John 14:6

[vince2paul]

What Jesus mean when He said this?

6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Isn’t it mean that Christianity is the only true religion?
Sorry, was asked by my revert friends about Catholic view on other religions.

 

[Della]

While Christianity is the only true religion because it was founded by Christ who is God’s Word to mankind, that does not mean that non-Christians are automatically damned if they do not hold to the truths of the Catholic faith.

Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about the possible salvation of non-Christians:

“Outside the Church there is no salvation”
846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.337
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338

 

[vince2paul]

Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about the possible salvation of non-Christians:

Yupe, I showed her that, the next argument. It’s not that they don’t know, but they refuse Christ. Who doesn’t know Christianity? Well, may be there are people who still live in an island far away from civilization, but most people know Christianity and refuse to enter it. Am I right?

Not trying to disagree with you, but merely just trying to get fact to support it.

Or is there any interpretation of this?

Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

 

[Della]

Yupe, I showed her that, the next argument. It’s not that they don’t know, but they refuse Christ. Who doesn’t know Christianity? Well, may be there are people who still live in an island far away from civilization, but most people know Christianity and refuse to enter it. Am I right?

Not trying to disagree with you, but merely just trying to get fact to support it.

Or is there any interpretation of this?

You can tell your friend that refusal to accept Christ and his Church must have 3 criteria to be valid (just as for mortal sin, which deliberate refusal to believe is):

1. They must know that the Catholic faith is the one, true faith;
2. They must deliberately refuse to enter the Church knowing this;
3. They must do so of their own free will.

Many “people of good will” do not meet all these criteria. There is such a thing as “invincible ignorance,” “insurmountable obstacles to faith,” and coercion not to convert, such as the threat of death, as we’ve seen in many Muslim countries.

In the end, it is God who determines who will be saved and who won’t. Our job is to evangelize, believe, and live our Catholic faith and worry about the state of our own souls before we judge the eternal destination of any others.

 

[papaspicy]

There is a big difference between knowing Christ and knowing Christians. For example, a person living in China might know about Christianity, but they really have no idea about Jesus, salvation, etc. This person only knows that Christianity is the false belief that “those westerners” profess, because that is what their communist government and atheistic culture tells them.

When Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” he is explaining that only by his death and sacrifice can all mankind be reconciled to God. This doesn’t directly imply the need for belief, just that without him nobody goes to heaven.

 

[vince2paul]

There is a big difference between knowing Christ and knowing Christians.

Thanks! I understand it better now.

 

[SueKrum]

You can tell your friend that refusal to accept Christ and his Church must have 3 criteria to be valid (just as for mortal sin, which deliberate refusal to believe is):

1. They must know that the Catholic faith is the one, true faith;
2. They must deliberately refuse to enter the Church knowing this;
3. They must do so of their own free will.

Many “people of good will” do not meet all these criteria. There is such a thing as “invincible ignorance,” “insurmountable obstacles to faith,” and coercion not to convert, such as the threat of death, as we’ve seen in many Muslim countries.

In the end, it is God who determines who will be saved and who won’t. Our job is to evangelize, believe, and live our Catholic faith and worry about the state of our own souls before we judge the eternal destination of any others.

doesn’t this kind of sound like “every one is saved” then? I mean, who in their right mind, knowing that the Catholic Church is the ONE TRUE CHURCH would refuse to inter into it??? NO BODY!

people who are not Catholic are not because they don’t know that it’s the ONE TRUE CHRUCH. weather they’ve been brainwashed by their government, raised that way, or whatever. name me one person you know who honestly believes that the Catholic church is the one true church and is the only way to heaven, but still says, “ah, no thanks, I’ll take Hell” maybe some wierdo’s who choose to worship the devil…But all the people I know, who are not Catholic, simply do not know the truth. so I guess according to these rules, they are going to heaven anyway…

I don’t know, I think those criteria fit everyone in the whold world who is not Catholic.

 

[bones_IV]

Remember that John says in 1:14 that Jesus is “full of grace in truth”. God is the Truth, because by Christ the Son of God coming into the world shows that our Father in heaven is ever faithful to his promises. In John 4:23 we are told that true worship must be “in spirit and truth”. Remember that He is Life too because from all eternity he has divine life with his Father (cf. Jn 1:4), and through grace makes us sharers in that divine life. John 17:3 says, “This is eternal life, that they know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent”.
When our Lord says, “I am the way”, basically what he’s saying is that he is the ONLY PATH LINKING HEAVEN AND EARTH.

 

[vince2paul]

When our Lord says, “I am the way”, basically what he’s saying is that he is the ONLY PATH LINKING HEAVEN AND EARTH.

Are you saying that the people of other religions won’t go to heaven?

 

[DARichards]

Are you saying that the people of other religions won’t go to heaven?

This was a question that I really had a hard time dealing with coming into the Church from a Protestant background. I finally had to come to the understanding that in the end of the day a persons salvation is completely between that person and Our Lord. What we trust in is our Lords Mercy. We have to believe that God only holds us accountable for the knowledge that we have. Therefore if a person lived his life and truly had no opportunity to accept Christ and His Church, then we trust him to the mercy of God. If that person had an opportunity to accept the truth of the Sacrifice of our Lord and did so knowingly, then that definitely puts him in a much more culpable situation…