Scripture says there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). This passage emphasizes the unity that should exist in the Body of Christ as we are indwelt by “one Spirit” (verse 4). In verse 3, Paul makes an appeal to humility, meekness, patience, and love—all which are necessary to preserve unity. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10-13, the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God (verse 11), which He reveals (verse 10) and teaches (verse 13) to those whom He indwells. This activity of the Holy Spirit is called illumination.
In a perfect world, every believer would dutifully study the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15) in prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit’s illumination. Alas, this is not a perfect world. Not everyone who possesses the Holy Spirit actually listens to the Holy Spirit. There are Christians who grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30). Ask any educator: even the best classroom teacher has his share of wayward students who seem to resist learning, no matter what the teacher does. So, one reason that different people have different interpretations of the Bible is simply that some do not listen to the Teacher. Here are some other reasons for the wide divergence of beliefs among those who teach the Bible:
see next post
Because of free will, a multiplicity of cultures etc. things have gotten quite diverse. This is precisely why Jesus set up ONE Church, and wanted just ONE earthly authority to bind us in faith. The schisms and reformation did horrible damage to Christianity. Moral relativeism, and people’s mistaken belief that they know more than God is hurting things even more. It is my belief that God loves and wants us all to come back under His one Church, and furthermore, I believe it WILL happen in the fullness of time. Those who can not accomplish that on earth, if they proceeded with a pure heart, and were legitimately ignorant of God’s plan, so long as they have proceeded in good faith, have at least followed his commandments, and have done good works for their brothers and sisters are STILL loved and wanted by God. His love and mercy are immeasurable, and nearly impossible for the human mind to comprehend. He is a loving father who has no desire to lose his children. There are many people who simply lack the capacity to grasp the big picture, and will just not see the light due to cultural misguidance, etc., but one can discern the truth if exposed to it. If there are people who don’t have access to the truth due to cultural isolation, improper education, parents, teachers etc., our loving God will of course consider all that as He is eternally considering everything at every moment. God knows what is in a man’s heart. If someone is ignorant through no fault of their own, and still practices the faith by loving the Lord their God with all their heart and soul, and Loving their neighbor as themselves, I can’t imagine that God will destroy or torment their soul eternally. Perhaps the rest of whatever they did not know is worked out in purgatory so long as they continue to use their free will to choose God and his ways, and deny Satan and all his works. The more you know and truly understand of God, the more your are resonsible for your actions on that knowledge. “There is no salvation outside the Church is a true statement”, however, we earthling mortals do not know how long we are allowed to enter His Church. We must ALWAYS choose the right thing, everytime we are brought to another level of choices, and whenever we become cognizant of another aspect of the truth. The Church is the truth. If you are fully aware of the teachings of the Church, and have discerned them to be the truth, and then STILL turn away, you are seriously in danger of the coldness of not being able to see and be in the presence of God. If you have heard the truth, understand it, and live it out in your life, you are on the fast track to being in the warmth of our Lord. It IS only for God to say who is saved, but conversely we CAN be more certain of that salvation, and achieve it in God’s preferred manner by submitting to the perfect teachings of His Church. I KNOW this sound flip floppy but this is very very deep theological stuff we’re discussing here, and it’s even harder to explain than it is to feel and know. I keep praying for the ability to not only feel all this splendor, and rejoice in it personally, and with my Church, but to be able also to convey it to others. To be able to evangalize. I implore anyone with doubts, please go to a Mass and really, deeply and lovingly LISTEN to the liturgy of the Lord. FEEL the incredible power of the REAL presence of Christ entering the bread and the wine. It’s mind blowing. If everyone would just honestly witness all this with an open heart and in a prayerfull state we would not need this forum. There would be no division in our churches. To know Christ fully, to understand the sacraments, and to study Christian history is to become Catholic. Truly. Peace be with you my Brother in Christ.
