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From the Vatican, here was an address by Pope John Paul II; he mentions the Day of Assisi in it.

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/j.../documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_09091998_en.html

A couple of significant passages from this document:

It must first be kept in mind that every quest of the human spirit for truth and goodness, and in the last analysis for God, is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The various religions arose precisely from this primordial human openness to God. At their origins we often find founders who, with the help of God’s Spirit, achieved a deeper religious experience. Handed on to others, this experience took form in the doctrines, rites and precepts of the various religions.

In every authentic religious experience, the most characteristic expression is prayer. Because of the human spirit’s constitutive openness to God’s action of urging it to self-transcendence, we can hold that “every authentic prayer is called forth by the Holy Spirit, who is mysteriously present in the heart of every person” (Address to the Members of the Roman Curia, 22 Dec. 1986, n. 11; L’Osservatore Romano English edition, 5 Jan. 1987, p. 7).

We experienced an eloquent manifestation of this truth at the World Day of Prayer for Peace on 27 October 1986 in Assisi, and on other similar occasions of great spiritual intensity.


Are we to understand here that God actually inspired all of the founders of the various non-Christian religions, including Muhammed, and that God actually instituted these religions through the Holy Spirit? The Pope seems to be saying here that at the origin of human existence, human beings created religions out of their search for transcendence and that this was the work of the Holy Spirit. I understand the logic to this and at one time I probably would have agreed with it without too much thought. But (and I'm not saying this is wrong, necessarily) how does this square with the following passages of Scripture; Romans 1 where God says that all the Gentiles could see God's power and attributes in nature but they turned from him to the creation and worshipped it instead, being turned over to a darkened mind and lusts of the heart. And, in 1 Corinthians 10 where Paul calls pagan worship the worship of demons. The fathers also taught that the pagans worshipped demons. Now, I know that they also taught that there were rays of truth in these pagan religions, but did any of the fathers teach that these pagans would be saved or that they were being led by the Holy Spirit in their worship if they did not convert to Christ? Is there a way to reconcile all of this that does justice to the plain sense of Scripture? How does all of this fit together in light of this other striking passage in the document?

The Holy Spirit is not only present in other religions through authentic expressions of prayer. “The Spirit’s presence and activity”, as I wrote in the Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, “affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions” (n. 28).

Normally, “it will be in the sincere practice of what is good in their own religious traditions and by following the dictates of their own conscience that the members of other religions respond positively to God’s invitation and receive salvation in Jesus Christ, even while they do not recognize or acknowledge him as their Saviour (cf. Ad gentes, nn. 3, 9, 11)” (Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue – Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Instruction Dialogue and Proclamation, 19 May 1991, n. 29; L’Osservatore Romano English edition, 1 July 1991, p. III).


And finally, for those who know (since I'm not sure I do) how do Orthodox theologians typically address this issue of the salvation of the pagans? Are there Orthodox hierarchs or any official Orthodox documents that make similar claims?

Joe

And I found this from the Greek Archdiocese:

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8089

Here is a link to the book "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" written by John Paul II.

I wish to direct you to the chapters concerning Buddha and Muhammed, though the entire book, an easy read in an interview format, is a worthy read and offers insight.

http://www.hismercy.ca/content/ebooks/Pope.John.Paul.II-Crossing%20the%20Threshold%20of%20Hope.pdf

Sorry the link I provided isn't working. Go to http://www.hismercy.ca/. On the left hand side you will find a link to ebooks and the book will be found there.

No, that is not what we are to understand and that is not what Pope John Paul the Great said. Consider what he wrote as it is without adding in your own context. Look at it in light of 1 Corinthians 13:12: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (KJV) Approach with the context that each man quests for God, that this longing is in his heart and this longing is good, and that different men are on honest paths to find and encounter God. Some may not find Jesus Christ. But even if they do not find Him their longing for Him and their search for him is a "quest of the human spirit for truth and goodness" and that this quest is "inspired by the Holy Spirit". That they are in a situation where they cannot - through no fault of their own - come to know God as Trinity does not mean that God has inspired these other religions, just that He honors their search for Him as good and holy. These men "with the help of God's Spirit, achieved a deeper religious experience." That means that the Spirit called to them and they discerned the Presence and Calling of the Lord and that this experience was a valid one. It does not comment on the validity of what they did with that experience, nor does it suggest that the "doctrines, rites and precepts of the various religions" are legitimate and correct (they are not). It only means that the people who created them did so out of a sincere longing for God and out of an experience of His Presence.

How does this relate to 1 Corinthians 13:12? We who know Christ see the Lord "through a glass, darkly". Where the Lord is seen there is love. The more clearly one sees the Lord (from a distance or face to face) the greater love (charity) soars to it's zenith. Christians see the Lord "through a glass, darkly". We know the Lord for He walked among men, died, rose and ascended for our salvation. Even though we know him we still see "through a glass, darkly". Jews also see through the glass, though for them it is far more clouded and they cannot see Christ the Savior though they wait for Him in earnest. Muslims know the glass exists though they cannot see through it at all. Peoples of other religions cannot even find the glass nor would they know enough to look through it even if they stumbled across it. But their hearts tell them - and the love that they experience - that something higher then themselves exists. When Christ comes again all clouds and darkness that hide the face of God from us will be removed and all men shall see him face to face and know Him and understand. But that in the meantime their search for Him is an honest and sincere one, and we know that our God is merciful.

None of this discredits Paul and his teaching in 1 Cor 10. There is no truth in pagan worship. But the search many (even most) pagans have for God is an honest search. What they find (idol worship) is wrong. But their seeking for something higher comes from something honest, the longing God has written on their hearts.

That these men of other faiths act in sincerity and honesty in their longing for God, and discern the "Spirit’s presence and activity" does not mean that all religions are equal or that we do not need to call them to Christ.

I have not seen anything official on a similar level from anyone in Orthodoxy. The few references I have seen seem to simply say that they do not know about salvation for these non-Christians but that God is a God of mercy.

Thanks, you comments are very helpful. I find myself puzzled because I see a tension in Scripture and the Tradition between St. Paul's words concerning fallen humanity and idolatry and also the fact that even the pagans sincerely search for truth.

Sorry I didn't respond sooner but I didn't have internet this weekend.

joe

Here is an article by Met. Philaret that someone pointed out to me:

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/metphil_heterodox.aspx

Joe

Joe,

Thanks for the article. It seems to posit what most of us already believe. We may hope for the Salvation of the pagans and heterodox as long as they do not know (cognoscere) the truth and do not actively work against it. I would say that there are many who do know (sapere) the truth and who might be much less culpable. (Especially those who have a fleeting knowledge of the truth and are scandalized by us Christians who don't act like Christians.)

So, there is no Salvation outside the Church. But, God can Save anyone whom he wants to Save. I cannot believe that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Elias, Siddartha Gautama, Kongfu Zi, or Mohandas Gandhi are consigned to the flames of hell just because they were not members of the Church. (In King's case he has a better chance of being Saved because he was Baptized and Elias' since he was assumed into Heaven.)

Dear Joe,

The Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko, quite the Slavic scholar in his own right (who translated the Bible into excellent Ukrainian), wrote that while St Paul and the Bible saw the pagan gods as demons, the Fathers of the Church (who were educated in a pagan milieu, as we know) tended to see the pagan gods as personalized "virtues" that were honoured in the hope that one would acquire such virtues in one's life.

I don't see that as a tension, but as two perspectives.

In fact, in the Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles challenge pagans to hear the true Word of God but without offending the pagans' traditions.

It was St Augustine who first commented on how the pagan philosophers "knew the Catholic faith." And so, they saw the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition as a kind of "Old Testament" that prepared that world to receive Christ.

Alex

I hear what you are saying. I suspect that a strict exclusivist view of salvation is not widely found in either the Catholic or the Orthodox Church. In fact, it is clear that the current official position of the Catholic Church is inclusivism (the view that non-Christians may be saved by Christ's mercy if they respond positively to the light that they have received) and that this is a majority opinion within Orthodoxy (I'm not aware of any official documents regarding this issue). Could it be that this is the difference, that Rome has issued a definitive teaching on this issue and one that positively affirms that non-Christians may be saved; whereas in Orthodoxy, the predominant opinion is that they may be saved, but the Orthodox Church stops short of an official declaration to the effect? This would allow Orthodox to hold either a more robust inclusivist position such as that articulated by Pope John Paul II or perhaps a more agnostic position. By agnostic I mean that one considers the salvation of non-Christians an open question and whether or not any non-Christians can or will be saved is simply something not revealed to us. One holding this position would simply say that it may be possible for non-Christians to be saved but we do not have the actual knowledge that they may be saved.

Then of course there is the pluralist position (many paths to God) rejected by Catholics and Orthodox and there is the exclusivist position that seems to be held only by most Evangelical protestants and a minority of uber-traditional Catholics and Orthodox.

Joe