I am posting this thread for discussion of the main thread by those other than Catholics since the thread is marked Catholics only and I feel this needs questioned by thiose outside that church. I respect the tag and am hoping when one is posted as Charasmatic or Pentecostal only it to will be respected. On the face of it It is saying that all others that are outside the Catholic church are not saved and this is wrong except in their own minds and is an example of the double speak that I get when I call a Catholic on doctrine. They say no, we recognize other Christians but yet in their doctrine it is clear that they dont.
1. The RC Denomination is OBSESSED with power..... As a denomination. This claim - that there's no salvation outside of
Itself - flows from this.
2. The RC Denomination is extremely, radically egotistical, to the point of virtual self-deification, essentially equating Itself (as a denomination) with God Himself. This claim - that there's no salvation outside of ITself - flows from this, as well.
3. The RC Denomination places little (to no) focus on Jesus as the Savior, so in view of it's egoism and power-grab and self-deification, it's understandable that salvation is claimed to be essentially something IT provides.
Sad, really.....
Now, if we properly understand "church" as CHRISTIANS, the whole corpus of Christian people across the centuries and continents, the "one holy catholic communion of saints" - then there is a SENSE in which it is true: there is no salvation outside the church. It's true ONLY in the sense that people become believers via believers, and this seems to be just as Jesus established things. Christians sharing the faith, Christians preaching and teaching and baptizing. The "church" is the context, the vehicle in which God seems to work. But of course this has NOTHING to do with any denomination (especially since denomination's cannot share or preach or teach or baptize or even believe - only PEOPLE can); so this has NOTHING at all, NOTHING whatsoever to do with the OOC or EOC or RCC or UCC or LDS or UPC or URC or any other denominational institution - never has, never will. Those claiming such just suffer from the points above.
MY half cent.
Pax
- Josiah