Are Catholics saved?

[jayem]

This is mainly directed at Evangelical Protestants.

I know it's not possible to judge any particular indvidual's state of salvation, but I'm asking in the general theological sense. Let's say a person sincerely believes the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which includes a version of the Nicean Creed):

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation,
he came down from heaven...

But he also believes the other teachings of the Catechism, such as the importance of observing the sacraments, the special devotion given to Mary, and the authority of the church hierarchy. In short, standard Catholic doctrine--no more, no less.

Are these beliefs compatible with salvation as you understand it?

 

[98cwitr]

I would agree that those who have real faith in Jesus Christ are saved. The Nicene Creed seems to follow this thought process.

 

[aiki]

But he also believes the other teachings of the Catechism, such as the importance of observing the sacraments, the special devotion given to Mary, and the authority of the church hierarchy. In short, standard Catholic doctrine--no more, no less.

Are these beliefs compatible with salvation as you understand it?

Compatible with salvation? I think oftentimes these doctrines interfere with salvation. They obscure the plain message of the Gospel and may even, for some, replace it, leading such people to believe they are destined for heaven when in fact they are destined for Hell.

Satan uses falsehood ultimately to destroy. He uses clever, counterfeit half-truths as well as bald-faced lies to accomplish this destruction. You see, its just as effective to have a person miss the "narrow way" by a foot as it is by a mile. Its not the distance by which one misses salvation that is important to the devil, just that one actually does miss it. In fact, it is those whose close proximity to the narrow way makes them believe that they are on it who are in the greatest danger of hell. A wretched sinner living in willful defiance of God knows he is not on the narrow way and needs little convincing of the fact. The religious person who is trusting in Mary, and her priest, and the confessional to save her and who spends her life investing in these religious counterfeits, however, is hard and blind to the truth that only Christ, not the Church and its rituals, can save her. I have met many Catholics of this sort.

Peace.

 

[salida]

Some are and some arn't. This depends on the catholic church and the individual members. Thus, some catholics put too much emphasize on Mary. If Mary takes up more of their time than Jesus is-than Mary is a idol and I would question their christianity somewhat.

 

[drich0150]

Loving God with all of you being isn't limited to one denominational system of belief. All that is required from us is that we take that complete the form of love that we have for God, and marry it with a belief in Jesus the Christ. A Complete Love for our God, direction from the Holy Spirit and His written works will guide our efforts. God's grace and forgiveness will fill in the short comings of our worship.

That said, where the danger lies is in the pride one obtains in practicing a pure form of religion. It will sometimes blind or fool the believer into believing that serving God, and serving a religious practice is the same thing.

Some religious expressions are more prone to drawing it's people into a life of service devoted to the religion in the name of God. rather than having a direct relationship with Him. Even so there is enough truth in most of those religions for us to be held accountable for what we do know. In That we should be in a direct relationship with God.

Also, know that being aligned with one brand of christianity will not automatically include you or exclude you from anything. Our salvation is a matter of our Hearts, not a matter of where we sit on any given Sunday.

 

[seashale76]

YouTube - Are you saved? - an Orthodox Christian answer.

 

[Sketcher]

If they trust in Jesus and what he did for their salvation, then yes. If they trust in their doing the church routine for it, then no.

 

[ebia]

This is mainly directed at Evangelical Protestants.

I know it's not possible to judge any particular indvidual's state of salvation, but I'm asking in the general theological sense. Let's say a person sincerely believes the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which includes a version of the Nicean Creed):

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation,
he came down from heaven...

But he also believes the other teachings of the Catechism, such as the importance of observing the sacraments, the special devotion given to Mary, and the authority of the church hierarchy. In short, standard Catholic doctrine--no more, no less.

Are these beliefs compatible with salvation as you understand it?

We are saved by the grace of God, not by perfect dogma (or we would all be toast).

But not everything is helpful.

 

[ProScribe]

This is mainly directed at Evangelical Protestants.

I know it's not possible to judge any particular indvidual's state of salvation, but I'm asking in the general theological sense. Let's say a person sincerely believes the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which includes a version of the Nicean Creed):

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation,
he came down from heaven...

But he also believes the other teachings of the Catechism, such as the importance of observing the sacraments, the special devotion given to Mary, and the authority of the church hierarchy. In short, standard Catholic doctrine--no more, no less.

Are these beliefs compatible with salvation as you understand it?

Generally, I'd say yes but this is a question you would have to ask Catholics.

 

[PastorPowerPoints]

This is mainly directed at Evangelical Protestants.

I know it's not possible to judge any particular indvidual's state of salvation, but I'm asking in the general theological sense. Let's say a person sincerely believes the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which includes a version of the Nicean Creed):

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation,
he came down from heaven...

But he also believes the other teachings of the Catechism, such as the importance of observing the sacraments, the special devotion given to Mary, and the authority of the church hierarchy. In short, standard Catholic doctrine--no more, no less.

Are these beliefs compatible with salvation as you understand it?

I believe they are. Even though some of their practices I do not agree with, I do believe they have faith and their faith is in the right place.

 

[childofGod31]

This is mainly directed at Evangelical Protestants.

I know it's not possible to judge any particular indvidual's state of salvation, but I'm asking in the general theological sense. Let's say a person sincerely believes the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which includes a version of the Nicean Creed):

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation,
he came down from heaven...

But he also believes the other teachings of the Catechism, such as the importance of observing the sacraments, the special devotion given to Mary, and the authority of the church hierarchy. In short, standard Catholic doctrine--no more, no less.

Are these beliefs compatible with salvation as you understand it?

There are MANY that are deceived in any denomination/religion. So some protestants won't make it because they are deceived. Most people are deceived into thinking that going to church and believing certain things with their mind is the right road. But it's not so. Believing is just a first step. The goal is in DOING. First you believe that you should live a certain way and then you LIVE it. If you don't live what you believe, you won't make it where you think you're going.

What one needs to believe is that there is a God, Jesus, who came to die for us and that we need to do the will of God and obey Jesus and follow His teachings. His teachings say: love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. His teachings say: be holy in your life and stay away from the evil in this world. If you do those things, I believe you will get there (no matter what other things you might believe in your head).
But basically, God looks at hearts. He doesn't just look for His people in protestant denominations. His people are everywhere. Yes, some are ignorant of the truths, but I think that as long as they are doing what I mentioned, they should be ok.

On the other hand, if any person in any denomination is NOT doing what I mentioned, they are deceiving themselves into thinking that they will make it..