Can the Jewish professor enter heaven?

[jimg410]

I was in an ecumenical Bible study this morning and it was said by one of my Protestant brothers that although the Jewish professor at Virginia Tech saved his students, he was still going to hell because he didn’t believe in Jesus. He quoted the verse from Christ that says all who enter heaven must go and believe in him. That our whole faith and belief rests on this quote.

I disagreed. I heard a commentary on this on EWTN that said you can still enter heaven if you’ve never heard of Christ or was raised in a way where you were not taught of him. But I don’t know the exact reasoning for this. I don’t believe our Father intentially makes people who don’t have a chance to be saved and therefore are condemned to hell.

Any other thoughts on this or better answers than what I was able to provide?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

First, to the best of my knowledge, the media has not reported the professor’s beliefs but only his actions. So, on your Protestant friend’s own belief system, he may *hope *that the professor believed in Jesus before he died – even if only in the moments before his death. Certainly such a hope would be far more charitable than presuming that a heroic man is in hell.

Second, Catholics believe that all who are saved are saved by Christ through his Church, but that some who are saved may be unaware of how they were saved until the next life. If a person lives to the best of his ability according to the truth that he has, it is possible that he may find salvation (cf. Lumen Gentium 16). This is because what matters most to God is not our theological expertise but our love for him and obedience to him. Certainly we may hope that a man who laid down his life to save the students entrusted to his care will be rewarded for that great love (cf. John 15:13) in the world to come.

Recommended reading:

Can Outsiders Be Insiders? by Fr. Peter Stravinskas
It Didn’t Go Out with Vatican II by Mark P. Shea