Catechism if Catholic Church #847?

Cathlois think that any method may be get to used as this i what the athlic church teaches, so whats the point of being catholic, you might as well be muslim and get 2 wives out of the system..

so any method is ok, as long as you seek God

i you are a hindu, and you have over 3 million gods' which one of those is worth truly seeking to leadyou to Jesus

lets sees what Jesus says about the matter

john 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

but by me..not by bhudda, ir by muhammed but by him.

There is only one way...Jesus

no other way

thats what the bible says....

if you could get to God by repititive chanting then doen't that kind of defeat the purpose of accepting that Jesus wa crucified or you sins?

if there were multiple ways to get to heaven, why did Jesus have ot be crucified, when bhuddas and sikhs suggest much less painful paths to heaven

it must be because those path dont really lead anywhere....

infact Jesus told us himelf, how many paths there are to heaven

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

We Catholics believe that God may save whomever He wishes. It is not for any of us to dictate who He may and may not welcome into Heaven. Obviously, there is a "proactive" approach to salvation, which is to follow the Bible as a practicing Christian. However, this does not preclude the "reactive" gift of saving grace, which only God can bestow, and that entirely at His discretion.

So. Do Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, etc. go to Heaven if they are good people? If God wants them to, sure. I certainly pray daily, and I'm sure others do as well, for the salvation of those "good" souls who would certainly be welcomed in were they Christian. Is Gandhi in heaven? If God wanted to let him in, then yes. If He didn't, then no. Nobody has been back to report on the matter one way or the other.

No. We just understand that they misinterpret the Bible and believe in teachings like "bible only" and "faith alone" that are not what Christ taught. Just because the Catholic Church doesn't agree with the opinion of "bible-believing Christians" on what the Bible says doesn't mean they don't believe in the Bible. It's the "bible-believing Christians" who are wrong - not the Bible. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God. Who belongs to the Catholic Church? 836 "All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God. . . . And to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God's grace to salvation."320 837 "Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but 'in body' not 'in heart.'"321 838 "The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."322 Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church."323 With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist."3

Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, etc., 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.'"

It takes more than just being a "good person". They must "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"

We do not know whether Ghandi is in Heaven or Hell. Only God knows since He is the one who judged Ghandi

"...through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ ... MAY [not will] achieve eternal salvation"

Seems to be saying that if Christian evangelists fall down on the job, Christ still died and rose again for those they don't reach with the Gospel message -- and 2 Peter 3:9 would apply.

Out of curiosity to see the context of this single paragraph, I looked it up -- and the very next one, #848, says this:

" 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."

Evangelize = preach the Gospel.

I'm not seeing a "good people go to heaven regardless" intent here.

Interestingly enough, while I was at it I did a search in the catechism on the words "grace" and "faith", and found this in #2005:

"Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved."

It goes on to describe that "works" are the fruit of grace.

No, that's not what it means. Read the words carefully.

What it means is that devoutly moral and religious people of other religions *might* go to heaven.

Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com/

Only those in the state of grace can experience Heaven, which is the state of full and unobstructed union with God

Catholicism teaches that Christ is the only Saviour and Way of salvation

Wicked people, even if they are "born again" or full of right belief and slogans,cannot know God unless they renounce their mortal sins.Only good people ,full of grace and purged of all sin and attachment to sin, can go into the state of Heaven.

Christians who are not moved by grace and of a sincere heart(will and not just feelings)will be cast out (Matt25:31-46)

Only God can judge who is in Hell

Yes we do. Why would anyone act like God and say to another "You are going to hell because I am the only one who knows the truth??". Everyone has a chance at salvation.

"That is exactly what they believe.

To them, Jesus died for nothing, and His death on the cross means nothing."

No CJ, this is what YOU believe since you don't try to live by the 10 commandments (your words in an answer, not mine), so you believe you can do what you want on this earth, yet still be saved by grace alone. You think you can mean as hell to others, hate your brothers and sisters in Christ and still get what you want without one bit of remorse for those whom you hurt. You are a selfish person whom thinks Christ will only choose those who are like you.....arrogant enough to think you and those who think like you are the only ones worthy of heaven. You don't form your life around Christ, you expect Christ to form around you and what you want to believe so your life is easier and you don't have to feel responsible for your actions.

For heaven's sake, I will pray for your soul.

I believe the same thing, and I'm not a Catholic. God is merciful. Everyone will at least have the chance to accept Jesus as savior if they didn't get the chance here on earth.

6 For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to the dead: that they might be judged indeed according to men, in the flesh; but may live according to God, in the Spirit." 1 Peter Chapter 4:6

We believe that God is infinitely merciful and compassionate. What happens after death is not something that we are meant to know. If God in His love and mercy makes a way for those who did not know Christ when they were living to be saved, then who are we to dispute with the Almighty?

Unless, of course, you just like the idea of people going to Hell, that is. Some of you sound absolutely thrilled and delighted to tell another person that s/he will suffer eternally.

As far as whether or not Ganhdi is in heaven, again, that's the prerogative of God to decide -- not His creation.

Edit:

And as usual, good old CJ and Kristevonne jump in with their "Catholic cult" cr@pola. Mercy, love, compassion -- those aren't much of a concept with you two, are they? Chew on this verse for a while:

Romans 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Oh, and while you're at it, you might want to pray that God will have mercy on you for your hatred of your Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ. Otherwise you may find out that you weren't quite as holy and righteous as you thought you were.

Yes it means they should go to heaven but only God knows there hearts content and same goes with Gandhi and for the rest of us.