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mushhead -> RE: Catholic Documents Examined (7/31/2008 5:22:59 PM)
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ORIGINAL: TheCatholicCrusader
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ORIGINAL: lw9
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TCC: Question: If a little Muslim boy, say 5 years old, dies in a dusty village and never heard the Gospel, will God damn the poor shmuck to hell for something that was beyond the kids control? No, God will not do that.
Thus the Church rightly teaches: "...Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation." Lumen gentium 16; cf. Denzinger-Schonmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum 3866-3872
What you've just presented is a feel-good humanistic opinion rather than a Biblical fact. ...
What I have just presented is "Mercy", a concept that seems to be sorely lacking in this forum.
However, let me clarify: The boy in my scenario would be saved by the blood of Christ and His death and resurrection, that is true, whether he knows it or not. And, I am assuming in my scenario that the child acted in accord with his conscience according to whatever light God showed him. My scenario would NOT apply to someone who violated their conscience and therefore sinned wantonly.
But God will not cast someone into eternal damnation for something that was beyond their control. That would not be just, and God's justice is perfect.
We are not guilty and condemned (thus wholly dependent upon God's mercy) because we sin "wantonly": nor are we saved by choosing not to sin "wantonly." All men are condemned because we have sinned against God! One sin is all it takes to offend the perfect righteousness of God our Creator. Your scenerio suggests that the it is possible that some people have righteous hearts that motivate them to act correctly, but the Bible tells us just the opposite is true - we are all born with a sin nature (this nature affects us somehting like this: a man is not a liar because he tells lies; he tells lies because he is a liar), therefore our hearts are so corrupt that they are beyond understanding (our hearts are not corrupt because we commit sin; we commit sin because our hearts are corrupt). Because this is true, it is difficult to conceive someone's heart leading them to act in such a way that God would reward them with salvation. The boy is guilty of sin, as we all are, and therefore is fully reliant upon the mercy of God for salvation - not his ability to act in accord with some standard.
That said, your scenerio is one of the most common arguments that lost people make against the Gospel. In Romans, Paul breifly addresses this issue, but it is difficult to determine exactly what is meant. At points, Paul's discourse seems to say something similar to your position, CatholicCrusader, but at other points he seems to counter that conclusion by writing that everyone is guilty of sin and therefore will remain in a state of condemnation unless they put their faith in Jesus.
Is it possible that someone could receive salvation through Jesus, even though he never heard of Jesus; didn't really believe his particular religious orientation; believed that he has offended God by his sin; and believed that his only hope is the mercy of God (even though he doesn't know anything about who or what God is)? Yes, I suppose it is possible that God would apply the blood of Jesus to that person. I tell people that this is a fruitless discussion though, because it deals with rhetorical situations and delves into areas of the mechanics of God's judgment that He has chosen not to reveal clearly to us. So, I'm telling you what I tell others: "God will judge that five-year old Muslim boy righteously."
That is all we really need to know.
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