Have you done the quiz yet? Don't read this until you've done the quiz!
How Much Do You Know About Catholic Teaching?
To recap, I left some seeds of truths in the wrong answers, and the correct answers didn't always include the full truth. Really the question should have been 'Which option is the closest to the truth?'
(Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2.)
5. Will non-Christians make it to heaven?
CORRECT ANSWER 1. Possibly - Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but 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 may achieve eternal salvation.
2. Of course - God doesn't care what religion we belong to as long as we are good people. Many Hindus and Muslims are better Christians than Christians are.
3. Not possible - the Bible clearly says 'Those who do not believe will not be saved.'
4. Hell does not exist, it was a concept made up in medieval times to scare people. God is a God of love, so all people will be in heaven with Him.
This was an easy answer to guess because I made the mistake of making the correct answer far more detailed than the wrong ones. But I just couldn't bear to cut out any part of it.
Most Indian Catholics have heard again and again the lie that all religions are exactly the same, that it makes no difference if you are Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist, that Jesus, and the founders of other religions are practically the same. This probably came as a reaction to communal tension and violence that has often been incited in parts of India, and was seen as a way to maintain peace and harmony.
But it's good to go a little deeper, both into common sense and the actual teachings of the Church.
1. All religions are NOT the same, nor are our teachings identical (although there are many common moral teachings in them). The Catholic Church DOES say there are seeds of truth in different religions. But most importantly, Jesus is not the same as Ganesh or Prophet Muhammad or Buddha, and He never claimed to be.
2. Jesus made very specific claims and gave specific instructions to His followers. If he didn't care what religions we followed, or what we believed, He would never have told His followers, "Go and teach them everything I taught you and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." His followers by the way were Jews, and they became Christians too.
3. Jesus claimed to be the way to the Father, and the only One with the power to save. He founded the Church and sent His apostles to continue His saving mission. The Father has revealed Himself to the people who have been trying to find Him - through His Son Jesus.
4. If you have experienced Jesus' salvation in a real way, in a freedom from sins that used to control you, in having Someone to run to when you're struggling, then you know it is NOT the same thing to know Jesus as not to know Him.
It is impossible to persevere in a fervent evangelization unless we are convinced from personal experience that it is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it, and not the same thing to contemplate him, to worship him, to find our peace in him, as not to. Joy of the Gospel 266
5. But we do NOT believe that means all who are not Christians are consigned to hell. That sounds very unjust and God is not only just, but also merciful. So how does this work together?
6. Here's a little more from that section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
"Outside the Church there is no salvation" How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: 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. CCC 845 - 847
7. This means it is POSSIBLE for them to be saved if they do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, have never been introduced to Him in a way they could understand, but sincerely desire to know and do His will. C.S. Lewis (who isn't Catholic) used a great analogy in The Last Battle and later said, "I think that every prayer which is sincerely made even to a false god, or to a very imperfectly conceived true God, is accepted by the true God and that Christ saves many who do not think they know him. For He is (dimly) present in the good side of the inferior teachers they follow. In the parable of the Sheep and Goats those who are saved do not seem to know that they have served Christ."
8. That doesn't mean we shouldn't consider the task of evangelization urgent. Just like us, people of all faith backgrounds are susceptible to sin, deceived by the Enemy in a myriad of ways, hungry and thirsty for the One who is truth and love, who brings the fullness of life, but chasing after the things that fail to satisfy. They need Jesus too. They MAY not make it to heaven (and we may not too if we do not daily accept and walk in the salvation Christ won for us).
9. The question we need to focus on is not who will or will not be saved, because we have not been given that information. Instead reflect on this - 'Those who are incorporated in the Catholic Church ought to sense their privilege and for that very reason their greater obligation of bearing witness to the faith and to the Christian life as a service to their brothers and sisters and as a fitting response to God. They should be ever mindful that "they owe their distinguished status not to their own merits but to Christ's special grace; and if they fail to respond to this grace in thought, word and deed, not only will they not be saved, they will be judged more severely."' Pope John Paul II, Mission of the Redeemer 11
This was a pretty detailed explanation, but it deserves and needs more than a short or incomplete answer.
I highly recommend watching Bishop Barron's video on the same topic.
Related Reading
Should Conversions Be Illegal?
How Much Do You Know About Catholic Teaching?
To recap, I left some seeds of truths in the wrong answers, and the correct answers didn't always include the full truth. Really the question should have been 'Which option is the closest to the truth?'
(Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2.)
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
5. Will non-Christians make it to heaven?
CORRECT ANSWER 1. Possibly - Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but 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 may achieve eternal salvation.
2. Of course - God doesn't care what religion we belong to as long as we are good people. Many Hindus and Muslims are better Christians than Christians are.
3. Not possible - the Bible clearly says 'Those who do not believe will not be saved.'
4. Hell does not exist, it was a concept made up in medieval times to scare people. God is a God of love, so all people will be in heaven with Him.
This was an easy answer to guess because I made the mistake of making the correct answer far more detailed than the wrong ones. But I just couldn't bear to cut out any part of it.
Most Indian Catholics have heard again and again the lie that all religions are exactly the same, that it makes no difference if you are Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist, that Jesus, and the founders of other religions are practically the same. This probably came as a reaction to communal tension and violence that has often been incited in parts of India, and was seen as a way to maintain peace and harmony.
But it's good to go a little deeper, both into common sense and the actual teachings of the Church.
1. All religions are NOT the same, nor are our teachings identical (although there are many common moral teachings in them). The Catholic Church DOES say there are seeds of truth in different religions. But most importantly, Jesus is not the same as Ganesh or Prophet Muhammad or Buddha, and He never claimed to be.
2. Jesus made very specific claims and gave specific instructions to His followers. If he didn't care what religions we followed, or what we believed, He would never have told His followers, "Go and teach them everything I taught you and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." His followers by the way were Jews, and they became Christians too.
3. Jesus claimed to be the way to the Father, and the only One with the power to save. He founded the Church and sent His apostles to continue His saving mission. The Father has revealed Himself to the people who have been trying to find Him - through His Son Jesus.
4. If you have experienced Jesus' salvation in a real way, in a freedom from sins that used to control you, in having Someone to run to when you're struggling, then you know it is NOT the same thing to know Jesus as not to know Him.
It is impossible to persevere in a fervent evangelization unless we are convinced from personal experience that it is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it, and not the same thing to contemplate him, to worship him, to find our peace in him, as not to. Joy of the Gospel 266
5. But we do NOT believe that means all who are not Christians are consigned to hell. That sounds very unjust and God is not only just, but also merciful. So how does this work together?
6. Here's a little more from that section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
"Outside the Church there is no salvation" How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: 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. CCC 845 - 847
7. This means it is POSSIBLE for them to be saved if they do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, have never been introduced to Him in a way they could understand, but sincerely desire to know and do His will. C.S. Lewis (who isn't Catholic) used a great analogy in The Last Battle and later said, "I think that every prayer which is sincerely made even to a false god, or to a very imperfectly conceived true God, is accepted by the true God and that Christ saves many who do not think they know him. For He is (dimly) present in the good side of the inferior teachers they follow. In the parable of the Sheep and Goats those who are saved do not seem to know that they have served Christ."
8. That doesn't mean we shouldn't consider the task of evangelization urgent. Just like us, people of all faith backgrounds are susceptible to sin, deceived by the Enemy in a myriad of ways, hungry and thirsty for the One who is truth and love, who brings the fullness of life, but chasing after the things that fail to satisfy. They need Jesus too. They MAY not make it to heaven (and we may not too if we do not daily accept and walk in the salvation Christ won for us).
9. The question we need to focus on is not who will or will not be saved, because we have not been given that information. Instead reflect on this - 'Those who are incorporated in the Catholic Church ought to sense their privilege and for that very reason their greater obligation of bearing witness to the faith and to the Christian life as a service to their brothers and sisters and as a fitting response to God. They should be ever mindful that "they owe their distinguished status not to their own merits but to Christ's special grace; and if they fail to respond to this grace in thought, word and deed, not only will they not be saved, they will be judged more severely."' Pope John Paul II, Mission of the Redeemer 11
This was a pretty detailed explanation, but it deserves and needs more than a short or incomplete answer.
I highly recommend watching Bishop Barron's video on the same topic.
Related Reading
Should Conversions Be Illegal?
Thanks Suzy. Very clear.
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