Other people who say they are Catholic on this thread have said differently. Are you saying that Catholicism maintains that the only people in heaven are those who have been baptized? |
Yes. If that is not true, then what is the significance of being saved? What is the purpose of telling anyone to accept Jesus? What is the relevance of salvation? Why should I want to be saved? |
| Here’s another question: why is it Catholic practice to have a Priest administer confession as part of Last Rites, if not to purify one’s soul of sins, to ensure your soul is pure when you die and that you therefore die in a state of grace — which, in turn, makes you eligible to enter heaven? |
Maybe not everything is so transactional. Maybe it’s not just a means to and end. |
Catholics don't talk in terms of being saved - that's evangelical Christian stuff. Catholics are baptized, then eventually go to confession and holy communion, then have last rites on their death bed, then go to heaven. |
You’re telling me Catholics don’t talk about salvation? Are you kidding me? But even beyond that — there are clearly conditions that they believe you have to fulfill in order to go to heaven. If you don’t fulfill those conditions, you cannot go to heaven. Correct? |
Then what is it? |
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Matthew 10:22 — He who endures to the end will be saved.
Do Catholics ignore this? |
Because salvation and accepting Jesus are not synonymous with a moment in time when what is splashed on your head. |
Huh? You’re not getting it. Being baptized is, according to Catholics, the moment when Original Sin is washed away. That’s the be all/end all of achieving salvation, but it is a necessary starting point. You cannot accept Jesus without being baptized. |
Sorry, that should say that it is NOT the be all/end all of achieving salvation, but it is a necessary starting point. |
A quick google search tells me that what you just described is not the teaching on the Catholic Church. Can you point to a source that says baptism is a prerequisite to heaven? |
It’s not baptism on its own. It’s salvation. Baptism is needed for salvation, which in turn is needed to go to heaven. Read this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra_Ecclesiam_nulla_salus |
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Here’s an explanation of the relevant portion of the Catechism: The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the phrase, "Outside the Church there is no salvation", means, if put in positive terms, that "all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body", and it "is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church".[43]
It should go without saying that salvation is a prerequisite to entering heaven. The exception is those who have had no exposure to Christ. They usually are considered to go to purgatory. |
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Here’s a definition of salvation:
In Christianity, salvation (also called deliverance or redemption) is the "saving [of] human beings from sin and its consequences, which include death and separation from God" by Christ's death and resurrection,[1][a] and the justification following this salvation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation_in_Christianity |