Chapter 13 Separated Brethren Jesus Prays: Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. (John 17:11) Introduction The world is full of billions of people. Some of these people believe in Christ while others do not. Some believe in some sort of a God, but do not believe in the true God. Others believe in no God at all (atheists) while others do not reject the possibility of God, but find no evidence for God (agnostic). So.what does Separated Brethren mean? It refers to those people who do not belong to the Catholic, but who have been properly baptized. The Orthodox We just learned about the great Schism (split) which occurred around 1000 years ago with the Orthodox Church. Although these Church retain apostolic succession they do not accept the authority of the Pope. They have no Pope, so therefore no position of Authority. Many of these Church s have recently come into full communion with the Roman Church. Protestants Recall that baptism is what makes one a Christian according to scripture. Even though they separated they are united in some way to the Mystical Body of Christ by their Baptism. We say that these Christians are not in full communion with the church Jesus actually founded Catholic Church. In 1517 the reformation was started by Martin Luther. The Lutheran Church Recall that Luther created two new doctrines and rejected the authority of the Catholic Church. The Bible Alone and Scripture Alone
They also reject confession, and do not believe marriage is a sacrament. Because of these doctrines many other protestant denominations began to spring up and create their own belief systems all claiming to be based on the Bible and inspired by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yet none of them agreed on everything! Ironically, although Protestants reject many Catholic teachings like the Pope, the sacraments they still accept other doctrines like the Holy Trinity which came from the Catholic Church. While these protestant churches do contain some truths they do not contain the full truth as taught by Jesus and the Apostles. This can be proven through history (Church Fathers) and Holy Scripture. Fullness of unity required that all Christians are united in doctrine, worship, and authority. I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. (1Cor 1:10) The Jews The Jews were God s first chosen people. God first revealed Himself to them and made a covenant with them. God continued to guide the Jews preparing them for the coming of the Messiah Jesus! It was through the Jews that Christ came into the world. However, the Jews did not and do not believe in Jesus, but they do bear a close relationship with the Church. Today the Jews are separated from the Church. Recall that the Temple was destroyed in 85 AD (after being rebuilt many times) so they Jews no longer have a place to worship and offer sacrifices. Since the New Covenant fulfilled the Old Covenant there has been no new revelation or prophesies given to the Jews. Modern day Jews sometimes feel abandoned by God and due to this many of them are now atheist, but retain their Jewish heritage. Recall that before the Second Coming of Christ the Jews will be converted to Christianity! Has this happened yet?
Muslims Muslims like Christians and Jews believe in a monotheistic God (One God not many). Unlike Judaism, their religion was not in preparation for Christianity. In was developed in Arabia 600 years after Christ died taking aspects from Judaism and Christianity. They accept some of the revelation from God to the Jews, but do not recognize Jesus as God instead they view Him as a great prophet. They do believe strongly in prayer, worship of god, and heaven and hell. Like protestant there are many sects interpreting the Quran in different ways. They are a religion strictly of the book. They have no authority outside of the Quran. Pagans They do not believe in one true God, but many gods or goddesses. Examples: Jupiter-Juno, Neptune-Minerva, Mars-Venus, Apollo-Diana, Vulcan-Vesta and Mercury-Ceres. Polytheism They may practice idolatry or worshipping images or physical things. They may think that rock, gems, etc have special forces within them from which they can draw power from. This is called Animism. Sounds a little like Harry Potter! The ancient Greek and Roman were pagans Atheists They deny the existence of God. We see this within the scientific world today. There are several famous atheists out there today. Be aware of their misleading claims. You WILL encounter atheists in high school and in college. Atheists usually believe in the theory of evolution without considering who created the matter which everything we see is made up of. VIDEO God s Not Dead Movie Clips
Agnostics They believe that there could be a God, but they see no evidence for a God. They typically concentrate on mankind and its accomplishments. They put their faith in man. Many atheists are actually agnostic. Ecumenism Ecumenism The search for Christian Unity. As members of the Catholic Church it is our mission to spread the Gospel and try and unite others to Christ. We must pray and when called upon, defend and explain our faith to others. We are the Church Militant. (Triumphant, Militant, and Suffering) We must even be prepared to suffer for our beliefs. Recall that Jesus promised He would infallibly guide His Church through the Holy Spirit. When we here the Church speak we are hearing Jesus speak! Salvation only comes through this Church The Catholic Church. This means that since Jesus body is the Church then we are saved through it. The Church teaches that: There is no salvation outside of the Catholic church. Does this mean that non-catholics cannot be saved? No. Those people who deliberately choose to remain outside the Church by rejecting the message of Jesus cannot be saved. Many people remain outside the Church through no fault of their own. If someone sincerely seeks God then they have the hope of salvation. God knows their heart and soul and He will judge them accordingly. Even non-catholics receive the grace of salvation through the Church.
Then What about the Non-Baptized? The Church teaches as Jesus taught that one cannot enter heaven unless they are baptized. Some people do not understand the importance of this sacrament and have never been baptized. Can these people be saved? Let s look at the Three types of Baptism: By Water: Normally this how it s done. By Desire: Lastly. If someone dies before physically being baptized then God knows their desire was implicit They wanted to be baptized. For those who do not the importance of Baptism through no fault of their own yet try to live a life loving God the church teaches that God will not punish them for circumstances beyond their control. By Blood: This is the baptism granted by God to those who are willingly martyred for their faith. Since we know the great gifts of the Church we should strive to bring others to Her. We must live our lives faithfully. Be good Catholics so others can see. Questions: 1) What is an Atheist? 2) What is an Agnostic? 3) What is a Pagan? 4) What are the three types of Baptism? 5) Can someone be saved outside of the Catholic Church? 6) Questions from Activity Book (Pages 49 52)
A Prayer for Ecumenism Eternal Father, We praise you for sending your Son to be one of us and to save us. Look upon your people with mercy, for we are divided in so many ways, and give us the Spirit of Jesus to make us one in love. We ask this gift, loving Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.