A Protestant Going to Hell?

[J.W.B]

Since our church teaches that once you are married in God’s eyes then you can never remarry again. But many protestant denominations believe otherwise today. What if you are married validly, but then get divorced and you become a protestant believing that your church has the truth, then you get remarried and remain living a good, moral life, are in daily prayer and live the commandments?

I know the Catholic Church would see this as adultry, but the Protestant believes other-wise (and I’m not saying all Protestants believe this) and stays with his wife and in his church and lives moraly until his death. Is that person going to hell because he did not believe that what the Catholic Church taught was the truth?
For that matter, are all Protestants dammed? No more beating around the bush, are they or are not they. You get the impression from some Catholics that ALL Protestants are damned, but from other Catholics that they are not. If a Protestant hears the fullness of truth from the Catholic Church, but does not believe ALL of it, but continues to stay in his Protestant Church living a good, moral life, is he/she damned. No one has ever answered this to me honestly, they always beat around the bush, so is it yes or no?

 

[LoneRanger]

J.W.B.:

Since our church teaches that once you are married in God’s eyes then you can never remarry again. But many protestant denominations believe otherwise today. What if you are married validly, but then get divorced and you become a protestant believing that your church has the truth, then you get remarried and remain living a good, moral life, are in daily prayer and live the commandments.

I know the Catholic Church would see this as adultry, but the Protestant believes other-wise and stays with his wife and in his church and lives moraly until his death. Is that person going to hell because he did not believe that what the Catholic Church taught was the truth?
For that matter, are all Protestants dammed? No more beating around the bush, are they or are not they. You get the impression from some Catholics that ALL Protestants are damned, but from other Catholics that they are not. If a Protestant hears the fullness of truth from the Catholic Church, but does not believe ALL of it, but continues to stay in his Protestant Church living a good, moral live, is he/she damned. No one has ever answered this to me honestly, they always beat around the bush, so is it yes or no?

…well, ultimately it will be up to God. Now, the question for you is, what do you think… all you have to do is convince God that as of such and such date you changed your mind… i wonder what the response would be? What do you think…

…that being said however, if out of invincable ignorance the person knew no better, well, then… we are back to square one… it’s up to God… I am not aware of a get out of jail free card when it comes to the admonishment that Christ himself gives scripturally about those that are married, put away their spouse and then marry again…

I do wish them peace, and a lot of luck…

 

[larryo]

The Church does not teach that all Protestants are going to hell–or all Jews or Moslems, for that matter. The Church teaches what Jesus taught; that is, if one truly loves God and his neighbor and keeps His commandments, he will be saved. The normal means of salvation established by Jesus is the Church He founded. That Church is the Catholic Church. However, if one, through ignorance, sincerely believes otherwise and lives his life accordingly, it is certainly possible that he will be saved. However, the best chance for salvation is through the Catholic Faith, provided one lives his life humbly and in faithful obedience to the all Church teachings as they have been handed down for two millenia. Also, see the *Catechism of the Catholic Church, *sections 830 through 856.

 

[JGC]

J.W.B.:

No one has ever answered this to me honestly, they always beat around the bush, so is it yes or no?

I am reluctant to post this in some ways because it tends to bring the forum rad trads out salivating.

Below is from the Catechism of the Catholic Church -

the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I approved 25 June last and the publication of which I today order by virtue of my Apostolic Authority, is a statement of the Church’s faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church’s Magisterium. I declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion… This catechism is given to them that it may be a sure and authentic reference text for teaching catholic doctrine and particularly for preparing local catechisms. It is also offered to all the faithful who wish to deepen their knowledge of the unfathomable riches of salvation (cf. *Eph *3:8)…The Catechism of the Catholic Church, lastly, is offered to every individual who asks us to give an account of the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15) and who wants to know what the Catholic Church believes. John Paul II

scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p3.htm#848
**“Outside the Church there is no salvation” **

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336
847 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.337

Please note ref 336 & 337 are from an ecumenical Council.

If a rad trad does produce a list of quotes to ‘bolster’ their position - who knows best, the Pope and the vast majority of the episcopate who approved the Catechism based on Scripture and Tradition, or someone who thinks the quotes they have pulled together justify’s their position, flying in the face of the Church?

The following article by Fr John Hardon clarify’s that the teaching has not changed.

The Catholic Church makes claims about herself that are easily misunderstood, especially in the modern atmosphere of pluralism and ecumenism. Among these claims, the most fundamental is the doctrine of the Church’s necessity for salvation. Not unlike other dogmas of the faith, this one has seen some remarkable development, and the dogmatic progress has been especially marked since the definition of papal infallibility. It seems that as the Church further clarified her own identity as regards the papacy and collegiality, she also deepened (without changing) her self-understanding as the mediator of salvation to mankind. cont ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ315.HTM

 

[JGC]

J.W.B.:

Since our church teaches that once you are married in God’s eyes then you can never remarry again. But many protestant denominations believe otherwise today. What if you are married validly, but then get divorced and you become a protestant believing that your church has the truth, then you get remarried and remain living a good, moral life, are in daily prayer and live the commandments?

818 "However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."272

819 "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth"273 are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements."274 Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him,275 and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."276

scborromeo.org/ccc/

 

[SPOKENWORD]

J.W.B.:

Since our church teaches that once you are married in God’s eyes then you can never remarry again. But many protestant denominations believe otherwise today. What if you are married validly, but then get divorced and you become a protestant believing that your church has the truth, then you get remarried and remain living a good, moral life, are in daily prayer and live the commandments?

I know the Catholic Church would see this as adultry, but the Protestant believes other-wise (and I’m not saying all Protestants believe this) and stays with his wife and in his church and lives moraly until his death. Is that person going to hell because he did not believe that what the Catholic Church taught was the truth?
For that matter, are all Protestants dammed? No more beating around the bush, are they or are not they. You get the impression from some Catholics that ALL Protestants are damned, but from other Catholics that they are not. If a Protestant hears the fullness of truth from the Catholic Church, but does not believe ALL of it, but continues to stay in his Protestant Church living a good, moral life, is he/she damned. No one has ever answered this to me honestly, they always beat around the bush, so is it yes or no?

Of course God is our supreme judge. Didn,t King David break every commandment. Didn,t He repent and ask God for forgiveness. Well its no different for any one of us. If we sin and repent and ask God for fogivness He will. We can,t change the past but we can do something now and that is to obey Christ. Jesus did not come to condem us but to restore us . God Bless

 

[J.W.B]

Yes Spoken Word but King David did not leave his last wife until death did them apart. So was he living in a continuely adultry state?

 

[SPOKENWORD]

J.W.B.:

Yes Spoken Word but King David did not leave his last wife until death did them apart. So was he living in a continuely adultry state?

Hi J.W.B. Are you or I any better when we break Gods Law. In Gods eyes if we break one we are guilty of breaking them ALL. Do you keep the Law? Lets not throw stones. God Bless

 

[J.W.B]

Spoken Word, what I am trying to say is that if we are living with a second wife and God Himself sees it as invalid, are we to say to the woman “Sorry honey, but I am going to leave you. I know we made a mistake getting married, but now we must seperate from one another. For if we continue to have sex for bondage and pro-creation, then the Lord will send us to hell. So I’m saying good-bye.”

If the two have kids the situation would be worse I would say too.

So what would one have to do, seperate? What if they do not but understand what they have done was wrong and from NOW on they will not do it again, but stay with one another. Are they dammed? That is what I’m getting at Spoken Word.

 

[Genesis315]

J.W.B.:

Spoken Word, what I am trying to say is that if we are living with a second wife and God Himself sees it as invalid, are we to say to the woman “Sorry honey, but I am going to leave you. I know we made a mistake getting married, but now we must seperate from one another. For if we continue to have sex for bondage and pro-creation, then the Lord will send us to hell. So I’m saying good-bye.”

If the two have kids the situation would be worse I would say too.

So what would one have to do, seperate? What if they do not but understand what they have done was wrong and from NOW on they will not do it again, but stay with one another. Are they dammed? That is what I’m getting at Spoken Word.

If they knew it was adultery to continue having relations, they could live as brother and sister–ie remain abstinant.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

J.W.B.:

Since our church teaches that once you are married in God’s eyes then you can never remarry again. But many protestant denominations believe otherwise today. What if you are married validly, but then get divorced and you become a protestant believing that your church has the truth, then you get remarried and remain living a good, moral life, are in daily prayer and live the commandments?

I know the Catholic Church would see this as adultry, but the Protestant believes other-wise (and I’m not saying all Protestants believe this) and stays with his wife and in his church and lives moraly until his death. Is that person going to hell because he did not believe that what the Catholic Church taught was the truth?
For that matter, are all Protestants dammed? No more beating around the bush, are they or are not they. You get the impression from some Catholics that ALL Protestants are damned, but from other Catholics that they are not. If a Protestant hears the fullness of truth from the Catholic Church, but does not believe ALL of it, but continues to stay in his Protestant Church living a good, moral life, is he/she damned. No one has ever answered this to me honestly, they always beat around the bush, so is it yes or no?

J.W. What do you mean married validly? Explain. God Bless

 

[LBNA]

Read matthew 19:9 Its plain and simple .Adultery is a mortal sin ,if you die with mortal sin on your soul you do not die in GODS friendship thereby condemming yourself to hell.That`s how i understand it. GOD bless.

 

[Franze]

Difficult question because many people are sinning in this, protestants and catholics and in other religions, well, I hope they convert to catholicism or being faithful to the Church, the Church have to save whatever more souls better.
However, I hope that God forgive them, because without this forgiveness, I see many people lost.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

Adultry is one of the 10 commandments. Is one who commits adultry any worse then one who lies,or steals or even looks upon a women with lust in his heart,or uses Gods name in vain,or doesn,t keep Holy the Lords day.? We are all guilty of sinning against God. We are no better than that adulterer. God Bless

 

[J.W.B]

I mean Valid as in at first, the two people love one another and make vows to each other as the priest asks them their ‘I Do’s.’ Then they are properly married, but a few years later get divorced and remarried by a justice of the peace or someone else. Then they are not married in God’s eyes anymore so the new marriage is invalid.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

J.W.B.:

I mean Valid as in at first, the two people love one another and make vows to each other as the priest asks them their ‘I Do’s.’ Then they are properly married, but a few years later get divorced and remarried by a justice of the peace or someone else. Then they are not married in God’s eyes anymore so the new marriage is invalid.

O,kay so married in the church. Why did they get divorced? Was there unfaithfulness,abuse,physical or verbal,ect? God Bless

 

[777]

larryo:

The Church does not teach that all Protestants are going to hell–or all Jews or Moslems, for that matter. The Church teaches what Jesus taught; that is, if one truly loves God and his neighbor and keeps His commandments, he will be saved. The normal means of salvation established by Jesus is the Church He founded. That Church is the Catholic Church. However, if one, through ignorance, sincerely believes otherwise and lives his life accordingly, it is certainly possible that he will be saved. However, the best chance for salvation is through the Catholic Faith, provided one lives his life humbly and in faithful obedience to the all Church teachings as they have been handed down for two millenia. Also, see the *Catechism of the Catholic Church, *sections 830 through 856.

Why always he? How 'bout she too, if the person is a female?

 

[JGC]

J.W.B.:

I mean Valid as in at first, the two people love one another and make vows to each other as the priest asks them their ‘I Do’s.’ Then they are properly married, but a few years later get divorced and remarried by a justice of the peace or someone else. Then they are not married in God’s eyes anymore so the new marriage is invalid.

Ah, the fog clears.

As you mentioned protestant marriage, I , as others would, assumed you meant protestant’s married in a protestant church.
They would indeed be properly married in the eyes of the Catholic Church. If they then followed the rules of divorce of their Church in good faith, i.e. did not truly believe it was wrong, then they cannot be held personally accountable.

Now you have clarified your scenario, you are referring to Catholics who have got married outside of the Church following a valid Catholic wedding, I believe.

Two possibilites, and God only knows the answer for any individual.

They know what they are doing is wrong but go ahead and do it anyway. - Could be trouble!

Or they do not have full knowledge of what they are doing is wrong - remember, Sin - full knowledge, full consent, and for mortal sin - grave matter.

Regardless of any ‘culpability’, in the absence of annulments, subsequent marriage would not be considered valid by the Catholic Church

 

[larryo]

777:

Why always he? How 'bout she too, if the person is a female?

Because that’s what proper English usage requires. To do otherwise is to succumb to political correctness.

 

[RonWI]

818 "However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation]
and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."272

819 "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth"273 are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements."274 Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him,275 and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."276

scborromeo.org/ccc/

Did the authors of the Catholic Catechism happen to read the Athanasian Creed before they put pen to paper? It ends:

This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.

Muslims and Jews “cannot be saved” because they do not confess the contents of the creed. Or how about John 14:6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

As unfair as it may seem to politically correct, modern day America, those who claim Muslims and Jews are saved are wrong.