Invincible ignorance existed back then, too. Remember, Catholics believe that the just persons who were inspired by Christ’s grace, even if they didn’t know it, and tried to do what was right were saved.
Gods plan is eternal not to be seen in linear time. Those who were righteous went to the bosom of Abraham awaiting Christ to descend and preach to them and release them, according to scripture.
Then how do we plan on getting to heaven in today’s society? I don’t buy this argument.
This question is predicated on the very false idea that heaven and hell figured large in the Jewish idea of the after life…for most of the history of Judaism this is not true. They did speak at times of an afterlife in which the just ruled over the unjust, but this was not a question of Jew over nonJew…the Noahide covenant, the covenant God made with Noah after the flood, is what the Jews use as a guide for the relative Justice of a gentile.
St. Paul addresses this in Romans 1:13-14 where he makes it clear that there are those “not having the Law, still through their own innate sense behave as the Law commands . . .they can demonstrate the effect of the Law engraved on their hearts, to which their own conscience bears witness; since they are aware of various considerations, some of which accuse them, while others provide them with a defence. . .on the day when, according to the gospel that I preach, God, through Jesus Christ, judges all human secrets.”
If one accepts the Incarnation of God in Christ Jesus, then it follows that to become Incarnate God would have chosen from one specific group of people and prepared that people to receive Him. Through the Law and the Prophets, the Jews were formed into that one people out of which our Incarnate God would arise. Even if one doesn’t accept the Incarnation, one should at least be able to understand the premise.
I don’t buy this reply. You mean ‘we’ as Christians in todays society. ‘We’ have heard the law, and the gospel, so the choice is apparent to us. Same for non-christians. Christianity still has an influence on todays society and at the very least most people have heard it’s message.
As I noted above, St. Paul’s inspired words in Romans show that, indeed, God had written the Law (i.e., the natural law) on the hearts of all, including those without THE LAW of the Jews. The article - linked below - might help you; here is a brief excerpt to the point:
newadvent.org/cathen/09076a.htm
where in the OT do you find the doctrine that non-Jews were considered condemned to hell?
And how is that different from today’s society? You lost me there.
er, what, I just its in the quote - there was no church, no Gods law, no Torah for those people. Following ones concience is all very good, but how many people repent having specifically heard the message, rather than just instinctivley feeling right from wrong in the conscience. This was an oppoutunity not given “pagans” in OT times. You can imagine 99.99% of them ending up in hell simply becuase they accepted there own cultures definition of good and evil.
There you’ve got the reason.
So God’s going to judge a people that He didn’t teach? I wasn’t aware the Catholic Church taught that all Pre-Christian Pagan’s are rotting in hell.
every culture in history has had the benefit of natural law, the law inherent in God’s design of creation, which is readily perceived and understood in every human heart. Every culture in history has created its own laws based on that human understanding of natural law. Every culture has come up with some explanation, unaided by divine revelation, of the origin of the universe and the workings of creation that acknowledges some higher power or divinity, has sought to find explanations for natural and supernatural phenomena, and to find signs of order in their observations.
that’s what I mean. Polygamy was common, non-marital relations eg harems acceptable. Infanticide a common form of birth control in ancient tribal society. Cannabilism, especially here in new zealand where pre-colonial Maori used to eat the bodies of their tribal enemies in order to “gain their powers” etc. These aren’t just the acts of individuals, but century old practice.