December 21, 2004
Salvation Reqirements
In my entry about Mary, I got a thought provoking comment regarding requirements for salvation:
I’ve never been comfortable with the idea that *anything* has to be believed so that someone can be saved, and I don’t think that’s what the Church teaches anyway. We can’t say that someone is going to heaven or hell – we’re not God. And I have absolute faith in the limitless possibilities of God’s mercy.
-rachel2205
I replied to Rachel’s comment as best I could, but I’m no theologian, so I’m not sure if I explained correctly or clearly. So, if anyone else wants to take a stab, go for it.
This was my reply:
Rachel, you’re right that the Church doesn’t say it can determine with certainty that someone will or won’t go to heaven because only God can determine that… humans can’t make that judgement. The Church also does not teach that salvation is impossible outside of the Church. BUT the Church does teach that the way to salvation is through Christ and full truth/knowledge of Christ can be found in the Church and it’s teachings handed down from scripture, Tradition and tradition. That said, the Church might say that a Catholic would be “on the right track” to salvation more than someone who out-right rejected the Church, but nobody could determine what would actually happen. For the Catholic, that would mean that accepting/believing the Church’s teachings would be “required” for salvation.
I’m not sure I explained this in the best way… let me see if I can’t seek out a better explanation….