T
theMutant
Guest
Mandi posed this to me in another thread. I have posted it there as well.
Mandi:
In terms of the relationship between Catholicism and Judaism, the relationship is strong because Judaism is the birthplace of Catholicism. Christ did not abolish the covenant with the Jews, He fulfilled it, re-established it, and expanded it to include the Gentiles. I highly recommend the book, “Salvation is from the Jews” which goes into this topic at great length. In every comment I have heard or read by converts to Judaism, they do not consider themselves to have converted “from Judaism” but rather to have discovered the fulfillment of Judaism. One said that the most Jewish thing that she ever did was to become Catholic.
In regard to the Muslims, the important point is to not go beyond what the Catechism actually says; which is what I’ve found most people do. The catechism lists three points where Muslims share faith with Catholics. The believe in only one God, the God of Abraham. So do we. They believe that God is merciful. So do we. They believe that God will judge us on the last day. So do we. The catechism says nothing beyond that. To say that we believe in the same God (the God of Abraham) does not mean that what we believe about that God is the same or equally true. The Catechism makes that clear in paragraph 844, “In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them.”
Paragraph 843 teaches that God allows non-Christian religions as “a preparation for the Gospel” and that all truth in these religions is “given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.” Because all that is good and true in non-Christian religions has God as its source, the Church does not reject the good and true aspects of these religions. This is not the same as saying that everything in these religions is good and true or that they are in any way equal to the Church Christ established for our salvation.
This is made perfectly clear in paragraph 845. “To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son’s Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. …she is prefigured by Noah’s ark, which alone saves from the flood.” From this we can see that the Catechism does not teach any kind of heterodoxy that states that all religions are equal or that they are all paths to salvation. The purpose of the truths held by these religions is to lead them to Christ and His Church; the one and only Catholic Church. Once again, we see here the principle that the unity of the Church and humanity subsists (has its existence) in the Catholic Church and only the Catholic Church.
In what way does this constitute heresy? We have a teaching that Christ established one Church for our salvation and that all of humanity is called by God to this Church. All that is true and Good in those religions comes from God for the purpose of leading them to salvation in the Catholic Church. Their religions are not capable of providing salvation except to the extend that they lead to the one and only Catholic Church. Among the non-Christian religions the Church has the closest bond with the Jews because Judaism is the source of the covenant. Its religious history is our own. Among the other non-Christian religions, the Muslims have a closer bond than the rest because they are monotheistic (as opposed to polytheistic or pantheistic), the believe that they follow the God of Abraham (although their understanding on this point is flawed), and they believe that God is merciful and will judge us on the last day. We also believe this.
So far, I see no heresy. Indeed, I see an affirmation of the historic authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church on these matters.
Paragraphs 839-845 of the Catechism are explaining the relationship between the Church (the People of God) and non-Christian religions. One principle that must be remembered when reading the Catechism is that none of the paragraphs can be considered in total isolation of the others. The Catechism is a progressive explanation of the Faith and any part must be taken in the context of the whole. It is a failure to realize and do this that leads many into error when trying to interpret its teachings.
In terms of the relationship between Catholicism and Judaism, the relationship is strong because Judaism is the birthplace of Catholicism. Christ did not abolish the covenant with the Jews, He fulfilled it, re-established it, and expanded it to include the Gentiles. I highly recommend the book, “Salvation is from the Jews” which goes into this topic at great length. In every comment I have heard or read by converts to Judaism, they do not consider themselves to have converted “from Judaism” but rather to have discovered the fulfillment of Judaism. One said that the most Jewish thing that she ever did was to become Catholic.
In regard to the Muslims, the important point is to not go beyond what the Catechism actually says; which is what I’ve found most people do. The catechism lists three points where Muslims share faith with Catholics. The believe in only one God, the God of Abraham. So do we. They believe that God is merciful. So do we. They believe that God will judge us on the last day. So do we. The catechism says nothing beyond that. To say that we believe in the same God (the God of Abraham) does not mean that what we believe about that God is the same or equally true. The Catechism makes that clear in paragraph 844, “In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them.”
Paragraph 843 teaches that God allows non-Christian religions as “a preparation for the Gospel” and that all truth in these religions is “given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.” Because all that is good and true in non-Christian religions has God as its source, the Church does not reject the good and true aspects of these religions. This is not the same as saying that everything in these religions is good and true or that they are in any way equal to the Church Christ established for our salvation.
This is made perfectly clear in paragraph 845. “To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son’s Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. …she is prefigured by Noah’s ark, which alone saves from the flood.” From this we can see that the Catechism does not teach any kind of heterodoxy that states that all religions are equal or that they are all paths to salvation. The purpose of the truths held by these religions is to lead them to Christ and His Church; the one and only Catholic Church. Once again, we see here the principle that the unity of the Church and humanity subsists (has its existence) in the Catholic Church and only the Catholic Church.
In what way does this constitute heresy? We have a teaching that Christ established one Church for our salvation and that all of humanity is called by God to this Church. All that is true and Good in those religions comes from God for the purpose of leading them to salvation in the Catholic Church. Their religions are not capable of providing salvation except to the extend that they lead to the one and only Catholic Church. Among the non-Christian religions the Church has the closest bond with the Jews because Judaism is the source of the covenant. Its religious history is our own. Among the other non-Christian religions, the Muslims have a closer bond than the rest because they are monotheistic (as opposed to polytheistic or pantheistic), the believe that they follow the God of Abraham (although their understanding on this point is flawed), and they believe that God is merciful and will judge us on the last day. We also believe this.
So far, I see no heresy. Indeed, I see an affirmation of the historic authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church on these matters.
