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Hi, guys —
I was talking with my Protestant friend today about salvation and Confession.
He said the Catholic Church recognizes that all other Christian denominations
believe in God, and all they have to do is be baptized and ultimately
believe in Christ as our Savior. That said, he asked me,
- Why do I go to Confession when
I should just go to God, like he does, because if we are all
going to the same place, why make the road more difficult
than it is?
He mentioned mortal sin, and said, we, as Catholics, say it breaks
us away form God and punishes us eternally us forever. He agreed
with this if the sin was serious, like murder, etc; but if
we are truly contrite, God will forgive us, if we ask for forgiveness.
More or less, he is saying the Catholic Church teaches we, as Catholics, have to go to Confession when we commit a mortal
sin, or at least go once a year, whereas, he never has to go because
he has faith in God.
- What is a good way to respond to this?
Thanks!
Shawn
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John replied:
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Shawn,
The Church in effect teaches that people will be held responsible for what they know
but at the same time, every man has an obligation to constantly seek the truth and
allow the truth to form his conscience.
The Church doesn't teach that Protestants can be saved by their Protestantism nor
are they saved by their minimalistic, juridical, and forensic understanding of
the Gospel. They are saved like everyone else: by the grace and mercy of God
— in and through the Person
of Jesus Christ and His Atoning Sacrifice.
Catholics have the fullness of the faith and that includes both knowledge of and
access to the Sacraments so we will be held responsible for that knowledge along
with the privilege of having had access to the Sacraments.
Nevertheless, your friend is on dangerous ground.
Because he knows more than
your average Protestant. He obviously has studied or inquired enough to know that
Catholics have this Sacrament called Confession. He also knows enough about Catholic
teaching to know God holds open the doors of salvation to all, according to their
knowledge, hence, he knows enough to continue to seek the truth.
He might not know everything in the exact words or language but clearly the Holy
Spirit has exposed your friend to more knowledge of the Catholic faith than the average
Joe. So, he's not exactly going to be able to claim complete ignorance of the
law come judgment day.
[Make sure you check out the related posting below for more.]
Hope that helps.
God Bless,
John
[Related Posting]
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