[Apologetics] Catholic assurance of salvation

[Stephen Korsman]

Hi

This is my perspective: the scapular is not a magic thing that assures
salvation.  What assures salvation if you wear it is the fact that you've
committed yourself to a promise you've made.  The scapular is a constant
reminder of that.  It was given as a sacramental to be used as part of ONE
way of committing to a relationship or strengthening a relationship with
God.  Had a marble been given for the same purpose, or a packet of coloured
beans, they would still not be able to do more than serve as a sign of an
inward reality.  There is no assurance that the scapular will ensure entry
to heaven if we turn away from God.  The scapular is there to provide the
means to help us not turn away.  That is all.

I've heard a story about a woman who gave her son a scapular; he was not
living a moral life; he slipped in the shower and died, and unfortunately
the scapular couldn't save him, because he'd taken it off for the shower so
it wouldn't get wet.  The moral of the story: never remove the scapular if
you're scared of going to hell; corollary #1: if you're going to go to hell,
God will wait till the scapular has accidentally been removed before he
allows you to die; corollary #2: if you wear the scapular, and you're
sincere in your relationship with God, he won't let you die without it on.

I don't believe that God arranges deaths to coincide with whether or not
people are wearing the scapular.

I think there is a lot of superstition involved.  God's grace comes through
physical means - sacramentals - but they are not magic charms.  One TV
programme that irritates me in that way is Supernatural.  Not only do they
sprinkle salt on bodies and burn them, perform Voodoo rituals to get rid of
demons, and solve problems with evil spirits in the most absurd and cliched
ways, but they perform exorcisms by reading the Catholic exorcism rite in
Latin without any comprehension of what they're saying - as if they're magic
words.

I think it's only bad for the Catholic faith to have people running around
saying that they're assured of salvation because they wear a piece of cloth
the right size and the right colour, blessed by a priest, and any variation
approved by the bishop.  Better catechesis regarding the nature of
sacramentals and their relative importance compared to our relationship with
God is needed.

God bless,
Stephen

-- 
-- 
Stephen Korsman
A Rural Virologist <http://www.theotokos.co.za/umtata>
Catholicism / Adventism <http://www.theotokos.co.za/blog>

On 18/12/2007, Stuart D. Gathman <stuart at bmsi.com> wrote:
>
> I could get specific names, but I'll present this with names removed.
>
> A Catholic speaker told this story:  She was presented with a scapula by
> her priest, and he told her he had been assured that whoever she gave this
> scapula to would be guarranteed a place in heaven.  She wanted to be very
> careful who she gave it to, and eventually gave it to her father.  It
> turned out to be the last time she saw him, as he was subsequently killed
> in Rwanda, and she was grateful for the assurance of his salvation.
>
> Can this story be reconciled with the de fide doctrine that there is a
> logical possibility that those who are truly converted, may nevertheless
> turn away and reject their inheritance?
>
> --
>               Stuart D. Gathman <stuart at bmsi.com>
>     Business Management Systems Inc.  Phone: 703 591-0911 Fax: 703
> 591-6154
> "Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis" - background song for
> a Microsoft sponsored "Where do you want to go from here?" commercial.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Apologetics mailing list
> Apologetics at gathman.org
> http://bmsi.com/mailman/listinfo/apologetics
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://gathman.org/pipermail/apologetics/attachments/20071218/9aa004ef/attachment.html>