T
Tsuwano
Guest
Well, it is true that I try to approach these issues with a questioning spirit and I certainly don’t presume to know all the answers. I’ve never really been convinced that pontificating about the truth is as useful as approaching the truth with a sense of humility and a nagging suspicion that everything you think you know about God doesn’t quite capture him after all. Still, I agree that Christ is the head of his Church. I agree that we are saved by Christ and that through his Church we are able to access God’s grace. The Church is instrumental in God’s plan of salvation, but the Church has always pointed to her Lord as the savior of the world. The term “religion” can mean many different things and I believe it is too ambiguous to say we are saved through “religion.” I think it is more appropriate to say we are saved through our faith, which entails not only the customary practices attached to being a member of the Church, but also an inner conversion which directs the believer toward that which is holy and true. In other words, it is not enough to simply go through the motions of being religious and expect salvation. Conversion must also play a part in the process.
As for your last statement, “God’s grace is NOT transmitted through any other religion other than the Catholic religion,” I find it rather limiting and contemptuous of God. God transmits his grace however he pleases and I believe Moses and the other prophets would be surprised to hear that they were not the recipients of God’s grace. God’s grace most definitely is transmitted through the Catholic Church, but I disagree that the Spirit of God is not found in any other faith or among those who seek God in ways different from my own. The holiness of men and women of other faiths attests to the Spirit of God moving across the face of the Earth. It is impossible to even approach or consider God without the first presence of his grace moving within us, even if I am merely a humble Hindu fisherman or a Muslim camel driver. Their understanding of God’s presence in the world may not match the understanding that Christians profess, but this is not to say God is not among them. He is, and it is his grace which calls forth all sincere prayer.