|
Hi Anonymous,
- Did you mean Doug Hunt or Dave Hunt?
Dave Hunt is an anti-Catholic and has no credibility
at all. Tell your brother he can't use a source that purposely smears another faith as a source.
In addition to John's fine answer, I wanted to comment
on the salvation issues he mentioned at the end of his answer. The
Catechism does a very good job here. I have bolded what
I believe are the important parts.
Outside the Church there is no salvation
- 846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated
by the Church Fathers?
Re-formulated positively, it means that
all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which
is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches
that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for
salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way
of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church.
He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith
and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the
necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through
a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that
the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ,
would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault
of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
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.
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those
who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel,
to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the
Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize
all men."
(Vatican II, Ad Gentes 7; cf. Hebrews 11:6; 1 Corinthians 9:16) |
Note that the second paragraph in CCC 847 states may not will achieve eternal salvation.
Because your
brother has to persevere in seeking the fullness of
the Christian Faith that can only be found in the Catholic
Church. If he knows the Catholic Church is the true
Church yet refuses to enter, his salvation is
in grave jeopardy, but remember, we don't damn people rather
they, by their actions or inactions, damn themselves.
It's their particular judgment or one-on-one with Our Lord, not
ours.
Since neither you nor I can make his faith decisions, the best
we can do is pray for him and be a good Catholic Christian
witness. Don't get pulled into debates for the sake of
debates.
Only faith-share in charity if you can end things
charitably: agreeing to agree and agreeing to disagree.
If your brother is sincere he will read Karl Keating's
book: Catholicism and
Fundamentalism as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
You said:
- How can I answer their questions.
By reading more of the Catechism and books on apologetics.
Looking at my previous religious upbringing, I am shocked
and surprised that we were never taught anything about either:
This
should be standard in all religious CCD classes in Catholic
America today. If DRE's are not well familiar in both
these areas, the local bishop should send them to diocesan classes in order to be [trained/taught] in these critical areas of the Catholic faith.
- How can any CCD curriculum omit the willingness of the very first Catholic Christians, who lived from 100 A.D. to 800 A.D., to die for their faith rather than deny Christ and His Church?
In your situation, Jurgens and Keating are
a good starting point.
Hope this helps,
Mike
|
