot so
much as hear the Name of Christ.
It seems inconsistent with God's infinite JUSTICE: if Paul can
ask, "How are men to believe in Christ of whom they have never
heard" (Romans 10:14), is God then saying, "Well, yeah, but
they're damned anyway?" This is just?
It seems inconsistent with God's infinite MERCY: "The Lord is
gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in
mercy. The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over
all his works" (Psalm 145:8-9). The fact is that Jesus, who came
into the world, not to condemn us but to save us (John 3:17), on
one occasion, in his amazing mercy, said to the Pharisees, who
were then baiting him: "If you were blind, you would have no
guilt!" (John 9:41). That Bible verse we usually skip over, but
attend to it: in context, it can only mean, "If you did not know
me at all, you might be saved; but knowing me and rejecting me,
your guilt remains."
Finally, what you have called the conservative Protestant answer
seems inconsistent with the OMNIPOTENCE of God. In making
arrangements for our salvation, God has not painted himself into
a corner. He has not handcuffed himself nor put restrictions
upon his own power. In fact, he tells us: "I will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show
mercy" (Exodus 33:19).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reflects the untrammeled
power of god in its teaching. Although the visible Church,
working in this world, does not herself know of any means other
than baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude, and
although God has bound salvation to the sacrament of baptism, "HE
HIMSELF IS NOT BOUND BY HIS SACRAMENTS" (C.C.C. #1257,
emphases added).
So we reject the Protestant answer. It makes God look bad. It
is inconsistent with his wisdom, his justice, his mercy, and his
omnipotence.
I will continue in my next message.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -
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