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