An interesting discussion on the hierarchy of truths happened at cell group today:PERSON A: Well, basically the hierarchy of truths was employed by the Catholic Church to categorize truths that are important for our salvation (e.g. the necessity of Jesus' death on the Cross for our salvation) and truths that are less important for our salvation (e.g. Purgatory) ... Besides if all truths were to be equally important our Protestant brethren would be counted as unsaved by us Catholics since there are truths that we subscribe to but they do not.
PERSON B: That just seems like a cop out to me - just to include our Protestant brethren. I mean, if it's true, it should all be equally true.
PERSON A: No, it's not a cop out and yes, it is all equally true, it's just that some truths are more central to our salvation than others but that doesn't mean it cannot/does not contribute to our salvation. Think about it this way, the truths we embrace are like parts of a car which needs to be assembled together in order to function as intended.
PERSON B: Since you have used this analogy. Let's take the "wheels" of the car as the truths that are central for our salvation and the the "cushions" as truths concerning Mary - without which we could still arrive at our destination (i.e. Heaven) since the "wheels" are what we need. (HAHA!)
PERSON A: Yes, true... but think about it. It wouldn't be comfortable to drive without "cushions" (i.e. Mary) right? Also the car would be able to arrive at the destination even without "wipers" (i.e. the saints) BUT only on bright and shiny days would the journey be smooth, how about during stormy days? [Starting to get a little carried away] And not to mention stormy days are often dark and cloudy, if you do not have your "headlights" (e.g. the Eucharist) how would be able to arrive at your destination safely? And also if ...
The rest of the cell group: -_-" / LOL / ROFL / ^o^
5 comments:
And it's really no wonder why nonbelievers see us Christians as divided, right?
point0: Christians are divided, even among the Protestants. For instance there are some who believes in the significance of the Eucharist as the body and blood of Christ (i.e. the Anglicans/Lutherans) and there are some who do not see it that way (e.g. Evangelicals).
However the good news is we all have grounds for unity, i.e. we believe that Jesus is the Christ who died for the sake of our sins thus saving the whole of mankind. :)
Heh. Although there are many examples in the Bible where people are saved because they had faith, there's nowhere in it where they say believing and knowing Christ's sacrifice is mandatory for salvation.
The book of Revelations may suggest a slightly different answer iirc. "You clothed me?" Something like that.
If you read CS Lewis's "The Last Battle", a chronicle of Narnia, a good man named Emeth who worshiped Tash was allowed into 'heaven' since he was a good man - "dutifully and with love and devotion". If he had not been, well, I'd be quite disappointed in Aslan. Wouldn't you?
Ban: In general, we are granted salvation because we have faith in Jesus which also means that we must believe that He died in order to save us. (refer to John 3:16; "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.").
But of course, for those who do not know Jesus through no fault of their own; they are to be judged by God according to the "law written in their hearts" i.e. the conscience (Romans 2:12-16).
What I have written here is just the tip of the iceberg, if you would like to discuss this topic further, do send me an email. Thanks. :D
Purgatory is a dogma of the Faith, thus if a Catholic wilfully rejects that, he is not Catholic but a heretic. It's another thing altogether for those who are ignorant.
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