Once again let me stress that I developed this set of questions in the mid-1980s as a journalistic tool. The goal, when asking these questions, is to listen carefully to the answers.
It is especially interesting, of course, to note when people remain silence or try to find a way to maneuver around the questions without answering.
Different types of believers, of course, have different answers. The goal is to listen carefully and then respond with follow-up questions that yield nuggets of on-the-record doctrinal, as opposed to political, information. The goal is to transcend mere labels.
Here are those questions, once again:
(1) Are the biblical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus accurate? Did this event really happen?
(2) Is salvation found through Jesus Christ, alone? Was Jesus being literal when he said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)?
(3) Is sex outside of the Sacrament of Marriage a sin?
Redeemed – certainly. Justified – perhaps, someday.
Pope Francis says atheists who do good are redeemed too.
The Vatican issued an “explanatory note on the meaning of “salvation,” on Thursday, May 23, after media reports circulated indicating that Pope Francis” promised heaven for everyone engaged in good works, including atheists.
In response to the media attention, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, said that people who know about the Catholic church “cannot be saved” if they “refuse to enter her or remain in her.”
Rosica also said that Francis had “no intention of provoking a theological debate on the nature of salvation,” during his homily on Wednesday.
May 26, 2013
Categories: Books & Publications, Catholic Q & A, Events, Human Rights, Inspirational, Politics, Religious Ed . Tags: atheists, comments, Jesus Christ, Pope Francis, redemption . Author: Doug Lawrence . Comments: 1 Comment