Friend distraught over verse: "No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

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To indicate that Steve Jobs is in hell with complete affirmation is to say that you know what happened in the brief time it took for him to say “Wow” and close his eyes. With God all things are possible. Do I think Steve Jobs is in heaven? I don’t know. Do I think he is in hell? Maybe. But the difference is, I don’t make the statement that he is in either place because that is God’s statement to make.

Do not presume that God could not come to a person on their death bed, at the very moment they are dying and invite them into ‘a personal relationship.’ God is not limited by our own preconceived notions.
 
DENNYINMI said:
Allow me to perhaps sway from topic, but only in specifics only to address Acts:17, where Paul speaks to the “Altar of the Unknown God”…a friend pointed out to me something really beautiful. Even in the midst of paganism, God could work…the following is even explained in secular wiki:

22So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way towards him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for
‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

—Acts 17:22-17:31, ESV

Because the Jewish God could not be named, it is possible that Paul’s Athenian listeners would have considered his God to be “the unknown god par excellence”.

We can and should believe that God wishes all to be saved, and all will have their day…

We don’t always know the mind and ways of God…God Bless!!!
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That friend must be extremely wise…😃
 
If you study The Roman Catholic Church, specifically the Second Vatican Council, primarily Lumen Gentium you will see that there are no loopholes:

All human beings are called to belong to the Church. Not all are fully incorporated into the Church, but “the Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christ, but who do not however profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter” (Lumen gentium, 15). In addition, the Church declares the possibility of Salvation for non-Christians and even non-deists:

“Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel are related in various ways to the people of God. In the first place we must recall the people to whom the testament and the promises were given and from whom Christ was born according to the flesh. On account of their fathers this people remains most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts He makes nor of the calls He issues.(126); But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Mohamedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind. Nor is God far distant from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, for it is He who gives to all men life and breath and all things,and as Saviour wills that all men be saved.Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life.” (Lumen gentium 16)

The anonymous Christian is also another theological understanding, formulated by Karl Rahner, in which “a person lives in the grace of God and attains salvation outside of explicitly constituted Christianity — Let us say, a Buddhist monk — who, because he follows his conscience, attains salvation and lives in the grace of God; of him I must say that he is an anonymous Christian; if not, I would have to presuppose that there is a genuine path to salvation that really attains that goal, but that simply has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. But I cannot do that. And so, if I hold if everyone depends upon Jesus Christ for salvation, and if at the same time I hold that many live in the world who have not expressly recognized Jesus Christ, then there remains in my opinion nothing else but to take up this postulate of an anonymous Christianity” ~ Karl Rahner

I think from a Catholic and generalized, Christian perspective, what needs must be maintained is that Christ is God, Christ died for all, and his Salvation is offered for all. Furthermore, we believe in the possibility of an eternal seperation from God i.e. Hell, yet, we can not definitively say that anyone actually winds up in that state ultimately, because we can not know if anyone has what I call, the final rejection of God, at the moment of death.

The only way to the Father is through the Son, precisely because the Son is True God and True man, hence, as I stated earlier, he can only trully be our mediator as a man, and that mediation reaches it’s goal only if he is trully God.

Regardless, I feel that just based on the commonality of all men, because of our collective humanity, the same humanity that Christ shares, and the human experience that God underwent, this is the reason for Christ as the exclusive means to God, because every human person’s life must be connected to Christ in a salutary way, if even only known to God, however, the desire, ignorance, & lack of convincement of man, without either fully knowing Christ or even rejecting Christ [of which the imputability of the offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and circumstances], as general and vague as it may seem, avoids the brevity of notions that only “christians” will go to heaven; nevertheless as St. Teresa of Avila said:

“In the evening of life we shall be judged on love”

I think the answer is found within the reasoning for the rejection or disbelief. Could it be upbringing, tradition, culture, fear even?

It might even be that our Christian bickering, self righteousness, hipocrisy and actions prevent or upset a potential believer from accepting; hence, we are not truly being our brother’s keeper nor are we “Bear[ing] ye one another’s burdens…” ~ Galatians 6:2, but rather we, through our own weaknesses, faults, testimonies and day by day practice have become the burden and subsequent hindrance to that buddhist’s embrace of Christ.

I personally hope for the salvation of all. The difference between my belief and universalist understanding, leanings and tendencies is that I include ,always, the possiblity of eternal loss; though maintaing the Justice, Mercy and Love of God.

Even in Catholicism, just one mortal sin is sufficient to jeopardize our eternal lot, while on this earth in securing us an eternal state of damnation; take masturbation as a perfect example; however, the imputability thereby of the offense can be attenuated due to various reasons and circumstances i.e. the affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social factors ; these are not excuses but rather practicalities, as Qual is a practical and pragmatic man and I live in the real world as such.
 
continued…

Regardless of the creed, race, gender or religion of a person, again our commonality is found within our humanity, a humanity that God underwent and the human experience that he lived, died and then was raised glorified with. So with that being said, any person can obtain salvation, even if it’s in salutary ways known to God alone, yet what must always be maintained is the reality that every person must have their life connected to Christ in some way ultimately with their salvation, because he is the only way to the Father, it’s a narrow road, though some, through this journey of life enter it either directly or as a detour; we musn’t forget that Christ “…If [he] be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto [him].” John 12:32
God’s drawing ways are mysterious as he “…desires all men to be saved.” 1 Timothy 2:4

The Second Vatican Council still proclaims the divine truths of all her predecessor Councils.
The unique means of salvation, that is The Church, is still affirmed, however, in light of the traditional, biblical, historical and logical, the Council reformulated Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, positively.

To illustrate, just as our protestant counterparts proclaim the one mediatorship of Christ (1 Timothy 2:1), as somehow a defeat of Catholic Mariology, they fail in grasping the true importance of words and their meanings; for similar to how Christ is truly the one mediator between God and man, as the Catholic Church has always proclaimed and upheld, his unique mediation is not exclusive, but rather, quite inclusive at that, hence, the Doctrines of The Communion of Saints, Purgatory, Indulgences, Prayers for the Dead, Intercessory Prayer, and the future “quasi” doctrines of Mediatrix of all graces, Redemptrix, and the Marian titles of Advocate and Benefactress, all hinge upon the Traditional interpretation of the inclusivity of Christ’s mediatorial uniqueness.

The age old and Traditional teachings on the natural law, grace, love, and desire are the answers to your possiblequalms.

Baptism of desire, which consists in an act of the love of God through the action of the Holy Ghost, can both take the place of the Baptism of water; but in this sense, that the grace of Baptism can be obtained without the reception of the sacrament itself when this reception is impossible; but not in the sense that the character of the sacrament can be received apart from the sacrament itself (LXVI. n). St. Thomas Aquinas

“We command you to follow the doctrine of St. Thomas as the Catholic doctrine, and study to embrace it with all your power.” (Pope Urban V, letter to the Academy of Toulouse)

Now to be fair lud, as a Doctor of the Church, Aquinas’ wisdom and teachings are something to behold; that doesn’t mean that everything that he uttered, if it went against Catholic Dogma, as Augustine erred even, is suppose to be accepted. Though, what Aquinas has said with regards to desire, and Pope Urban V’s endorsement thereof, is sufficient for Qual.

“The absence of Baptism can be supplied by martyrdom, which is called Baptism of Blood, or by an act of perfect love of God, or of contrition, along with the desire, at least implicit, of Baptism, and this is called Baptism of Desire.” ~ Catechism approved by St.Pius X

Pope Pius IX wrote in Quanto conficiamur moerore:

There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace since God who clearly beholds, searches, and knows the minds, souls, thoughts, and habits of all men, because of His great goodness and mercy, will by no means suffer anyone to be punished with eternal torment who has not the guilt of deliberate sin.

One ought to at least have good hope for the eternal salvation of all those who in no way dwell in the true Church of Christ. - Encyclical Quanto conficiamur moerore, August 10, 1863, Pope Pius IX, Syllabus of Errors
While still condemning the errors of indifferentism and inclusivism, he never the less speaks of having hope, of which Qual is a big proponent of, for the salvation of all.

Fourth Lateran Council (1215): “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.”

The word that sticks out to me in this Sacred statment is the word outside. It is at once specific and general; the latter being ambiguous only in regards the purpose and reasons for the person being outside.

It is biblical that God desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Does that in any way nullify the necessity and immediacy of which all people need to enter His Church? Absolutely not; nor is Qual giving excuses for the betterment of unbelievers, but rather rational reasons for their non-belief & non-entrance.

I fully contend the notion, wholeheartedly, that Vatican II was in anyway contrary to the Sacred Tradition at all. No where can this be proven. Not by the dimond brother’s holyfamilymonastery website, nor by the sedevancantists either.
 
The Lord said where two are three are gathered in my Name I will be in their midst. Never mentioned a personal relationship with Him. Worship is supposed to be communal (communion-eucharist).
 
Yes, the Catholic Church teaches that salvation comes only through Christ. The Catholic Church also teaches that there is baptism through desire. That is, even someone who even never heard of Christ, can be saved through Christ.
Perhaps this woman didn’t base her belief on this line in John. For Saint John didn’t say that a person has to know Jesus to be saved; Jesus said, more particularly, that people come to the Father “through” Jesus.
One of the posters here says that this line means that people who are not Christian are not saved. But Catholics believe that Christ can save someone who is not a Christian, since Catholics believe in baptism by desire.
 
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