If you spend any time at all on social media, you know that online arguments, even among Catholics, are often uncharitable, unthoughtful, and unhelpful, filled with more insults than insights. The words that Dante saw inscribed at the entrance of Hell - “Abandon hope all ye who enter” - come to mind when I think of social media debate.
Last week, though, I was pleased to see a friendly series of respectful disagreements between three prominent Catholics - Bishop Robert Barron, Fr. Mark Goring, and Dr. Ralph Martin - about the very important topic of eternal salvation. If you are interested in a little theological exploration, I encourage you to keep reading and watch their videos.
Things began when Bishop Barron, founder of Word on Fire and well-known online teacher of the Catholic faith, shared his homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter. In the Scripture readings for that Sunday, we heard St. Peter proclaim about Jesus Christ, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” (Acts 4:12) In other contexts, Bishop Barron has made the controversial claim, based on the writings of theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, that we can legitimately hope that there are no people in Hell. In this particular homily, though, Bishop Barron emphasizes that “salvation as God fully intends it is on offer in Jesus and in no one else.” He then cites Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, to explain that there are elements of truth, beauty, and goodness in other world religions that reflect the light of Christ and that people can therefore be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ at work in these other religious traditions. Bishop Barron adds the reminder:
The fullness of salvation, participation in the divine life, is on offer fully in Jesus Christ alone. Which is why — look, I've dedicated my life to it — which is why the Church evangelizes constantly, proclaims Christ in season and out, when it's popular, when it's unpopular.
Shortly after Bishop Barron's video was posted, the increasingly well-known priest Fr. Mark Goring shared a respectful response to Bishop Barron's video. Fr. Goring stated that he agreed with almost all of what Bishop Barron said in this homily, but “cringed” a bit when the homily began speaking about the “fullness of salvation.” Like Bishop Barron, Fr. Goring referred to Lumen Gentium 16 as the guide to the question of salvation outside of the Church, but he argued:
Salvation isn't offered in measure. It's a gift. You either accept it or you don't. Jesus said he who believes and is baptized will be saved. He who does not believe will be condemned [see Mark 16:16]. There's no such thing as half of salvation or a quarter salvation. You see, if we don't accept the gift of salvation that Jesus won for us, that he offers us, that he won for us by shedding his blood out of love for us, if we don't accept that gift, guess what? We're not half saved or a quarter saved, we're lost. We're condemned. We're on our way to destruction, perishing.
The following day, Dr. Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries shared another friendly response to Bishop Barron's homily in order to unpack what the Second Vatican Council taught in Lumen Gentium 16, a text that was the center of Ralph Martin's doctoral dissertation. Based on his studies, Dr. Ralph Martin has written two excellent books, the in-depth book Will Many Be Saved?: What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization and the shorter summary The Urgency of the New Evangelization: Answering the Call. Like Fr. Goring, Dr. Martin begins by praising Bishop Barron's work in online evangelization, but adds a caution that will be very familiar for those who have followed his work:
Many of our fellow Catholics have drifted into a mentality where this is how they look at the world today: Broad and wide is the way that leads to Heaven, and almost everybody's going that way. Narrow is the door that leads to Hell, and hardly anybody's going that way. Of course hopefully most of you know what's wrong with this picture. It's directly the opposite of what Jesus himself says. Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 and 14. Jesus says broad and wide is the way that leads to destruction, and many are traveling that way. Narrow is the door that leads to heaven, difficult the road, and few there are who are finding it now.
Dr. Ralph Martin then takes a worthwhile, in-depth look at Lumen Gentium 16, which says in part:
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 the 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. Whatever good or truth found amongst them is considered by the Church to be a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life. But very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and served the world rather than the Creator (cf. Romans 1:21 and 25). Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair. Hence to procure the glory of God and the salvation of all these, the Church, mindful of the Lord's command, “preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:16) takes zealous care to foster the missions.
I appreciated a couple of things about these three online videos: 1) First, all three teachers clearly had a desire to be rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Catholic Church. Faith demands this. 2) Second, they displayed respect even in their disagreement. Charity demands this. Because all three based their teachings on Scripture and on Catholic Tradition, especially as outlined in Lumen Gentium, they differed more in perspective than in substance. They all acknowledged the basic parameters of Catholic teaching regarding salvation but seemed to disagree about whether we can assume that most people go to Heaven or not.
I'd offer these thoughts on the three videos:
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