IS THERE SALVATION OUTSIDE THE CHURCH?

ONE SHEPHERD AND ONE FLOCK

Many have raised the question countless times as regards the salvation of those who existed before the coming of the one mediator between God and man (1Tim2:5), the man Jesus Christ. Scripture makes it lucid that there is no salvation in anyone else except in Christ, precisely it states: “for of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.”  What then is the implication of such over-bearing statement? Are we thus to understand that all who existed before the incarnation episode in human history are doomed forever? Sequel to that, are we also to suppose that any human who through no fault of his or her own, has not come to know or hear about Jesus, cannot attain salvation? 

The questions we have posed above remain ever valid, heart-throbbing and very keenly dicey, especially when we view it from the perspective of Christ’s sacramental offering of himself on Holy Thursday night when he said: “take this all of you and drink from it, this is the cup of my blood…which would be shed for you and for many…”  The phrases ‘all of you,’ and ‘shed for you and for many,’ emerge as our heartache in this enquiry. While we may easily call those who lived upright lives before the coming of Christ Patriarchs in Catholic tradition, what name do we ascribe to those who lived after him, or better still are our contemporaries, and are deprived of the privilege of baptism as a result of no fault of theirs? 

REASON AND FREEDOM

Because of the common source of all human beings, namely; God, we can safely conclude that all humans enjoy an equal amount of reasoning ability. Because of their common source, God, all humans possess an equal ability to enter into a relationship with a supreme being. Because of their common source, God, all humans possess an equal ability to do good and avoid evil. In creating, God left man two fundamental qualities which no other creature of his possesses, namely reason and freedom. With reason, man discerns the line of action which is both beneficial to him and his neighbour, and with freedom, he freely accents to that which he has discerned.

Now, because of these dual powers of reason and freedom, man can come to know God. In other words, there is a certain level of the God-consciousness buried within the heart of man from birth, this is something he is born with. Saint Paul teaches us when speaking to the Gentiles thus; “for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ” All men, therefore, born whether before or after the coming of Christ, possess an inherent capacity to know God.

THE NECESSITY OF FAITH

The word of God declares that “without faith it is impossible to please God. ” But before the writer of that letter tells us how necessary faith is, it delineates for us what faith is. It says: “only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen.” Moving on, it makes a very astonishing declaration, and thus answers the first question we raised in our introduction thus; “it is for their faith that our ancestors are acknowledged. ” With the findings in scripture, we need little or no theological arguments as regards the salvation of those who lived before the coming of Jesus as man, men whose life were marked with faith nevertheless. 

The Catechism of the Catholic church draws a line of symmetry between faith and eternal life. In its teaching, it resoundingly holds that faith is already the beginning of eternal life, it makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision; a vision which those who existed before us, of course with the necessity of faith now enjoy.  When we speak of faith in this context, we proceed from the dynamics of natural law; the law of live and let live. It is from the rubrics of natural law that man understands the indispensable place which conscience holds in the whole aura of man’s existence. Our fathers in faith; those who lived before us, remain an ever-shining example for us as regards what the expression of faith ought to be.

THOSE WHO THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIRS

The Catechism teaches us “for he wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation by patience in well-doing. ” Let us be mindful of the choice of words which the catechism makes use of. It says: ‘to all those,’ such an all-inclusivity which respects no boundaries and class of humans or race, already lays the second question to rest. While cementing the above truth, the same Catechism teaches: “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. ”

While we may very well assert that the second question we raised above has been answered, let us pay attention to the conditions the catechism gives for the attainment of salvation in the present case and to what it holds in the preceding paragraph. Prior to the above assertion, the church teaches “…they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse to either enter it, or to remain in it. ” It is in tandem to the above that the fourth eucharistic prayer, while realizing that the graces of God are made available for all, prays: “for you came in mercy to the aid of all so that those who seek might find you.” What has been repeatedly made clear is the fact that although faith, received through the ministry of the church in baptism and nourished afterwards, is necessary for salvation, God, is not limited to the boundaries of the sacraments; thus, he can, and does act outside the parameters of the sacraments. 

CONCLUSION

In his sermon of the good shepherd, Christ would teach us thus “and there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold and I must lead these too. They too will listen to my voice and there will be only one flock and one shepherd ” A question whose answer is immediately perceivable is; how could they listen to his voice if they were not under his leadership? For them to listen to his voice, there is presupposed already, some measure of confession of faith in him. No matter how they may be dispersed around the face of the earth, they still are able to recognize his voice within their conscience. In the end, there shall be one shepherd and one flock.

FRIAR EMMANUEL IGBOEKWULUSI OFM, Cap.

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