Do Catholics think non-Christians are saved?

Introduction

I got an email pointing me to a website that said:

Many people think that Arinze, the Pope's Deputy for Outreach, is heir apparent to John Paul II. But even if he is not, his comments are chilling and revealing....An illustration of Roman Catholic ecumenism, which ices out the Gospel and makes mockery of the ministry of Jesus Christ, is found in Arinze's answer to the question, "Can you still get to heaven without accepting Jesus?" His answer, not surprising, but chilling and ominous, is: "Expressly, yes!"

The web site quoted above has spent a lot of effort pulling Catholic statements from their original context to destroy ecumenical dialogue such as we have been doing on this site. They spend their days sifting through Vatican communications looking for quotes that they can pull out of context. They teach people that Catholics are not Christians and that we hang out with the New Age. URRRGGHHHH!!!

The Catholic Church discerned God's voice when it formed the doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost). Yup "the Trinity" is a Catholic doctrine that predates the Evangelical Church by 1500 years. That word isn't even in the Bible. That is just one example of the 100's of beliefs that Evangelicals inherited from Catholicism.

Any time spent studying the Church Fathers will make it abundantly clear that early Christian beliefs were Catholic. A timeline is here. Whether or not someone agrees with Catholicism, we are clearly Christian. "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3) The non-Catholic scholar Peter Flint, who translated the Dead Sea Scrolls, tells us that there was no Bible until the 300's when the Catholic Church infallibly decided on what books belong there. Before that there were hundreds of letters and the Septuagint, but no Bible. The Bible didn't just fall out of the sky with an NIV sticker on the binding. Much Catholics prayer, discernment, theological discussion gave us the Bible. This was over 1000 years before Luther. Yes, we are Christians.

Jesus has called Christians to unity "that they may all be one, as you Father, are in me and I am in you." (Jn 17:21) I hope we can love one another as He has loved us. (Jn 13:34).

Are Non-Christians Saved

The Catholic Church makes it absolutely clear that anyone who willfully turns his back on Christ will be denied salvation. (Catechism 846) So why does the Church say that some people who have not surrendered their life to Christ ("born again") might make it to heaven? To begin this conversation let us take a tour through the Old Testament.

What about non-Christians before Christ? Are they Saved?

Let us look at King David, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. They never knew Christ. They never asked Jesus to be their personal Saviour. Some Evangelicals will say that these guys are not in heaven and never will be because they didn't make a "personal decision for Christ" during their life.

These Old Testament prophets cause some problems for many Evangelicals because the prophets did not meet the requirement of "making a personal decision for Jesus" while living. Some Evangelicals side step this issue and say "I don't know where the Old Testament prophets are today, no one knows." But these same Evangelicals claim there are only two places for humans after they die, heaven or hell. They also claim that the only way into heaven is to claim Christ as your personal Saviour while you are living. That seems to leave only one place for the prophets, hell. It makes no sense to me that someone who wrote the Bible would be in hell. I must say that thankfully, not all Evangelicals follow this logic. Some Evangelicals follow the thinking of the Catholic Church on this matter.

Catholics believe on the day Jesus died, He descended to the realm of the dead (hell in English, Sheol in Hebrew, Hades in Greek). He descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there (1 Peter 3:18-19).

He did not do this to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him...And therefore Jesus' redemption extends to all men of all times and all places. (Catechism 633, Council of Rome 745AD)

Catholics think there is redemption for some faithful who seek God, but have never met Christ.

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Heb 11:6)

The important word here is "seek." The Old Testament Prophets sought after God and were rewarded.

St. Paul then goes on walk us through the entire Old Testament. He speaks about

Noah... Abraham... Isaac...Jacob... Rehab the prostitute... Moses, Sarah... Gideon... Barak... Samson...Jephthah...David...Samuel and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained, promised, shut the mouths of lions (Heb 11:7-12:1)

None of them knew Christ, none of them were "born again." Yet Paul does not at all suggest they are in hell. In speaking about them, he says "we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses." This does not sound like hell.

Christ made it clear that Moses and Elijah are doing fine and are not in hell. (Mat 17:2) and that Abraham is doing fine also. (Lk 16:22) None of these guys made a personal decision for Christ. Obviously, these faithful souls pleased God. We Catholics think it was their honest search for truth and faith in God that saved them.

What about non-Christians after Christ died?

I work with people with disabilities. Some of them are so hit by cognitive disability that they are not capable of honestly surrendering to Jesus. They just don't have the mental capacity to consciously choose Christ. With all the compassion that Jesus showed to people with disabilities I don't think he will damn them to hell. He is a merciful God. That's the cool thing about Catholic baptism. We didn't choose to be born into a human life yet received the grace of life. Catholics believe a person can also receive the grace of eternal life before actually choosing it. The expectation of the Holy Spirit is that we will make a personal commitment to Christ if and when that is cognitively possible.

Jesus brought a girl back from the dead. It is doubtful that she had previously turned her life over to Jesus. (Mt 9:18) He is a God of mercy.

If someone has never been exposed to the Gospel message before he dies, yet believes in God and is searching for truth, Catholics believe the culpability falls on us as Christians for never having reached him.(1 Cor 9:16) That is why all Christians must evangelize. If an upright African guy believes in God and seeks him but never hears about the Gospel in an authentic way, you and me better get on our knees and ask for God's mercy. "Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel" (1 Cor 9:16). We are responsible for getting the word out.

It is not because of his non-Christian religion that a person above could be saved. It would be because Catholics believe Jesus judges the heart of each individual. It would be cruel to believe that God would create this soul, and then condemn him to hell even though he believed and sought God. It would be through no fault of his own that he never heard the Gospel. It would be our fault. The Church teaches that it is by the mercy of Christ that people are saved, even if they may not realize it at the moment of death. Jesus is the only Saviour. The Catholic Church makes it clear that those who refuse Jesus, after having been presented the Gospel in an authentic way, will spend an eternity in hell. (Cat 846)

Part of the reason that Catholics have confidence that some honest seekers who never meet the Lord will be saved is because we believe in Purgatory. There is a similarity to what Jesus did when He went down to Sheol to preach to the Old Testament faithful there (1 Peter 3:18-19) and what he will do for honest seekers who were never evangelized in an authentic way here on earth. Catholics believe these people will go to Purgatory (a step before heaven). Jesus is present in Purgatory, and everyone there will accept Jesus as the Saviour before they enter into heaven.

It would be easy to say, "hey the Catholics think all non Christians are going to get evangelized and saved in purgatory." That is not so. The Catholic Church teaches that Purgatory is not for those who willfully reject Christ or never seek God in this life. Those who reject Christ will not enter Heaven or Purgatory, they will go to hell. If you have never made a personal decision for Christ, I beg you to do so now. It was the best thing I ever did. Here is an article that shows you how to do that.

More about Purgatory here
More on Hell, Sheol and Hades here

Lord Jesus, let Your prayer of unity for Christians
become a reality, in Your way
we have absolute confidence
that you can bring your people together
we give you absolute permission to move
Amen

Do Catholics think non-Christians are saved?

In this Article

Related Articles

Introduction

Are Non-Christians Saved

What about non-Christians before Christ? Are they Saved?

What about non-Christians after Christ died?