“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“There is a Chinese curse which says “May he live in interesting times.” Like it or not, we live in interesting times.” Robert Kennedy, 1966

As Catholics, like it or not, we live in an “interesting time”. The Church is as close to schism as it has been in nearly 1,000 years. Rifts exist between conservative and liberal theologians. Even within conservative ranks division exists between the Traditionalists (such as myself), the Radical Traditionalist (Latin Mass Only) and the Sede Vacante (the “not my pope” crowd). Add to this the confusing, and at time contradictory, guidance that is coming out of Rome and the problems compounds.

One of the confusing teachings that is running around the Church today is that salvation is available to all whether they come to Jesus and His Church for it or not. We’re told “A Jew is saved by being a faithful Jew” or “A Muslim is saved by being a faithful Muslim” and “Knowledge of Jesus isn’t necessary for salvation since He died for all mankind.” I wish these were merely false charges from the more radical, but they aren’t. These are things being publicly said by Pope Francis and echoed all the way from Cardinals to laity. There are even authors on this very site that profess these things.

Standing Upon Scripture and Sacred Tradition

When challenged on this from Scripture, the liberal laymen especially will tell you that “only Cardinals and Bishops are authorized to interpret the Scriptures” and will accuse you of being either a Radical Traditionalist, Sede Vacantist or (their favorite curse word) “a Protestant!”. While it is true that it is up to the Magisterium to interpret Scripture they have actually done so with very few. That is because it has always been believed that the “main and plain things of the Scripture” are, for the most part exactly that: PLAIN.

For example, if a verse tells you that “black is black” the Magisterium is in no way, shape or form authorized to say “Black is white!” As we have talked about many times here, we have been given a Three-Legged Stool upon which to stand for sound doctrine: The Scriptures, Sacred Tradition and the teaching Magisterium. These form a sort of “checks and balances” with one another. Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium counter “private interpretation” of Scripture. By the same token, Scripture and Sacred Tradition guard against a Magisterium teaching “the doctrines of men as the oracles of God”. If the Magisterium can tell us that “Scripture means what WE say it means” then their leg is longer than the other two and there is no “balance”.

Multiple Paths to Heaven?

Let’s examine what Scripture says quite plainly, and therefore requires no “interpretation”, about this notion of multiple paths to salvation. Beyond the witness which Saint Peter bore before the Sanhedrin, that I cited at the beginning, both the Lord Jesus and Saint Paul had much to say about exclusivity of salvation through (and only through) the Cross.

I don’t think that any plainer statement of the subject exists than the word of the Lord to the Apostles. In John 14:6 He told them: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” Not through Moses, not through Mohammed, not through Joseph Smith nor any other sect or religion. Only through the Lord Jesus Christ and no other.

Saint Paul in the book of Hebrews tells us that no one can come to God without knowledge. “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) and in another place he tells them that salvation is conditional upon obedience: “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” (Hebrews 5:9)

To the Church in Rome he wrote: “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;’ that is, the word of faith, which we preach: that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8-10)

These verses alone should be sufficient to prove our case and we haven’t even touched upon what the Lord said about the Eucharist and the other Sacraments… sacraments available ONLY in the Catholic Church.

No Need for Evangelism?

Another teaching that you hear mentioned these days if that we, as Catholics, should not “proselytize” the other religions. What does “proselytize” mean? It means “encourage someone to convert to another faith or religion.” In other words, preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ and the Church He established ALONE. Well, if one believes that all roads lead to Heaven then it’s reasonable to think that we shouldn’t try to make converts… disciples.

That the Scriptures speaks directly in contradicting such an idea should be obvious to even the most casual of students of the New Testament… or the Old Testament for that matter. In the OT Israel was the sole outlet of salvation available to the world. If you wanted to come under the Mosaic Covenant you followed the teachings and became a Jew. God never encouraged Israel to leave the Baal worshipers or the followers of Moloch (that were sacrificing their children to the fire) alone.

Two verses from the New Testament should be sufficient since they are direct commands from the Lord Jesus Christ and should be known to anyone claiming the name “Catholic”:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15-16)

What about Sacred Tradition?

That the Church taught that she was the sole source of salvation historically, from Day One to at least the 1960’s, is obvious to anyone who has studied the writing of the Church Fathers and the clear statements to that effect by numerous Church Councils. But the same folks who would tell you that the Magisterium is free to tell you that “Scripture means what they say it means” will tell you the same of history.

I examined this aspect pretty thoroughly in a couple of articles I wrote last year entitled “A Crisis of Faith” and “A Follow Up to ‘A Crisis of Faith’" and I invite you to read those as well. In the Comments section of the first article you will read a similar conversation to the one that I described above that motivated this article… in fact, you’ll see it clearly stated that the modern Magisterium overrules history.

In Conclusion

Yes, we definitely live in “interesting times”. We must walk the fine line that runs between respect for the Pontiff and the modern Magisterium… which we should hold at all times… and fulfilling our responsibilities to the Lord Jesus Christ outlined in Scripture and traditionally taught by the Church. Those two obligations sometimes run up against each other and resisting will not be favorably viewed by some who we call “our Catholic brothers and sisters”.

If you seek to maintain the checks and balances that the Lord provided us by means of the Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium being honored equally, then you will run up against liberal theology and those who profess it. But in so doing, don’t let them belittle you with names like “Radical Traditionalist”, Sede Vacantist (SPPX) nor even a “Protestant”. You are a faithful Traditional Catholic… nothing more nor nothing less.