841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of
salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the
first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the
faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful
God, mankind's judge on the last day."[330]
This paragraph essentially proclaims that "the plan of salvation"
includes all faiths that acknowledge the true creator. The
reasoning given is that since the Muslims claim the faith of
Abraham, and worship the one true God, they are not only among the
saved, but are at the top of any such list.
Footnote 330 directs one to Lumen Gentium, (DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION
ON THE CHURCH), POPE PAUL VI, November 21, 1964, section 16:
16. ... But the plan of salvation also includes those who
acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are
the Mohamedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along
with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will
judge mankind.
Footnote 330 also directs one to NOSTRA AETATE, (DECLARATION ON THE
RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS), POPE PAUL VI,
October 28, 1965, section 3:
3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the
one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and
all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to
men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His
inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam
takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do
not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They
also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her
with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God
will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from
the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God
especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
This has a very obvious flaw if you believe in the Bible at all. I
will quote just three of the applicable passages:
Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man
stand here before you whole.
Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you
builders, which is become the head of the corner.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved.
1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent
the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
1 John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God,
God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
For those of the Muslim faith, this element of faith in Jesus
Christ as the raised Son of God is decidedly lacking. However, the
Roman Catholic Church has taken it upon themselves to boldly
proclaim that faith in Jesus Christ is not required, one only needs
to believe in the creator and have Abraham's faith.
According to the opening letter of approval from the Pope, this new
Catechism was six years in the making, and was drafted by a
commission of 12 Cardinals and Bishops and reviewed by all the
Bishops of the Catholic Church. I have to conclude that paragraph
841 is not misworded or a typographical error of some kind.
Essentially, what the Roman Catholic Church is doing in paragraph
841, is denying that Jesus Christ is the only way to Salvation, in
direct contradiction to the Bible. If this is true then I ask you,
can anything be more Antichrist than this? Note what then follows
in the Catholic Catechism:
"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]
So, according to the Catholic Catechism, Muslims will be saved
despite their rejection of Jesus Christ as the Savior (839-841),
and the ignorant can be saved despite their ignorance of Jesus
Christ (847), but Protestant Christians who are dedicated
Christians that know and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, yet
stubbornly and "knowingly" refuse to become Catholics, are heretics
and cannot possibly be saved!
Where is the RC church going with this??Ben care to explain??
