Roman Catholics and Salvation of the Non-Christian

Copied here from the desk of Kelly Wahlquist is one of the best explanations of the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on the Salvation of the non-Christian... (I took this post from Jeff Cavins's website... http://www.jeffcavins.com


Revelation reveals if we die in Christ we will be crowned and seated on thrones. For those who do not die in Christ (Non Christians), will they be crowned in the same glory?In the Gospel of John, Jesus answers Nicodemus’s question regarding the attainment of the Kingdom of God with, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” (Jn 3:5) As Catholics, we affirm that Baptism is necessary for salvation, for through our Baptism we are immersed into the death of Christ and rise with him as a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17) -a creature “reborn of water and the Spirit.” (CCC1257) The Catechism goes on to explain that God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments. Thus, Baptism is necessary for salvation; however, since Christ died for the salvation of all, there are those who can be saved without Baptism. Catechumens, those who strive to do God’s will without ever knowing Jesus Christ, and those without the knowledge about the faith or to whom the Gospel has never been proclaimed are such examples. (CCC 1260)
The Council Fathers of Vatican II do not exclude anyone acting in good faith from the possibility of salvation. In the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), paragraph 16 the Council Fathers wrote:“Nor is God remote from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, since he gives to all men life and breath and all things (cf. Acts 17:25-28), and since the Savior wills all men to be saved (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4). 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 dictates of their conscience—those too, may achieve eternal salvation.
“Nor shall divine providence deny the assistance necessary for salvation to those who, without any fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, and who, not without grace, strive to lead a good life.”
That said, we must remember that just being Christian does not earn us our way into heaven. (Rom 3:20) “Salvation is the free gift of God through Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8-9; Rom 3:24-25; 6:23; CCC 161-169) but, we must accept and freely cooperate with this gift. (Phil 2:12-13; Gal 5:6; CCC1949)” For the reason that salvation is a gift, so too is Baptism a gift as it is conferred upon those who bring nothing of their own. In fact, St. Gregory of Nazianzus referred to Baptism as “God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift.” (Oratio 40, 3-4; PG 36,361C) Ultimately, we can only entrust the souls of those who die without the gift of Baptism (those who do not die in Christ) to the mercy of God (CCC 1261) remembering, that God’s mercy is infinite and cannot be bound by human limitations.
References: Lumen Gentium; Second Vatican Council, Nov. 21, 1964; Catechism of the Catholic Church; Did Adam and Eve have Belly Buttons? And Did Jesus Have a Last Name? Matthew Pinto & Jason Evert; www.americancatholic.com

I Just Don't Get It!!!

In an article today on CNN.com entitled "Presidential candidate Brownback: Homosexual acts are immoral," devout Roman Catholic Sen. Brownback of Kansas said the following:

"I do not believe being a homosexual is immoral, but I do believe homosexual acts are. I'm a Catholic and the church has clear teachings on this."

First of all, I commend Sen. Brownback for sticking to his guns and not waffling about as other presidential candidates from McCain to Clinton to Obama are presently doing with regards to this sensitive issue.

Second, it's good to see a devout Catholic standing up for what he believes ( pace John Kerry ), and it's good to see someone who actually knows what the Roman Catholic Church teaches on sensitive subjects such as homosexuality. Yes, in Catholicism homosexuality is seen as being somewhat genetic and a result of the fall. Therefore, being gay is not a sin but homosexual acts are!

However, here's what I don't get:

This same Sen. Brownback has supported legislation all along in favor of the Iraq war. He is now supporting legislation to block a troop withdrawl from Iraq. BUT, Sen. Brownback's church also teaches that the Iraq war is in fact an UNJUST WAR! Both the late Pope John Paul II and the current Pope Benedict XVI have declared Iraq unjust!

SO... how does this devout Catholic have the right to quote the Church's teaching on one thing (i.e., sexuality) and yet he ignores the Church's teaching on war?

I'm really totally perplexed at this point, and I just don't get it!

I mean... he's literally saying--without saying it of course--that, "O... I follow the church when it comes to abortion and gay issues, but I treat Catholicism lightly when it comes to warfare. I mean... I do know more than my Pope on this one..." which, ironically, is what many of Sen. Brownback's "liberal" opponents are saying when they say "any type of sex is fine" and "a woman has a right to choose" etc.

How could that be?

Can somebody please explain this one to me!!!

In disgust,

David

Windows Vista

Well... I upgraded to Window's Vista. My computer now looks like a Mac but functions like one of my cats in the litterbox! (Long story... I'll explain later... but the gist of it is... it's all over the place! Like cat pee... really!!!)

Windows Vista is officially on some list of mine; but I can't quite figure out what that list would be? Perhaps on my "Borderline - I Hate You, but Please Don't Crash on Me!" list or on my "Manic List! -- God I love You! Now I hate you!" Or, maybe I'll just put it on my "One More Reason why Microsoft is the Anti-Christ" list... Hmm...

Anyway...

Have fun when the rest of you upgrade except those enlightened few of you who paid $500 extra to get a Mac!

Peace,

David

You're On Notice!!!

(1) Hubert of Techwave Computers! (Don't ask!!!)

David

Top 10 Things I Will Miss About Canada

Slowly but surely that fateful date is approaching upon which Kari and I will no longer live in the Great White North. I've spent the last few weeks aimlessly strolling around parts of Toronto and asking myself what sorts of things I want to do and see before I leave Canada. Like any tourist, I still want to pay the outrageous $67 CAD and go up the CN Tower, and I want to engage in a bit of Torontonian culture by going to the Art Gallery of Ontario and perhaps the Ceramics Museum. In the midst of such thoughts, I've begun to compile a small but ample list of things that I will actually miss about this country. The following is what I've come up with so far on my 1/3 of km walk from our apartment to the nearest Starbuck's...

I will miss...

(1) The Parliamentary System
(2) The irony of a Parliamentary System that thinks it's more moral than the 3-branch US System, even though Canada's Parliament approved a bill that paved the way for government sanctioned swingers's clubs!
(3) Comercials promoting the Canadian Armed Forces, which try their darndest to look like a Tom Clancy Splinter Cell X-Box game in order to attract the attention of teenage Canadians
(4) The Toronto Transit System, which, though not always reliable, is one of the cleanest and most pee-free subway systems in the world
(5) The 18% cream that Tim Horton's puts in its coffee
(6) Crux Books (the best theological bookstore in the world... hands down!!!)
(7) All of the Canadian commentary on US politics and US history, which, ironically, used to bother me but is now just down right funny for all of its inaccuracies, such as the time a member of the church we used to go to told us that our national anthem had lyrics supporting the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction
(8) Hearing Canadian Christians explain why the US of A is under some sort of spiritual attack because it is participating in an unjust war, while all along the Canadian Christians telling me this seem to conveniently forget the fact that their country is also in an unjust war
(9) Poutine (not so much because I've ever tried it, but I just like saying the name)
(10) Interact debit machines

Next up... the top 10 things I won't miss about Canada...

David

A Great Little Movie...

If you want to see a great little movie that was easily forgotten by movie-goers of the year 2004, make sure you check out Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story starring Rob Corddry and several other members of The Daily Show cast.

The movie is remarkably intelligent! I mean, what else could a faux-documentary on Paintball be but intelligent?

My favorite line from the flick has to do with Canada--The Great White North. At one point in the movie a Paintball ref refers to Canada as, "Our retarded little brother to the north; a bastion of socialism and alcoholism!"

Ah... somebody finally got it right... :-)

David

I Recommend...

I recommend the following website to learn the Church's ancient practice of prayer called lectio divina

http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html

Pax et securitas,

David

Some Quotes That Have Sustained Me...

The following are some quotes I came across this week. As is often the case, the words of those who have gone before me have greatly comforted me. May their legacy live on in their words until the Resurrection. Amen! (O... BTW - Kreeft is still alive!)

"Sin is the only Christian dogma you can prove simply by reading the daily newspaper" - G. K. Chesterton

Commenting on the Gospels, Tolkien says, "There is no tale that [good] men would rather believe is true"

"He also providentially prepares the world for the spread of the gospel by unifying it as never before or since under a single Roman law, language, communications, transportation, and peace: the pax Romana was God's providential preparation for the pax Christi" - Peter J. Kreeft in Catholic Christianity

David

My Wardrobe...

So a former student of mine--and an Iraq war vet, who's ironically going back again (go figure)--just sent me an e-mail and told me that he's jealous... and I quote... "of my wardrobe!" Now I'm flattered by this but it all came after telling him that I'd recently ventured to Richardson's Tartan Shop to purchase a Tartan black-watch vest with matching tie. I also explained to this former student of mine that people in the academic world can get away with wearing things that would be considered ostentatious or... well... gay... in any other profession...

But this well-built, very masculine, William Wallace of a former student of mine said, "No... I'm jealous of your wardrobe, gay or not..."

Maybe this is what is wrong with the US military! Maybe it needs kilts in all sorts of Tartan patterns... then and only then could it win the war on terrorism, because the Tartan patterns would inspire William Wallace-like courage among our military personnel. (Uh... I'm kidding in case you couldn't tell)

But... this is my new theory... and it's the key to Iraq... kilts in Tartan patterns...

Sorry Daniel... but the story had to be told...

Then again, we should all remember Carlyle's poems... clothes do make a man, and instead of covering up deficiencies, they actually tell us a lot about the mental state of a person. Thus, when it comes to academia, based on all the shabby clothing of so many prof's, academia is in a poor psychological state!

David

Encouragement?

So... I received this weird sort of encouragement today...

I was--as is sometimes very usual for me--gracing the rows of books at Crux bookstore, located at Wycliffe College, U of Toronto and Hart House. While there I bumped into a colleague of mine that I've not seen in months. We began to chat, and as is often the case with PhD students at the end of their comp stage, we complained about the program, talked about the program's debilitating psychological effects, and generally complained about anything and everything we could think of. Then we talked about beer and contemplated how nice it would be to be able to go on anti-depressants (don't ask! If you're curious... read the Chronicle of Higher Education. It will give you the background for this one...)

Not too long into this conversation my colleague asked me, "Is it true that you thought of quitting a month ago?" Sheepishly, I replied, "Yes! I really thought about it... but decided against it, mainly because I couldn't bare the thought of starting over in some other career." Then, my colleague asserted, "Don't feel bad about it! I've thought of quitting at least four times!" (Ah! That's three more than me... Really... this may sound trivial, but being able to add and subtract at this level is good for me, for I fear that I don't exactly excel at math... I mean in an undergrad math class at U of Cincinnati, I was even given a calculator and could barely pull a B on my math exams! It's sad I know... anyway...)

What happened next, however, shocked me! My long lost colleague said, "I'm glad you've decided to finish." When I asked why, he said, "Because a bunch of us got together and said, 'If Reed can't finish this thing, then we're all screwed!'" (What I don't think my colleague realized is that I'd just thought, 'Wow! If he wanted to quit three times, then I'm pretty much up you know what type of creek and without you know what type of a paddle!). Now... lest I digress... I was somewhat flattered, because apparently I'd become some sort of "canon" for whether or not other PhD students could finish the program. But, what I couldn't quite figure out was why? Why had I become a "canon" for whether or not other PhD students could finish their programs?

I suppose I've fooled someone along the way. I'm not sure exactly what I've done, but all I can think of is that it must have something to do with my wardrobe. I'm beginning to believe this more and more. Yes, the wardrobe principal! People trust a guy who can wear a tweed blazer paired with a tie and a vest. Yet, what many people don't get is that I'm wearing these clothes to compensate for my own academic deficiencies... It's that old banking principle: If you want to be a CEO then for God's sake, dress like one! However, in my case it's: If you've got some academic deficiencies, then for God's sake cover them up by dressing like a serious academic! And, in N. America that means looking as British as you possibly can! (I don't know why, but that's what it means...)

Ah well... I think it has something to do with my sometimes George Costanza approach to life. Really! I'm not kidding!

I actually told the Chair of the Religion Dept. at Wright State that until he gives me a full-time tenured job I'm going to follow the Costanza principle and just act as if I'm tenured and work at Wright State full-time. What surprised me is that the Chair of the Religion Dept. laughed and said, "Hey... that's a pretty good idea... Maybe I should try that!" Hmm...

But... seriously... it's all about the wardrobe...

Word to all male readers out there... buy a used copy of Color for Men and read it...

David

My Hatred of New England

It's a strange thing really... 5 years ago, before I met my wife, I could've cared-less about a man named Tom Brady and a team called the New England Patriots. However, my wife has taught me not just to loathe the Patriots, but to really hate them!!!

As the Colts pounded the Patriots tonight, I sat there, uncharacteristically, calling Brady all sorts of names. I made fun of Belichik's baggy clothes--I really don't understand them at all--I conjured up magnanimously fictious stories about how Belichik might be a racist, especially if he beats up on Indianopolis' African American coach. The reality is, none of it makes any sense--but I owe it all to my Pittsburgh Steeler loving wife, who I've also got to thank for restoring my faith in football after Ken Anderson an the Bungles crushed it when I was but a wee little child sitting in the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI with my dad!!! Then again, Boomer did it to me a few years later... and that was that!!! (Why I don't blame Montana I'll never know... O that's right... he went to Notre Dame an I'm a Catholic! Now that makes sense...)

Then again... as a Red Sox fan I've this unnatural--and unexplainable--hatred of the Yankees! And, yes, it's rubbed off on my wife!

FYI - I'll never forgive the Yankees for taking Johnny D! That was still one of the worst days in my life...

David

New House

Here's a picture of the new house we're going to be living in starting in April...

New Blog Up and Running

Well... finally I got around to fixing the new blog... please enjoy (more posts to follow)...

David