Who Is Eligible For Salvation

The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio ca. 1601-02, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

If you think about it for a moment, the most serious problems plaguing our world revolve around this very question: "Who is eligible for salvation".

Bob Wright, leads the charge:

According to the New Testament, Jesus was born as a sign of God's love for humanity--sent to Earth so that "whoever believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life," as the gospel of John puts it.

Over the years, this prerequisite for admission to heaven--believing that Christ died for your sins--has been a strong incentive to become or remain a Christian. But if God really loves humankind, shouldn't He let, say, a good Buddhist or Jew through the pearly gates?

God goes further than that, says Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete [formerly a physicist, a professor of theology at St. Joseph's Seminary in New York, and president of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico] in this clip from his meaningoflife.tv interview: even atheists are eligible for salvation.

This radical reinterpretation of scripture, Albacete notes later in the interview, has now become official Catholic doctrine (unbeknownst even to many Catholics). And it raises a question: Can the world's major religions coexist harmoniously without amending core beliefs--such as the belief that they've been blessed with a uniquely enlightening revelation?

Here is the complete interview:

Given the events of this year past, I feel it is a befitting subject for the last day of the year. Even more so, in an utopian sort of way, it certainly sets the tone for the New Year.

With that I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May the spark of knowledge and education, light the fire of reason and reasonability and root out the fanaticism all round.

God Bless.

Comments

[Jack]

The Kingdom of Heaven is open to anyone who is willing to fulfill the entrance requirements. There are always entrance requirements for clubs, groups, organizations, schools, countries (immigration), and jobs.

Why would admission into the Kingdom of Heaven not have entrance requirements?

Jesus spoke of this many, many times. Yes it is true that any human can enter the Kingdom, (ref: Catechism of the Catholic Church section 846, 847) but the most certain way is through the "narrow gate" which is the Catholic Eucharistic Communion.

Jesus says all who enter another way are thieves and marauders. Pay close attention to that remark; Jesus says "all who enter another way". That implies that others will get in, albeit illegally.

We have the choice of fulfilling the entrance requirements and entering through the narrow gate or becoming illegal immigrants in the Eternal Kingdom.

The first method is certain, the second is perilous, just as it is in any other attempt to enter any other place.

Choose Wisely
Jack

[Stefan]

Well said Kenny,
I think an important point to be made in regards to Jews is that they are the original people of the Covenant and whilst Christ was the New Covenant (which was extended to all mankind) that doesn’t mean that God “reneged” on the first one. It is still in effect. As to sin, I wonder if you would agree with this rough sketch of it: “Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.”
“Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.”
“Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.” (CCC #1859- #1861)
If this were taken into account some sins committed by non-Christians (or pre-Christians) may be “overlooked” but ones that break the “natural law” that has been written on the heart of all mankind will not be excused so lightly. All mankind has the “voice” of God in their heads in the form of the conscience and therefore are all “knowledgeable” of the inherent sinfulness of acts such as murder.

[Ken Pierce]

Alexandra,

Very quick version (by my standards), just sort of throwing thoughts out there. Might do a more careful and well-laid-out version on my blog someday. I wrote something fairly long and detailed about this ten years ago but I don't know where it is now; if I find it I'll post it.

I should add that my position on this question forced me to stop working with the youth at my church, as (1) this is a question young people very often ask, (2) the youth director holds a very strict view on the damnation of those who do not explicitly become Christians, and (3) I was expected to toe the party line when asked my opinion by young people. I don't object to #3, since I would have been speaking as an official representative of the church; but I did have to stop working with the teenagers as a result.

1. When Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me," he meant it and he was right.

2. However, since this clearly holds true for, say, Noah, who had never heard of Jesus, it must be possible to come to the Father by way of Jesus without realizing (in the present life) that He is the way you are following. I see no reason to think this policy changed in A.D. 33.

3. But the power of the gospel is that hearing the gospel enormously improves your odds; it is a vehicle of salvation like no other. The overwhelming impact of the Old Testament (especially when you take the Jews' non-Jewish neighbors into account) is that humanity's batting average before the revelation of the gospel, was abysmal, and the position of the New Testament properly understood (I sincerely believe) is that without the gospel that batting average remains abysmal.

4. I agree with Dorothy Sayers that the gates of Hell are locked on the inside. It is entirely possible to choose sin and misery over happiness knowing that that is precisely what you're doing, as any person who remembers pouting as a child knows perfectly well if they're honest with themselves.

5. The problem with individual acts of sin is that they turn us into the kind of person who prefers the misery of Hell to the particular kind of joy that God offers in Heaven -- at least, given the price of repentance that God requires. The more you pout, the more the pout becomes something that you are rather than something that you do. (Cf. Lewis's Great Divorce.)

6. The problem with human nature is that (a) lots of people who seem, especially to themselves, very likable and kind and religious are actually the sorts of people who will choose Hell over Heaven when it comes down to it, and (b) the overwhelming tendency of human nature (absent the power of the gospel) is to engage in activity that turns us into this kind of person, which takes us back to my point #3. Indeed, the more Satan can convince an amiable person that all is well with him, the more secure Satan can be of gaining his soul, which would be why Jesus had plenty of sarcastic things to say about people who were complacently pleased with the standing they felt they had achieved before God by their prayers and piety.

7. People who complain that God isn't fair...what, other than provincial cultural prejudice, could ever possibly have led you to suspect that He is or ought to be what we call "fair"? And while we're at it, I have yet to hear anybody give a definition of "fair" that can be applied with ethical consistency to that person's own political and religious opinions -- you can only get rid of unfairness by replacing it with a different kind of unfairness. (Justice is a different matter, but justice is not what people mean when they complain about "unfairness.") So I have no sympathy whatsoever for anybody who wants to whine about how God is a mean and nasty person because He declines to run the universe according to their own omnisciently wise moral demands.

8. People who complain that they know lots of nice people who aren't Christians but whom God surely will allow into Heaven because they're such cool people and God would be a real jerk if He sent them to Hell -- my goodness, how nice it must be to know that God has such a profound respect for your judgment. Myself, I see no reason to think (a) that I can see into other people's hearts that well, (b) that I know with such exactitude what God's standards are, or (c) that God is going to pay any attention whatsoever to Kenny's opinions on the spiritual state of, say, Socrates. So I can't see that the fact that I really like somebody -- or, alternatively, that he really pisses me off -- has a thing in the world to do with his or her eternal destination.

9. I can't remember who made this political point a few weeks ago (one of you guys will no doubt provide the link) -- maybe our Guest Professor -- but Christianity and Judaism can coexist peaceably with other religions because Judaism's claims are not universal (just Israel, and just Jews) while, pace the Religious Right, Christianity's claims are not temporal (the Kingdom is not of this world). The problem with Islam is not that it claims absolute truth, but that it claims absolute and universal temporal power. Along a slightly different line of comparison, Judaism as a whole places a very low priority on conversion; Christianity places an exceptionally high value on conversion but thinks a "conversion" entered into merely to keep from getting shot is of no value (I realize that historically there was a long period in which the Christians nominally in power in Europe, were far more powerful than they were Christian); Wahibbite Islam places an exceptionally high value on conversion and thinks a conversion at swordpoint is good enough for government work. The consequences for coexistence are, I think, rather obvious.

[Liquid]

After reading over these comments, I must say that what has made this thread really good is that it has given each of us a little spot to define what we do believe and maybe what more we might ponder on in our spiritual growth. All I can say, is that I wouldn't want to go to the grave without Jesus Christ/Yeshua because with all my sins I know that I need His sacrifice on the cross and His Loving mercy towards me on that day of judgement. This is truly written on my heart.

I just wanted to say that it's been nice that people have felt comfortable about sharing about their thoughts on God. I notice so many today don't, because in this politically correct world that we live in, people have chosen to be silent on their faith because they are afraid to be mocked or afraid they will offend.

Thanks Alexandra for bringing us all together here with this thread!

[nescient one]

One problem with several of the previous quotes from Scripture is that is leads to an inescapable conclusion that we are able to and must save ourselves. We must take the action to believe in Christ and accept Him as our personal saviour. If we do not take these actions, we will not be saved. God can throw us the life preserver, but we must recognize it, swim to it, and grab it.
If you accept that as the basis of Christian salvation, it can lead to some murky reasoning within that theological structure. Once I save myself (I believe in Christ) why bother with the rest of the program. There's a lot of hedging to try to cover that point (if you don't sign on to the program, you don't truly believe) but that's more of the save yourself foundation.
How is the Almighty going to work through it all? I have no idea. But I have to believe there is nothing we can do to effect our own salvation. If we could, Christ's incarnation and sacrifice would not have been necessary. So what's the point of committing one's life to Christianity? I have to think that for those of us who are not Jewish, there is no better ideal to follow; it trumps all other models of belief and behavior. It certainly puts things in a different perspective when one must say the path of Christianity is not for one's own salvation, but it is rather a path of love. It makes it a lot harder, and makes us a lot more painfully aware of our shortcomings and failures. How God judges us is His domain. I just hope He has a sense of humor.

[Stefan]

Just to clear up any confusion it is not a new or “radical” position for the Catholic Church to believe that people of other faiths may be saved. So, Monsignor Albacete is not proposing anything different although the position has been developed more in the last few hundred years. Many people (Catholics included) don’t even know what the Church believes about a lot of things!! Catholic teachings are thoughtful, nuanced, scripturally sound (often shockingly so to outsiders who take the time), and very consistent. From Vatican II:
"Those who have not yet received the gospel are related to the People of God in various ways. There is, first, that people to which the covenants and promises were made, and from which Christ was born according to the flesh (cf. Romans 9:4-5): In view of the divine choice, they are a people most dear for the sake of the fathers, for the gifts of God are without repentance (cf. Romans 11:28-29).
"Nor is God remote from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, since he gives to all men life and breath and all things (cf. Acts 17:25-28), and since the Savior wills all men to be saved (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4). 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 dictates of their conscience—those too, may achieve eternal salvation.
"Nor shall divine providence deny the assistance necessary for salvation to those who, without any fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, and who, not without grace, strive to lead a good life."
In essence we do not know all the rules that God will use in determining those that are to be saved. It is not for us to judge the hearts of others, only God knows what he “is looking for” so to speak. Here is the key though. Everyone is saved through Christ whether they know it or not. A Hindu who may be saved would not be saved by some other road; he would be saved through the sacrifice of Christ. If God is True and Pure Love then anywhere a human loves truly and purely then there is the presence of God’s grace whether or not said person is completely aware of source. A lot has to do with “mis-belief” that is “no-fault-of-their-own”. If a Muslim was brought up in a culture where it is taught that Christianity was in error then it may be “no fault of their own” that they are mistaken and they will be judged on the content and character of their heart. If they receive the gift of God’s grace then it will be through Christ alone. Monsignor is astute to quote the Beatitudes on this topic.

[Hengame]

To be saved is just the beging of a hard complicated path to God who is the ultimate wisdom, power, complexity, inteligency, beauty, love, creativity and..
The more you get closer to him, more of these caracters you´ll develop..

[Alexandra]

Thank you, and Happy New Year to you all, peace and blessed hapiness.

Our lives are all different and yet the same.

"We must dare to be happy, and dare to confess it, regarding ourselves always as the depositories, not as the authors of our own job."
- Henri Frederic Amiel

Just remember in the year ahead that conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one`s liberty. Happiness is what you make it, always remember that...

Every day when I look at my child, whose Birthday is today, the very first day of the year, I know how lucky and blessed I truly am.

[Assistant Village Idiot]

I believe it was Martin Luther who said "I will be surprised in Heaven to see some who I had not expected are there. I will be surprised to see some I had expected are not there. But mostly, I will be surprised that I am there." (Quote inexact)

[Darrell]

Happy New Year, Alexandra! Happy New Year to all...
Health, happiness, and a safe journey to all in the coming year...

[Nasty90]

It is written...

"But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
—1 Corinthians 1:23-24.

It is written...

"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. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18).

It is writtten...
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14-6

Having quoted these passages I think it is pretty easy to conclude that Jesus didn't say there was any other way to be reconciled to God except through Him. What is really sad is to see that a man whom, it would appear, represents God is saying that there are many ways to God. It's a total contradiction to the claims of Christ concerning who He was and what He came to do. Jesus's death on the cross, the Gospels clearly tell us, is the only perfect sacrifice for our sins. Salvation is a free gift from God. No man shall boast before God and say something to the affect "I deserve to be here in Heaven because I was a good person!". The Cross itself says "You are a sinner, this is the payment for your sins, it is a free gift, you shall not boast!". It's good news, it is the "Good News", but for people who think they can find another way into heaven other then the Cross, let me remind you of Jesus's own words... (it is written...)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber." John 10-1

[Liquid]

I bet those that drowned during the flood while Noah and his family floated into safety felt things were unfair too. But it was Noah's faith and continual desire to do what God wanted him to do, even when people made fun of him while he was building his ark that is so inspiring! It sure worked for Noah and his faith paid off! God was pleased with him! Noah's story is a powerful one!

[Adam Graham]

I think what this comes back to an idea of democracy and of everyone being equal that drives this on an intellectual level. Its not fair that some people can't go to Heaven because they don't believe in Christ. Admission into Heaven is not a Civil Right.

There is no great support or demand for this in scripture. Rather, it is the attempt of cultural to redefine God.

[benning]

There is that strain of Christianity that believes in Universal Dispensation. A belief that GOD will eventually bring all humanity into His Heaven.

I don't know if I can buy into that, but it would make it easy to accept the elevation of anyone into Heaven. Eventually.

[North by Northwest]

Alexandra, you certainly find yourself in splendid company:

Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities - but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.”

—Sir Winston Churchill, from The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899).

And Ghost, for as much as I vehemtly disagree with your various positions stated on this blog, I cheerfully admit, that your 'take' on religion is a rather profound expression of many of my own personal thoughts.

Joseph, I think you will enjoy this interview; I found it very inspiring.

Happy New Year to you all!

[RG]

And it raises a question: Can the world's major religions coexist harmoniously without amending core beliefs--such as the belief that they've been blessed with a uniquely enlightening revelation?

YES to the first part of the question.

NO to the second part of the question.

YES the worlds major religions can coexist harmoniously without amending core beliefs, but only in a Christian nation. We have been witnessing that coexistance for over 200 in America, but no where else.

NO to the "uniquely enlightening revelation". Christians know what Christ said, "I am the way." But we also know that we must allow everyone else, regardless what they believe, to find that Truth on their own free will.

At one time there trully was only a few people who believed in the True God, Noah. The rest of the people on the earth were destroyed. And I am sure there were many religions then.

[Joseph Marshall]

Well, whether I'm eligible or not, as a Buddhist and as a friend, I certainly wish the future and permanent happiness of everyone here.

In the above block quote posted by Alexandra is the following passage:

Over the years, this prerequisite for admission to heaven--believing that Christ died for your sins--has been a strong incentive to become or remain a Christian.

This strikes me as odd that one would need such a thing to become or remain a Christian. I think it would strike my teachers as odd, too. You certainly don't need any such thing to become or remain a Buddhist.

I would oppose to it a favorite quotation of mine from St. Catherine of Sienna:

All the way to Heaven is Heaven. For He said, "I am the way."

We do not find this odd. We call it "sacred outlook". And even the merest taste or hint of the direct experience of sacred outlook [it is something that happens to you, not something you do] is more than enough to motivate a Buddhist for many lifetimes.

Be the best Christian you can be. And enflame your heart with prayer for the prayer's sake, and not for yours. The surest way to feel God's love [rather than merely believing in it] is to give it back, and to give it to your neighbor, no matter what religion they happen to practice.

[Liquid]

Thank you for sharing the clip Alexandra! I actually enjoyed the interview with Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete very much, although I will admit that I cringed at a couple on his comments concerning athiest because to me, denying God's existence is exactly that: denying God, and I do feel in all honesty, after listening to the entire interview that this is the place that the gentle Albacete has achieved for himself in not to judge others and it is him sharing his conclusions for each person on their path, which he himself admits that there are many on different levels of discovery and as he stated even for himself that he is still learning and growing. He seems like such a gentle soul and full of love in his heart for everyone! Before I get long winded here, I want to say, that what I am about to write is my own opinion and I do not wish to offend anyone, but if you do get offended, well there is not much I can do about that as political correctness is not one of my virtues and I am just sharing how I feel and believe, which I feel this thread was opened up for to bring in the New Year!

I totally agree that once you think you know everything...that you really know nothing at all because it is in that search, IMHO, that the first sign of wisdom is the fear of God and building your knowledge on that foundation that all good things come from Him and work for His purpose is the first place to start your journey! Proverbs. 3:6 In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.

I do respect Albacete for making comments like "What do I know?" That made me giggle and it was moments like that in his interview which made me want to give him a hug! I love those human moments! I never once felt he was arrogant or anything like that at all...I just disagreed with his opinion on the responsibility of defining Christ as not being the only way to salvation but I do understand that we cannot judge one another's hearts and God's ways are not our ways! For me, I have faith in God's words that because of sin, that there has been given a way home! I believe Jesus/Yeshua is the way! I think I understood that we all have a path and in achieving it and staying on it is up to us but I must say that in my own heart, I know that it was the work on the cross that was the sacrifice for my own sins, because without that...I personally have no other way back to my Father in Heaven! I believe God's word when I read Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I would like to say that I feel it's most unfair to ask any human the question of "Who Is Eligible For Salvation?" as it is ONLY our creator's job in the end to judge our souls; for ONLY God knows our hearts and our secrets and our intentions. We as humans all fall short of the glory of God, but God has given us a way and a choice to find our salvation! We are all sinful creatures with wicked hearts! The Hebrew name Yeshua means salvation and so to me, without Him, I would not have any salvation offered to me because I cannot earn my way to heaven!

What I do think is hard, and Bob Godwin explained this beautifully once on his blog, is that we lack the communication skills in the theater of language to express such matters with words. What a word means to one person may take on a whole different meaning to another, so we fall short in our own expressions and in comprehensions to one another, and when it comes to God there really are no words in our language that give Him the glorious justice on our experiences with our communion with Him, so when we try to explain this to others, we do it best as we can, even if we don't get our purest of thoughts into the written or spoken word. We are human and very limited, but the wonderful joy and promising hope for everyone is that all things are possible with God! God breathed His Word to us. We are so fortunate to have the Good News in the written word today! That is where I find my truth!

I said I didn't agree with some of the things that Monsignor Albacete stated, for example that one could encourage an athiest to continue down his athiest path. I could never say< "Be a good athiest and see where it takes you!" IMHO, I personally feel that given the opportunity to interact with an athiest is a great responsibility and that those moments that are given to each of us to share Christ will be accountable moments one day for us, especialy if we are one that has heard the good news! What did we do with that given moment? I say this because, I am convicted in my heart for all the times in my own past when I have let such moments pass by and didn't share the gospels.

I know that I cannot convert or change anyone but I can share the hope and the promises of the Good News when the opportunity is there and to me what is really important here is to not overlook that being one of the generations that has been blessed with the written word of God, to be one that is blessed to live in the time of the printing press with mass printing and translation, that I must accept that I am one of the lucky ones that has been given the opportunity to read with my own eyes and in hearing with my own ears others reading it to me. For example, in John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." I love hearing and reading that because it is some Good News to me and I accept it!

I also have read and heard in 1 Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear"

And so it is with this fear that I know that all of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. In my heart I do not worry about appeasing any man around me here in this world because there is no man here that is going to help me then on that day. What is written on my heart through faith is that the ONLY man that came in the flesh and that died for my sins is Yeshua/Jesus Christ of Nazarene, because on that day of judgement it will be the Savior that will intercede for me and my sins. With this truth, Jesus Christ is my only hope for salvation for I have nothing to offer on that day without Him because my rags are dirty! So I accept the fact that I need Jesus! It was Jesus that said "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty"

Can I trust my own truth? NO, because in Proverbs 14:12 it teaches me that "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death"

We must put our trust in God's Word! As we all know, what we feel or know to be truth here on this earth changes from day to day, how many times we must admit about changing our own mind on certain things as we are surrounded with updates of information, but what is wonderful is that with God there is no confusion. I Corinthians 14:33 teaches us, For God is not a God of confusion but of peace As in all the churches of the saints.

So I must and do believe in my own heart that for us; the generations that have been blessed with the written word, that we have a great responsibility to stay true to His Word and His Truth. I feel that God has written eternity on each of our hearts and when He says for us that if we seek Him with all our hearts that we will find Him....I truly believe that! It is a responsibility for each of us that is given through choice. I feel God loves us so much that He wants us to want to be with Him by our own acceptance and our own free will. So it is up to us through choice to accept his free gift!

As on commenting about Islam and how others can co-exist with it, I personally feel that the Koran perverts the gospels. I could not universally bind with the the ideology that tears down all of the work on the cross because if you take the time to research it yourself, you will find that the Koran teaches that Jesus was NOT crucified. The teachings of Islam via the koran, tries to rob me and all believers of the sacrifice on the cross; therefore, I could not agree with it. Without the crucifixion then I would have no savior that died for me and I would have no blood to cover my sins on the day of my own judgement. My heart can never agree to accepting such ideology that teaches that there was no sacrifice on the cross! So I challenge every Christian out there that might be decieved by those that try to convince you that they respect Jesus as a prophet and that it is this belief that is a common ground to build on and then in the same breath tell you that Jesus was never crucified, I challenge you to step back and question your heart on this matter! Perhaps you can use this opportunity to share the truth! For what I have read, and you should take the time to research it yourself, that the Jesus of Islam is not the Jesus of the Gospels. When I understood that, that is when I asked myself, "Who would try to take away the greatest gift to mankind?" Who would come after Christ and try to undo all His work? Because the true God would not give His Only Son to die for our sins and then years later rewrite the story by sending down an angel with another gospel (which was the birth of Islam since supposedly it was dictated by the angel Gabriel to Mohammed)
Remember...God is not a God of confusion!

I will close this long winded post with these verses:

Galatians 1 6-10
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

[Ghost Dansing]

I suspect that His Wisdom, Mercy and Forgiveness are infinite. With God, all things are possible.

The necessity of having "winners" and "losers" is a "Man" thing, not a "God" thing. Each religion, creed, denomination and confession, in its own way truncates the question of God, saying that God is "this or that". In many ways any "absolute" derived from religious belief is the most profound denial of the Truth; a testimony and monument to human arrogance. The Truth is we know little or nothing of God, His will or His plan. Yet we, as human beings, have sought Him through the ages, leaving behind the constructs of religion as artifacts of our search. We have people running around with this thing, or that thing...it's all about Grace, says one...No, Good Works, says another...And then there are those who are the idolators of salesmanship...it is all about "spreading the word" even if I'm simply trying to convert a Christian from one version to another.

A Christian mystic once said that the best thing that could be said of God is silence. That quite possibly represents the true totality of our comprehension. Often too, we assume God has finished speaking to us. Perhaps God is still speaking, and we should spend more time listening. Silence may be our salvation.

[Chas]

The world has a terrible record of different religions - not just religions, but different cultures trying to coexist.
Rowanda and almost all tribalism in Africa
Bosnia and all of the Balkins
Northern Ireland
Israel
India & Pakistan
Kurds in Iraq
Anywhere Islam interfaces with another religion.
Regardless of what the "Celebrate Diversity" crown says. Diversity creates conflict.
I know you can find a rare instance where it has worked. (i.e. Jews in America) but they are very few.
The more diversity we have, the more conflict.
I call it "The Babel Syndrome".
Different people tend to disperse, not assimilate.

[Alexandra]

What you say is in no way offensive, but true. Monsignor Albacete is in his statement challenging the Absolute Truth. And the question for all of us to consider is as to whether we can hold on to our, for lack of a better term, 'collective' truth without denying differing, equally passionately held truths outside our collectively held truth. But I don't think that that is the heart of the matter:

Can the world's major religions coexist harmoniously without amending core beliefs--such as the belief that they've been blessed with a uniquely enlightening revelation?

I think the fact is, that we can and that we in fact do. Providing of course, that we allow other religions to coexist alongside ours on equal terms; again, which we do in our secular societies.

Only orthodox Islam takes a different view, which is the root cause for so many problems today and will be for many decades to come.

To take your example, as you put it: "...lying about the origin of Truth." Whilst I personally do not arrive at the same stringent inversion, the fact is that your disagreement does not cause you to take up arms to defend your Truth. That's the key. As long as we hold on to our belief for Truth to be necessarily held in the Absolute for it to hold value in our lives in a peaceful manner, there is no problem.

In other words, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism to name a few are not the cause of the problem. Orthodox Islam is. And orthodox is not to be confused with extremists like the Taliban and their likes and is not to be confused with politically motivated terrorist organizations like Hamas; orthodox is meant here in the sense of strictly keeping to traditional doctrine and ritual enshrined in the Qur'an, which is expressly intolerant and expansionist at the core.

The question as to whether we can peacefully coexist without amending core beliefs should therefore not be asked in general but needs to be specifically addressed to Orthodox Islam.

[Chas]

I don't have the mind of God. All I have is the authority of God's Word.
Jn 3:16. "....whosoever believeth him has everlasting life."
Jn. 14:6 "I am the Way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by me."
Rom. 10:9, "If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
I Jn. 5:12 "He that has the Son has life, he that has not the Son, has not life."

I have often wondered about the state of (for instance)the American Indian in 1491, etc. But I have no authority for a theology about it. Neither does anyone else, regardless of their theological training.

I see no hope for people, of whatever religion, who think God is made happy by destroying yourself along with some innocent people.
I see no hope for people who think that cutting themselves and trying to appease multiple gods (as Hindus) makes god(s) happy.

[Theway2k]

I am no theologian. I am not Roman Catholic, so I hope that I am not offensive. Here's the thing, either the Bible is the foundation for Christian faith or it is not. If it not, Christian is a mere set of human principles lying about the origin of Truth. For me, I can only be a Christian as long as key principle are Truth: Virgin Birth, Jesus the Son of God sitting bodily at the Right Hand of the Father, Jesus arose bodily alive after suffering death paying the price to Save humanity, The Holy Spirit of God is on earth sent by the Father and the Son as a Helper to live a Christian Life. Basic Stuff yet essential. If anything is diluted (or modernized) it becomes false.

[Paul]

Happy New Year to you and to all the real, decent people who read this beautiful blog.