Is love of neighbor sufficient for salvation?

[YoungApologist3]

Here’s what Aquinas says on the subject at hand:

Now it is evident that through every mortal sin which is contrary to God’s commandments, an obstacle is placed to the outpouring of charity, since from the very fact that a man chooses to prefer sin to God’s friendship, which requires that we should obey His will, it follows that the habit of charity is lost at once through one mortal sin. Hence Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. viii, 12) that “man is enlightened by God’s presence, but he is darkened at once by God’s absence, because distance from Him is effected not by change of place but by aversion of the will.”

Summa Theologica, II-II, 24, 12

If you read the context, the reason that Aquinas says “the habit of charity” as opposed to just “charity” or “love” is because charity is a habit; this was used as a counter to what is said. Aquinas saying “the habit of charity” does not diminish this, but affirms it.

Here’s what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.

The Catechism affirms what Aquinas says.

An individual is always in one of two states. He is either in a state of grace, or in a state of mortal sin. There is nothing in between. Therefore, if Alice truly (EDIT: emphasis on TRULY) loves her neighbor, then she by definition is in a state of grace. However, this is all in theory. In practice, we can never know for certain the heart of another. Oftentimes, it is even hard to know our own heart.

 

[Ron_Conte]

An individual is always in one of two states. He is either in a state of grace, or in a state of mortal sin. There is nothing in between.

Unbaptized infants and young children are not in a state of grace, and not in a state of mortal sin. They are in a state of original sin alone.

 

[YoungApologist3]

Unbaptized infants and young children are not in a state of grace, and not in a state of mortal sin. They are in a state of original sin alone.

Fair, but I assume we’re talking about people above the age of reason.

 

[Philthy]

Suppose that all we know about hypothetical person “A” (Alice) is that she truly selflessly loves her neighbor. Is that given fact sufficient to establish that she is in the state of grace? Or do we need to know more?
To phrase the question another way, are there any persons who truly selflessly love their neighbor, who are not in the state of grace?
I prefer the second expression of the question even though the entire line of speculation is just that:speculation. In effect, what you’re asking is whether something we cannot know (Alice truly and selflessly loves neighbor ) can give allow us to establish her state of grace which, during her earthly life, is another thing we cannot know.
Your question begs a question: What difference does it make whether this something that we cannot know is a means of establishing her state of grace (which also cannot be known)?

 

[LiamQ]

Is that given fact sufficient to establish that she is in the state of grace? Or do we need to know more?

Well, we can’t know objectively that she is in a state of grace because we cannot judge why she is doing certain things for others. Obviously, simply being selfless and nice to others is not sufficient for salvation: that would be pelagianism.

But here is what I think we can know:

We are to love God above all things, with our whole heart, mind, strength, and soul.

But yet we are to love our neighbor, too.

Aren’t those things contrary to each other? How can we completely love God, but yet also love our neighbor?

Well, we are to love our neighbor for the sake of God, and not as an end in and of itself.

But yet we cannot love God at all unless God gives us supernatural charity, which is infused into our souls provided we are in a state of grace.

So yes, a properly directed love of neighbor could be a sign of supernatural charity, which certainly would mean, in a way which is hidden from us, that a particular person is in a state of grace.

To put it in simple terms: we cannot be saved unless we die with supernatural charity infused into our souls.

 

[Ron_Conte]

Fair, but I assume we’re talking about people above the age of reason.

Some adults might still be in a state of original sin alone, if they never received any form of baptism, and never committed an actual mortal sin.

 

[Ron_Conte]

Philthy:
I prefer the second expression of the question even though the entire line of speculation is just that:speculation. In effect, what you’re asking is whether something we cannot know (Alice truly and selflessly loves neighbor ) can give allow us to establish her state of grace which, during her earthly life, is another thing we cannot know.
Your question begs a question: What difference does it make whether this something that we cannot know is a means of establishing her state of grace (which also cannot be known)?

We cannot know if Alice, in particular, is in the state of grace. But the hypothetical case matters to our understanding of salvation and the universal salvific will of God. It matters to our understanding of Church teaching on salvation, whether someone can be saved by love of neighbor, if they are not Christian.

 

[eddie_too]

can someone love their neighbor but not love God?

or is love of neighbor the same as love of God?

was Jesus only speaking hyperbolically when He taught that the second greatest commandment was loving your neighbor as you love yourself?

 

[Philthy]

We cannot know if Alice, in particular, is in the state of grace. But the hypothetical case matters to our understanding of salvation and the universal salvific will of God.

I don’t see how it does - in what way does it affect our understanding of salvation? No one can give you a definite answer on the subject either way for the reasons I indicated.

It matters to our understanding of Church teaching on salvation, whether someone can be saved by love of neighbor, if they are not Christian.

We already know the answer to the “if they are not Christian” question from the CCC.
1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."63 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.

 

[Gorgias]

Some adults might still be in a state of original sin alone, if they never received any form of baptism, and never committed an actual mortal sin.

These are unable to practice the supernatural virtue of love, then, aren’t they? After all, it takes the grace of baptism in order to have the ability to do that… doesn’t it?

Therefore, logically, we have the answer to your question: no, ‘love of neighbor’ isn’t sufficient for salvation, since (at the very least) for unbaptized adults, love of neighbor isn’t what allows them to attain salvation (but rather, a love of the Good, inasmuch as they know it).

 

[YoungApologist3]

These are unable to practice the supernatural virtue of love, then, aren’t they? After all, it takes the grace of baptism in order to have the ability to do that… doesn’t it?

Therefore, logically, we have the answer to your question: no, ‘love of neighbor’ isn’t sufficient for salvation, since (at the very least) for unbaptized adults, love of neighbor isn’t what allows them to attain salvation (but rather, a love of the Good, inasmuch as they know it).

I believe that the question assumes virtuous (supernatural) love.

EDIT: I say this because the OP used words such as “truly” and “selflessly.”