Originally posted by DoctorScribbles
How many people well-versed in Catholic doctrine agreee with this finding, that mere open-minded contemplation is sufficient for salvation according to the Catechism?
Let us see a show of hands, please.
How many non-Catholic Christians agree with this finding according their faith? Hands please.
This is a massive call out. My knowledge of the Cathechism is not
comprehensive, but I will give it my best and hope that Brother Ivanhoe
or Brother Lucifershammer will amend any errors I make on behalf of
their faith. This promises to be a long post.
1. The Roman Catholic Church is explicit is stating that they are the
One True Church. That is, while an imperfect institution, it is the
institution which follows from a direct line of succession (i.e., Apostolic)
from St Peter (the rock upon which the Church was built). The RCC
acknolwedges that the Eastern Church, too, has equal legitimacy to
that claim and considers them co-equal cousins in faith.
All other Christian and non-Christian traditions have spiritual merit
commensurate to the degree to which they agree with the teachings
of the Roman Catholic (or Eastern) Church. The above is not delineated
in the Cathechism but in the document
Dominus Iesus. Ivanhoe
seems to suggest that I have misread this, but the document is clear.
2. The RCC does not have a Doctrinal understanding of 'Hell.' By this
I mean that the RCC does not say: 'This is what Hell is and you, by
virtue of being RC, are obligated to believe it.' They offer conjectural
interpretations which range from literal (it is a physical location with
fire and brimstone) to metaphorical (it is a state of being where one
is simply separated from the Divine, the ultimate torture). The RCC
does not impose a specific belief-structure for Hell, just that it exists
in some capacity. It offers the quotations of Jesus as a point of reference,
but their official translation of the Bible also makes clear that Jesus was
using Gehenna (the smouldering garbage dump outside of Jerusalem) as
a metaphor. Some RC theologians interpret 'burning fire' to be akin to
the 'burning fire of passion;' that is, the burning comes from the longing
for God's love. As such, they interpret earth as a mini-Hell, wherein we
are searching for God's love. It is an interesting perspective, in any event.
3. Salvation comes through the Church. As St Peter and the Apostles
were given the power to hold sins bound or to liberate people from them,
so, too, does the Church (as a continuation of the Apostolic Line) have
this ability. This is the justification for the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
I might add. The Church does not claim that 'decides' who enters heaven,
but acts as a vessel through which Salvation occurs. It is a 'mediator' of
sorts, that is, by following the teachings of the Church, you have the
blessing of the Church upon your death. As the RCC holds that it is the
official Church of Jesus Christ, this blessing has salvific currency and has
weight in heaven. Those who are not formally part of the Church will
necessarily have a harder time getting into heaven, but their damnation is
not guaranteed, for they acknowledge that it is Christ, not the Church that
saves, that Christ will look into the hearts of the departed and decide on
their 'sheepship or goatship.'
4. The role of 'informed conscience' is always in play. Confer:
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/moral.html
The short of this Doctrine is that a person must always evaluate a given situation
or moral quandry against the teachings of the Church and, if that person comes
to the conclusion that the Church is in error,
s/he is obligated to follow his/her
conscience. That is, if on the matters of a particular dogmatic teaching, the
faithful finds him/herself unable to accept the conclusions of the Church after
contemplatative prayer and mediation, that person
must follow his/her conscience.
The RCC teaches that God will know the heart and intentions of the faithful in
question and judge in accordance with that. As written in that section, this does not
excuse ignorance or error, but offers the RC believer a degree of moral plasticity. To
tie this with another post I made, it allows a person his/her own hermaneutical standpoint.
I hope that this helps to explain some of what is being discussed here.
Nemesio