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MarilynW
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| Posted: March 26 2009 at 8:06am | IP Logged
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These topics are ones that are coming up a lot at our dinner table - especially when my kids hear things from Catholic such as:
"it does not matter if you are Catholic or not - any denomination will do"
"every religion will go to Heaven as long as they follow their principles"
I find the subject tough to deal with and would appreciate any help.
Please share your views.
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Marilyn
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Michaela
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| Posted: March 26 2009 at 9:12am | IP Logged
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I'm also interested in the response. We are constantly told it really doesn't matter which denomination you are because all followers of Christ, living out what they know and believe, will go to heaven. So it doesn't matter if it isn't the fullness of truth, but truth as they know/believe it.
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sarahb
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I think church teaching is pretty clear on these questions and Im sure you all have equal access to the catholic answers site and so Im not going to go there in so far as doctrine.
I think when these questions arise with my kids I tend to lean towards telling them that our God is a merciful God and that we do not know who goes to heaven and we can not pretend to know. So in the spirit of mercy and grace we will pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ and leave the rest of it to God himself to sort.
I do want to impress upon my children that they are not in charge of telling others what is what- they have experienced that from some "saved" protestant children and I wouldnt wish my children to ever act in that way. I tend to stick to statements like "well, as catholics we are taught..." and "we believe..." and so on.
The mission field is not too troublesome if you stick to the old "I preach the Gospel everyday and sometimes I use words." theory. I try to impress on my kids that being a follower of Jesus isnt so much about telling others what to do as it is about regulating your own behavior towards others.
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MarilynW
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| Posted: March 26 2009 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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Just to clarify - I would never dream of telling other denominations or religions that "they are not saved" or 'they are not going to heaven" - just wondering what we should be saying.
I do think Apologetics is very necessary though - so that we know what and why we believe - and so that we can defend our faith.
And actually - I do not know what the church's teaching is about other religions - any information would be appreciated
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sarahb
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| Posted: March 26 2009 at 9:50am | IP Logged
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http://www.catholic.com/library/Salvation_Outside_the_Church .asp
HTH!
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Barbara C.
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I went to the link above, and I'm not sure about it. For one thing, is it right to call someone who was raised another denomination a "schismatic" therefore outside of salvation? After all, they did not choose to break away from the Catholic Church. Their ancestors did, and they are obviously blind to the fullness of the Catholic Church but not of their own volition.
I totally agree with everything sarahb wrote about what to tell the kids about salvation and about trying to convert others. My understanding is that all religions share a certain amount of truth with the Catholic Church, and as such all people should be treated with respect despite our differences/disagreements.
Of course, it is important to know apologetics because if you do not know the teachings and history of the Church it is easier to be led astray by misinformation. Apologetics should be like putting on your armor rather than brandishing your sword.
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sarahb
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| Posted: March 26 2009 at 11:01am | IP Logged
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Armor not sword. GREAT metaphor!!
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stellamaris
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As Catholics, we are not to make judgements concerning other's states of grace. So, we can never say, "So-and-so or such-and-such a religion is doomed to hell." Nevertheless, what we do know is two-fold: 1)Outside the Church there is no salvation and 2) getting to heaven is difficult and many don't make it. To elaborate on point 1, all graces available to all men, within and outside of the Catholic Church, are present because of the Church. This is because the Church is Christ in the world...we are the Body of Christ, and because the Mass is the re- presentation of Christ's sacrifice made present to our time and place. There is no salvation in any other name than Jesus, so anyone who is being saved is saved through Christ, that is through the graces flowing from the Catholic Church. Therefore, the "no salvation outside the Church" is understood in this sense: someone "outside" the formal confines of the Church may be saved, but only because of the graces flowing from the Church, so in a way they are associated with the Church whether they recognize it or not. Christ has only one body. On point 2, we must realize that not all people do go to Heaven and we need to avail ourselves of all the helps that we know about to make it. Someone who is unaware of the graces available through the Sacraments is not accountable for making use of them, but those of us who do recognize these graces are responsible to use them! Our separated Protestant brethren are starving for these graces, and we must pray for them. I know, because I am a convert myself, and I cannot even begin to express how the graces of the Holy Eucharist, Confession, and Confirmation have strengthened me to live a more holy life. It is tough to talk about these things with our children, because we are afraid they are losing their faith, but if we emphasize the great gifts they have in the Catholic Church and don't overstep in condemning others (which is God's job!), we can respond more calmly and graciously.
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MarilynW
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| Posted: March 26 2009 at 11:29am | IP Logged
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Any converts want to weigh in?
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MarilynW
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| Posted: March 26 2009 at 11:39am | IP Logged
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Sorry Caroline - we crossposted. I liked your explanation.
The way I explain it to the children:
I do believe that the Catholic church is the original church established by Jesus Christ. Whilst not telling Protestants that they are "wrong" I believe that they are missing out on so much that we benefit from as Catholics - the Real Presence, the Sacraments, the Blessed Mother, the Interecession of the Saints, Tradition, the Papacy etc.
The children and I have been asked many times recently to explain our faith to various Protestants - many of whom are very interested in Catholicism. I realized about 8 years ago that I was unable to do this - and since then have made an effort to really understand our faith, know the Catechism and know the Scriptures.
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MarilynW
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Ok - one more question. One of my dc has asked about the directive of Jesus in Matthew 28 - "go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...." - who should we be going out and evangelizing?
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Barbara C.
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Well, we should be evangelizing everyone including each other. That doesn't mean that we have to go out preaching at people, though. Evangelization is definitely an area where actions speak louder than words.
If we act like the Christians we are asked to be, others will notice. Others will also notice little things that make Catholicism distinctive. "They will know we are Christians by our love." Once people are aware that we are Catholic Christians, the best way to directly evangelize is to be available to answer questions and respectfully discuss the differences and similarities between Catholicism and the person's own beliefs.
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stellamaris
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Marilyn,
You make an excellent point about the necessity of learning the faith. We ought to never stop studying the Scriptures in light of the teaching of the Magisterium, and we ought to be prepared to give an answer to those who ask us to explain our faith. I agree with Barbara that evangelizing does not mean to always go around preaching at folks,and if we live our faith we will be asked to give an explanation of it. One other very important point, we must PRAY for the Holy Spirit to send the grace of conversion to souls, for He is the one who converts people, not us! We just need to be an available and "sharp" sword in His hands. Btw, we should also pray for the Holy Spirit to give our children wisdom, knowledge, fear of the Lord and all His great gifts. Doing a Novena to the Holy Spirit (one of my favorites!) for our children would be one way to implore the help of the Holy Spirit.
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Caroline
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Barbara C.
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One other thing on this topic that comes to mind is a question from an examination of conscience I use: "Do we hesitate to mention God's name in appropriate situations, in conversations with friends and family members?"
I think there are two important parts to the that question. First, we shouldn't be scared to speak about God and offend somebody, but secondly, we should be prudent about doing so in appropriatesituations.
In other words we shouldn't be afraid to speak about our faith if the situation arises, but we shouldn't go out trying to "pick the fight". Now if only I could train myself better to do this when it comes to the concept of homeschooling. 
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Topic: Ecumenism, other religions etc?
