- This topic has 1 reply, 3 voices, and was last updated 19 years, 3 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Sorry for such an inane question, and maybe it’s been asked before, but it’s one that has me [i:3r4iwrwc]quite[/i:3r4iwrwc] torn apart inside.
My brother (and his family), my sister (and her family) and my own son (who’s 24, born a Catholic, baptised First Communion & Confirmation), have all left the Church. It especially hurt when my son denounced the faith in which he was raised, and became a non-denominational “whatever”. Please–I don’t mean [i:3r4iwrwc]any[/i:3r4iwrwc] disrespect whatsoever for his new found faith, but there really isn’t a religious classification I can call it. His church is called something like “New Hope”, or “New Life Bible Church” or something like that.
My brother attends a church called Ressurection Life. It’s HUGE.
It’s almost like an “entertainment church”. They are all[i:3r4iwrwc] so[/i:3r4iwrwc] into the Lord and all, and I think that really is wonderful, but I still truly believe the Catholic Church is the one, true church Jesus founded and is THE Church. I [i:3r4iwrwc]love[/i:3r4iwrwc] the Catholic Faith, and believe I am “saved” by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It’s just that I am so afraid that they will not be in the same place I will after we all die because I read once that if one knows that the Catholic Church really is the one true Church Jesus founded, and then turn their backs on that belief, all hope is lost for them.Is that really true? Can anyone help me out here?
Thanks to you all…!
It is true that if someone knows that the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ, and he leaves, he is lost.
But since your son joined a non-denominational church, I doubt he believes the Catholic Church is the one founded by Christ.
Everyone in heaven is Catholic, even if they did not call themselves such on earth.
Please–no offense, Benedict (because in my heart of hearts I really [i:ki66w314]do[/i:ki66w314] believe what you say is the truth) but how can you be so sure?? My heart breaks thinking that my son is lost…..all he talks about is his new “church” and worshipping the Lord and praising God….how can God condemn a man who is praising Him?
My son gets [i:ki66w314]so [/i:ki66w314]angry with me when I try to broach the subject of our different beliefs…but it always end up with him becoming so mad at me, that the tension in the house when he visits (like this past Christmas) is horrible.
I guess that’s where prayer–and lots of it–for God to touch my son’s heart comes into play. It’s just sometimes I feel like it’s “arrogance” on our part to think we as Catholics are the “saved” ones and all others are not…..
Mary in Mich
In brief…
There is the entire body of Christians (including all denominations) however the fullness of Christianity is expressed in the Catholic tradition.
God holds people accountable only within reasonable limits (this is in Matthew somewhere). Non-Christians can be saved if, through no fault of their own, they never knew Christ or had a chance to know Christ. However, if one rejects Christ then there is less of a chance that person will go to heaven.
Now, the Catholic faith was the first Christian faith and is the one handed down from the apostles and disciples. Jesus told his Apostles “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
What Jesus is saying is that if we reject the teaching of Christ, handed down to us from the Apostles, we reject Jesus himself and in so doing we reject God.
I am not trying to say that your son has rejected Jesus completely or rejected God, but there is clearly some rejection of the truth.
However, if your son was not well formed in his Catholic faith prior to leaving it then he will probably not be held as accountable. In other words, he did not know the truth that he was rejecting.
Your son still has the possibility of going to heaven when he dies. I do not know all the factors involved, only God can decide what the final outcome will be.
Here is a related link on this topic just in case you hadn’t seen it yet: http://www.aboutcatholics.com/community … c.php?t=42
I think I worded myself poorly.
You are condemned if you know the Church is Christ’s Church but leave anyway.
He did not do that based on what you said.
So when he gets to heaven, he will find out the value of his baptism.
Because everyone in heaven is Catholic.
It’s almost like an “entertainment church”. They are all[i:3r4iwrwc] so[/i:3r4iwrwc] into the Lord and all, and I think that really is wonderful, but I still truly believe the Catholic Church is the one, true church Jesus founded and is THE Church. I [i:3r4iwrwc]love[/i:3r4iwrwc] the Catholic Faith, and believe I am “saved” by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It’s just that I am so afraid that they will not be in the same place I will after we all die because I read once that if one knows that the Catholic Church really is the one true Church Jesus founded, and then turn their backs on that belief, all hope is lost for them.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.