The Necessity of the Church for Salvation (Contd):
Necessity: When it is said that the Church is or is not necessary for salvation, what kind of necessity are we talking about? People take sides according to their perceptions and therefore it is imperative to clarify the very concept of "necessity".
Metaphysical Necessity: We talk about different kinds of necessity in various fields of everyday life. It is very rare that we talk about absolute or metaphysical necessity that flows from the internal structures of the very concepts concerned. Thus we have absolute necessity when we talk about God as almighty or as omnipresent, omniscient, etc. We cannot understand the concept of God without at the same time connecting these concepts with "God" with absolute necessity. The same is not the case in Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry where some would like to see absolute necessity in concepts like 2+2=4. The necessity involved here does not flow from the very concepts, but is the result of a human construct whereby it has been decided that two and two should make four and not five. If it were to be decided that hereafter two and two should be five and three and two should be four there would be nothing repugnant in itself. Therefore, they need not be categorized as absolutely or metaphysically necessary, but only as fundamentally necessary for laying foundation for sciences.
Physical Necessity: The next category is physical necessity. We have examples of this necessity in physical laws like "fire burns", "water extinguishes fire", etc. An exception to the operation of such laws is called a miracle. Walking over the water is considered to be a miracle because the physical laws governing the nature of water do not allow it. If a dead person is raised to life, such a miracle again goes against the normal operation of the physical laws regarding life and death.
Moral Necessity: Moral necessity is about the laws of human interaction and right behavior. While the physical necessity deals with the laws of nature, moral necessity involves the natural laws applicable to human beings alone. Moral and ethical standards derive from such laws. "You shall no kill" carries moral necessity and not absolute or physical necessity. it is forbidden by an explicit or implicit command in as far as it is necessary to order one's life in relation to God.
None of the above categories of necessity can be applied when we talk about the necessity of the Church for salvation. At the same time, no other category of necessity is usually considered in the discussions of Philosophy and Theology whereby confusion is created in Ecclesiology with regard to the necessity of the Church with regard to salvation We propose below another kind of necessity in God's plan of salvation applicable in Ecclesiology.
Soteriological Necessity: We shall term it "soteriological necessity" as it pertains to God's plan of saving the world. The first point to remember about God's plan of salvation is that it was not an after-thought by God when Adam and Eve sinned. Even before the creation of the world and the foundations of the Universe were laid, God had His plan of salvation in His Word who became flesh as Jesus Christ in the course of history. That is why the Fathers of the Church and Ecumenical Councils repeatedly teach that God was working out the salvation of the World from the very beginning. This background should throw light on the concepts of both "necessity" and "salvation". It should caution those who consider the Church as a monopolistic agency to dispose salvation as a right to be enjoyed by some privileged chosen ones forgetting that they are mere servants to be at the service of humanity!
Soteriological necessity occurs as a result of the interaction between the actions of God and the humans. As God is by nature absolutely free, there can be no necessity in Him as far as actions outside of Him are concerned. Thus even the creation of the universe including the humans is an absolutely free act of God. He need not have created it as God is self-sufficient in Himself. However, all creation is an expression and manifestation of His Infinite Love as He is Love itself. Humans are the only earthly creatures who are modeled on God's own image and likeness (See Genesis, 1: 26-27) With the creation of angels and the humans, God shared freely His own freedom with the creatures in a limited way. When sin entered the world through their disobedience, God devised ways to save the world from utter destruction. Thus soteriological necessity has its origins in the irrevocability of God's gift of freedom to his creatures, especially to the humans.. God wants to save the humans through love without doing violence to their free nature bestowed upon them. It is done through Jesus Christ whose Body is the Church and is governed by soteriological necessity.
Salvation: "Scripture says, 'Everyone who has faith in him will be saved from shame' - everyone: there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich enough for the need of all who invoke him. For everyone, as it says again - 'everyone who invokes the name of the Lord will be saved' " (Romans, 10: 11-13). The Scripture reference is to the book of Prophet Joel 2: 28-32 quoted also by Peter in his address to the people on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out (See Acts, 2: 17-21). Just before the above quoted text of Paul, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is stressed by Paul (See Romans, 10: 5-10). Similarly, immediately after the above cited text of Paul, he argues for the necessity of Gospel Proclamation in relation to the salvation of the whole world (See Romans, 10: 14-15).
Salvation of All: The fundamental reason why all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved is that the same Lord is the Lord of all who is rich enough to cater to the needs of all. In his First Letter to Timothy, Paul urges him to pray for all men and those in authority so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life. This would become possible if all live in full observance of religion and high standards of morality. "Such prayer is right, and approved by God our Savior, whose will it is that all men should find salvation and come to know the truth" (1 Timothy, 2: 3-4). It follows that if people were to sincerely practice the precepts of their religion and morality, they would gradually come to the knowledge of full truth besides attaining salvation. The full truth consists in the fact that there is but one God and one mediator between God and the humans. Jesus Christ is this one mediator who sacrificed himself to win freedom for all mankind, which is the Good News or the Gospel meant for the whole world (See 1 Timothy, 2: 5-7).
Gospel Proclamation: God's will that all the humans should find salvation and come to know the truth is not half-hearted or ineffective, but is restrained by the free will of the humans who cannot be coerced into attaining their own salvation. Here is the fundamental reason why any "forced conversion" is no conversion at all as it involves a contradiction in terms even in the case of a coercive Will of God for our salvation! The need of Gospel Proclamation is all the more evident in the background of this Will of God for the salvation of all respecting the freedom of all. For, Gospel Proclamation is essentially an invitation freely to be accepted or rejected by people just like an invitation to a marriage feast (See Matthew, 22: 1-14). The symbolism of marriage feast stands for the reality of the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus Christ. The Church is commissioned by Jesus Christ to strive for building up the Kingdom of God, which is essentially an act of God. It has to be done in coordination with all people since all have stake in it according to the plan of God whose grace appeared in Jesus Christ for healing all the humans. (See Titus, 2: 11-14). Let us remember that salvation is primarily an act of God to cooperate with which the Church has been called with soteriological necessity ( See Titus, 1: 2-3; 1 Peter, 1: 1-2). (To be Contd).
Necessity: When it is said that the Church is or is not necessary for salvation, what kind of necessity are we talking about? People take sides according to their perceptions and therefore it is imperative to clarify the very concept of "necessity".
Metaphysical Necessity: We talk about different kinds of necessity in various fields of everyday life. It is very rare that we talk about absolute or metaphysical necessity that flows from the internal structures of the very concepts concerned. Thus we have absolute necessity when we talk about God as almighty or as omnipresent, omniscient, etc. We cannot understand the concept of God without at the same time connecting these concepts with "God" with absolute necessity. The same is not the case in Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry where some would like to see absolute necessity in concepts like 2+2=4. The necessity involved here does not flow from the very concepts, but is the result of a human construct whereby it has been decided that two and two should make four and not five. If it were to be decided that hereafter two and two should be five and three and two should be four there would be nothing repugnant in itself. Therefore, they need not be categorized as absolutely or metaphysically necessary, but only as fundamentally necessary for laying foundation for sciences.
Physical Necessity: The next category is physical necessity. We have examples of this necessity in physical laws like "fire burns", "water extinguishes fire", etc. An exception to the operation of such laws is called a miracle. Walking over the water is considered to be a miracle because the physical laws governing the nature of water do not allow it. If a dead person is raised to life, such a miracle again goes against the normal operation of the physical laws regarding life and death.
Moral Necessity: Moral necessity is about the laws of human interaction and right behavior. While the physical necessity deals with the laws of nature, moral necessity involves the natural laws applicable to human beings alone. Moral and ethical standards derive from such laws. "You shall no kill" carries moral necessity and not absolute or physical necessity. it is forbidden by an explicit or implicit command in as far as it is necessary to order one's life in relation to God.
None of the above categories of necessity can be applied when we talk about the necessity of the Church for salvation. At the same time, no other category of necessity is usually considered in the discussions of Philosophy and Theology whereby confusion is created in Ecclesiology with regard to the necessity of the Church with regard to salvation We propose below another kind of necessity in God's plan of salvation applicable in Ecclesiology.
Soteriological Necessity: We shall term it "soteriological necessity" as it pertains to God's plan of saving the world. The first point to remember about God's plan of salvation is that it was not an after-thought by God when Adam and Eve sinned. Even before the creation of the world and the foundations of the Universe were laid, God had His plan of salvation in His Word who became flesh as Jesus Christ in the course of history. That is why the Fathers of the Church and Ecumenical Councils repeatedly teach that God was working out the salvation of the World from the very beginning. This background should throw light on the concepts of both "necessity" and "salvation". It should caution those who consider the Church as a monopolistic agency to dispose salvation as a right to be enjoyed by some privileged chosen ones forgetting that they are mere servants to be at the service of humanity!
Soteriological necessity occurs as a result of the interaction between the actions of God and the humans. As God is by nature absolutely free, there can be no necessity in Him as far as actions outside of Him are concerned. Thus even the creation of the universe including the humans is an absolutely free act of God. He need not have created it as God is self-sufficient in Himself. However, all creation is an expression and manifestation of His Infinite Love as He is Love itself. Humans are the only earthly creatures who are modeled on God's own image and likeness (See Genesis, 1: 26-27) With the creation of angels and the humans, God shared freely His own freedom with the creatures in a limited way. When sin entered the world through their disobedience, God devised ways to save the world from utter destruction. Thus soteriological necessity has its origins in the irrevocability of God's gift of freedom to his creatures, especially to the humans.. God wants to save the humans through love without doing violence to their free nature bestowed upon them. It is done through Jesus Christ whose Body is the Church and is governed by soteriological necessity.
Salvation: "Scripture says, 'Everyone who has faith in him will be saved from shame' - everyone: there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich enough for the need of all who invoke him. For everyone, as it says again - 'everyone who invokes the name of the Lord will be saved' " (Romans, 10: 11-13). The Scripture reference is to the book of Prophet Joel 2: 28-32 quoted also by Peter in his address to the people on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out (See Acts, 2: 17-21). Just before the above quoted text of Paul, the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is stressed by Paul (See Romans, 10: 5-10). Similarly, immediately after the above cited text of Paul, he argues for the necessity of Gospel Proclamation in relation to the salvation of the whole world (See Romans, 10: 14-15).
Salvation of All: The fundamental reason why all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved is that the same Lord is the Lord of all who is rich enough to cater to the needs of all. In his First Letter to Timothy, Paul urges him to pray for all men and those in authority so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life. This would become possible if all live in full observance of religion and high standards of morality. "Such prayer is right, and approved by God our Savior, whose will it is that all men should find salvation and come to know the truth" (1 Timothy, 2: 3-4). It follows that if people were to sincerely practice the precepts of their religion and morality, they would gradually come to the knowledge of full truth besides attaining salvation. The full truth consists in the fact that there is but one God and one mediator between God and the humans. Jesus Christ is this one mediator who sacrificed himself to win freedom for all mankind, which is the Good News or the Gospel meant for the whole world (See 1 Timothy, 2: 5-7).
Gospel Proclamation: God's will that all the humans should find salvation and come to know the truth is not half-hearted or ineffective, but is restrained by the free will of the humans who cannot be coerced into attaining their own salvation. Here is the fundamental reason why any "forced conversion" is no conversion at all as it involves a contradiction in terms even in the case of a coercive Will of God for our salvation! The need of Gospel Proclamation is all the more evident in the background of this Will of God for the salvation of all respecting the freedom of all. For, Gospel Proclamation is essentially an invitation freely to be accepted or rejected by people just like an invitation to a marriage feast (See Matthew, 22: 1-14). The symbolism of marriage feast stands for the reality of the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus Christ. The Church is commissioned by Jesus Christ to strive for building up the Kingdom of God, which is essentially an act of God. It has to be done in coordination with all people since all have stake in it according to the plan of God whose grace appeared in Jesus Christ for healing all the humans. (See Titus, 2: 11-14). Let us remember that salvation is primarily an act of God to cooperate with which the Church has been called with soteriological necessity ( See Titus, 1: 2-3; 1 Peter, 1: 1-2). (To be Contd).
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