God's Love: Don't leave home without it!
It would be kind of hard for Muslims to get on board the Catholic train for a few reasons, not the least of which being that it is considered blasphemy to suggest that Allah has a Son, that Jesus is that Son, or that wafers and wine could transubstantiate into flesh and blood.
Good luck with that. You'd have an easier time convincing Muslims that Allah has a brother who never pays back loans, or a mother in law who lives with him and his wife. Nawpe.
My understanding is that the door to Heaven is not automatically closed to Muslims (just as it is not automatically closed to Jews who do not hold the faith in its "fullness of revelation"). Yes, it depends on God's grace, but it also depends on whether the person obeys the dictates of their conscience as God has revealed it. A Muslim (acc. to the RCC) can AT BEST expect to end up in Purgatory to be cleansed of their iniquities, not having access to the divine graces of the Church.
Complicated? A bit. However, based on the many discussions on blogs with Protestants, there's a similar thread in terms of the complexities of how one gets to Heaven. It's not so much what one does, per se, but what one believes in regards to x and y and a whole host of assorted doctrines and beliefs.
I'm not sure the latter is an improvement, since what is faith but an exercise of the will (action) constrained entirely by the perimeter of the mind?
Sorry, James, but what you wrote doesn't make sense-faith is not an exercise of the will, as if a person can choose to believe or disbelieve. If you're willing yourself to believe something, that isn't faith.
But more to the point:
"6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6
"12“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
"22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also." 1 John 2:22-23
James, I appreciate that you gave a thoughtful answer to my query, but the Catechism is contradicted by Scripture. As stated above in these few verses-anyone who rejects Jesus, denies that He is the Christ, is not and cannot be saved. The very heart of Islamic teaching holds that their god has no son, and that Jesus is not God, but merely a prophet.
You mention a door not being totally closed to Jews and Muslims-I find the opposite to be true-
"7So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8“All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture." John 10:7-9
Am I saying that Jews who do not believe in Jesus Christ are going to hell? Read the verses again from the top and tell me what you think.
"If you're willing yourself to believe something, that isn't faith."
I've thought about this one a bit and have come down on both sides.
The thing is, if faith is something that simply "happens to you" while you remain passive, why all of the Christian apologetics and books and evangelization? It seems like a lot of human effort is being expended by the Christian community for something that they have no control over. It's almost like writing a book on how or why a short person should become tall. You can, but what's the point?
Also, are we confusing faith with feeling? You might "feel" (believe) like your wife is being unfaithful, but you might not act on that feeling and later find out that the feeling was indeed false. The action of not bringing it up seems to me more like an act of faith than if one had actually acted on their feelings.
Not confusing faith with feeling, James, at least I don't.
Faith, believing faith, is a gift from God. Feelings can be fooled, which is why they aren't to be trusted.
Why do Christians expend so much energy in evangelism, apologetics, etc?
Because we are comissioned to share the Gospel with a world which doesn't want to hear it...but more importantly, because in sharing the Gospel, the souls God is bringing into His Kingdom have opportunity to respond and accept Christ, just as I did 30 years ago. I was 'witnessed to' by assorted Christians, one friend in particular whom God used to get through to me.
It may not occur to you in your daily life, James, but with billions of people in the world, every day more souls are accepting Christ, being brought into the Kingdom. That is God working. I hope that you may someday have more answers than questions.
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