The pope recently renewed the claim that Catholicism is the only true path to salvation. Protestants know that this is ridiculous, reasoning that the pope is simply trying to solidify his power.
Now, examine this analogy. Replace the pope with the collective body of all churches of organized religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and so on. Together, as a whole, they claim precisely what the pope does. "You can only find salvation through us."
Perhaps Protestants will understand a little more clearly why agnostics and atheists are so skeptical.
I personally believe that if you do everything you can to be a good person in life, you cannot go wrong. It is likely unnecessary to attend or donate money to any church at all. It is likely unnecessary to ever lay eyes on a Bible. It is likely that, if anyone is saved at all, you will be saved if you loyally follow the sense of ethics you were born with.
What do you think?
2007-07-14 04:24:39 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Your argument is built on faulty logic. Just because contradictory claims cannot be all correct doesn't mean that they are all incorrect. For example, if someone turned in a wallet and several people came to claim it, there are two possibilities: that all the people are lying about the wallet being theirs or all the people except one are lying about the wallet being theirs.
"I personally believe that if you do everything you can to be a good person in life, you cannot go wrong."
1) If you have to do "everything" you can, then that doesn't leave much room for error- and we are human after all.
2) If one really doesn't have to do everything to be a good human being, where's the cut off point in terms of percentage?
3) What about someone who it doesn't bother whether they "go wrong" or not?
"you will be saved if you loyally follow the sense of ethics you were born with."
So it's ok to be a bigot, religiously intolerant, murderer, thief, whatever... just as long as that was the "sense of ethics you were born with"? It would, in fact, seem wrong to go from bigotry, for example, to tolerance because that's a different ethic.
2007-07-14 07:30:11 · answer #1 · answered by Deof Movestofca 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My 2 Cents
First you have to define what good means or doing good
Now one can be doing good works to cover up something that is going on inside of them that is awful in retrospect. What is the impact of that on society as whole?
Then what is it that has one be kind, gentle, compassionate, and loving in an unconditional way?
Is it natural human nature to be ethical, honest, trusting, responsible, and be that with a high level of integrity?
In the sense that "You Were Borne With" - Each person is born with a clean slate, there is nothing there whatsoever, everything that you become is generated by the existence that is provided by your environment, society, peers, parents, etc. Therefore you are indoctrinated into the age and civilization in which you are born. Is the end result of that indoctrination inevitable?
Personally I think not!
Each person has inalienable rights - one of those is the right to freewill - that distinguishes that you have a choice in the matter of your life moment by moment. You have the right to choose how you feel, how you think, how you can be in the world in which you find yourself moment be moment.
Furthermore everyone has the right to train themselves, such that they can eliminate any factors that impeed their inailenable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, and they have the right to revolt in the matter of the removal of those rights by any agency, organization, or institution.
No one person has the right to dictate to you regardless of what it is.
"The pope recently renewed the claim that Catholicism is the only true path to salvation."
How is that possible?
Even the bible claims that we are all created equal, that we are all The Children Of God so how can any single religion claim that "They Are The Only Way To Reach God or Salvation"
In fact why are we in need of salvation in the first place?
Redeemed from what?
What is organized religion in the first place?
Look up the definition of cult
Education may not be a panacea but its a whole lot better than being ignorant and that starts with "Know Thy Self and Be True To Thyself"
2007-07-14 12:14:36 · answer #2 · answered by dennywisard 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that that type of thinking is shared by many people who, once they died, lamented such a train of thought.
Jesus said, "None may come to the Father but through Me." It is not the Christian denominations that teach such a concept. It is the Son of God, Himself.
As to whether atheists and agnostics are skeptical, that is not my realm of responsibility. I am simply responsible for telling them the Truth. I am not responsible for them accepting the Truth.
As I pointed out in another thread, to do good works without the salvation of Jesus Christ at the core of it is like biting into a delicious red apple, only to find that you've bitten the worm that was inside in half.
2007-07-14 11:44:32 · answer #3 · answered by †Lawrence R† 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As a protestant, of course I think the pope is wrong. The catholic church has so many myths and procedures that have no basis in the Bible. I do believe that gods children are in all christians groups regardless of denomination. You are correct that you may be saved by loyalty, that is a result of faith. . Only loyalty to God, you are either for him or against him. If you loyalty is to God, you will want to read the bible and contribute money to worthwhile charities. There are so many needy in the world.
2007-07-14 11:41:12 · answer #4 · answered by morris 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Regardless of denominational label, only those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and become "new creatures" by the power of the Holy Spirit will inherit eternal life and go to heaven.
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jesus Christ, John 14:6)
I realize that this is an exclusive claim, but I put my faith in the words of the Person who was dead and on the third day was raised to life.
2007-07-14 11:35:01 · answer #5 · answered by Kidd! 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First of all Kenyai, a true Christian doesn't claim that they are the savior, Jesus is. All the others claim they are Christians and say that they save people that's not true and what they preach isn't true. A Christian says that Jesus Christ is the only savior.There is a difference, He (Jesus) is able to save even you from your good deeds, Your friend Jimmy.
2007-07-14 14:25:51 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Quoting from the actual article, which can be found at
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html
“It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation,
2007-07-14 11:43:04 · answer #7 · answered by Sldgman 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What's ridiculous is that God doesn't really exist. What we have here is one bully on the playground telling all the other kids that nobody plays with his imaginary friend unless he says so.
2007-07-14 11:34:44 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
we need savation from religion and the idea we are divided into "believers" and unbelievers or people who don't fall prey to groupthink
2007-07-14 11:28:51 · answer #9 · answered by voice_of_reason 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋