I have gotten into the habit recently of greeting Muslim men and women when I see them in public with As-salamu alaykum, and when they reply with wa alaykumu, I like to then say something like "Allah has given us a blessed day and God bless you!" or "Allahu Akbar".
I think this is a great custom for Catholic Christians to show respect and solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters who worship the One God.
To those who may say I am wrong doing this, I say your issue is not with me, but with the infallible teaching of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Paragraph III of the Infallible Magisterial Document of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council reads thus "The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom."
St. Pope John Paul the Great, in a General Audience on 9 September, A.D. 1998, states thus
"
1. In Nostra aetate, the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, the Second Vatican Council teaches that “the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men” (Nostra aetate, n. 2).
Taking up the Council’s teaching from the first Encyclical Letter of my Pontificate, I have wished to recall the ancient doctrine formulated by the Fathers of the Church, which says that we must recognize “the seeds of the Word” present and active in the various religions (Ad gentes, n. 11; Lumen gentium, n. 17). This doctrine leads us to affirm that, though the routes taken may be different, “there is but a single goal to which is directed the deepest aspiration of the human spirit as expressed in its quest for God and also in its quest, through its tending towards God, for the full dimension of its humanity, or in other words, for the full meaning of human life” (Redemptor hominis, n. 11).
The “seeds of truth” present and active in the various religious traditions are a reflection of the unique Word of God, who “enlightens every man coming into world” (cf. Jn 1:9) and who became flesh in Christ Jesus (cf. Jn 1:14). They are together an “effect of the Spirit of truth operating outside the visible confines of the Mystical Body” and which “blows where it wills” (Jn 3:8; cf. Redemptor hominis, nn. 6, 12)."
So in summary of the infallible teachings of the Pope and Ecumenical Councils and Church Fathers, this is what Catholics need to understand - the Catholic Church, being the guarantor and embodiment of Truth, the Very Word of God, Who is Christ Jesus, teaches infallibly on all matters regarding faith and morals - all the Church teaches in regards to how men and women are to act and believe in regards to morality towards creation and creatures, and in our beliefs about the One God, are the Absolute, Final and Objective Truth.
The Church holds all Truth within herself, though Truth is not limited by the Church - Truth is a Person, Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is infinite, so His Church can only contain Him insofar as He has revealed himself to her, in her, and through her.
The Church however, does not have a monopoly on Truth.
Truth can be found in any and all of the great religions and philosophies of the world, spanning all cultures and eras - and wherever Truth is found, there is a reflection of Christ Jesus and His Body, the Church.
So if we think in a statistical way, we could say, the Catholic Church and Her teachings are 100% true.
The Eastern Orthodox Catholic Christian Churches and their teachings are maybe 95% true (basically the only things they believe which are not fully in line with Catholic teaching is some of their members understandings of the place and primacy of Peter and the See of Rome, this is the one and only single issue which truly separates Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics - all other things, such as the filioque, the Assumption of Mary, etc., fall to pieces as arguments against communion with Rome if one accepts the Primacy and Office of Peter)
The Oriental Orthodox Catholic Christian Churches and their teachings may be 90% true - they accept only the first three Ecumenical Councils, whereas the Eastern Orthodox accept the first 7 before the great Schism of 1054, and the Catholic Church recognizes 21 Ecumenical Councils, the latest being the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. So the Oriental Orthodox will differ more from the Roman Catholic Church because they do not have the infallible teachings of the next 4 councils which the Eastern Orthodox accept.
The Assyrian Catholic Church of the East and the Ancient Assyrian Catholic Christian Churches may be 80% true - they accept only the first two councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, and reject the councils of Ephesus, Chalcedon, and all subsequent councils. So they differ more from the Church because they accept less of the Churches infallible teachings.
Various Protestant Christian Churches may range in Truth from between maybe 10-20% on the low end of the spectrum - this would be the sects such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians, Latter Day Saints / Mormons, Oneness Pentecostals, and the spectrum may continue up to 50% truth with mainline denominations and evangelical Christians like the Congregationalist, Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists, etc. And on the high end of the spectrum, you have the Anglo-Catholic and High Church Protestant Christians such as certain Anglicans and Lutherans, who may believe in 75 - 90% Truth.
Whenever a Christian Church believes in Catholic Church, they are in Communion with the Body of Christ and Truth - when a Pentecostal Proclaims Jesus Christ is LORD, venerates the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, believes in the Hypostatic Union of Jesus Christ, Fully Human and Fully God, Son of Man and Son of God, and they believe in the Divine Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit, when they believe in being baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins and initiation into the Body of Christ in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, they are believing in fully Orthodox and Catholic Doctrines.
When they claim the Eucharist, or the Lords Supper is only symbolic, and not the True Body and Blood of Christ, they are 50% correct - the Lords Supper truly is a symbol and memorial of the Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection and Assumption of Christ. But it is more than that - it is also the transubstantiation of ordinary bread and wine becoming the Real Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. So when they celebrate the Lords supper, they are simply celebrating the Lords Supper in part, in a sort of partial communion with the Catholic Church and her Truth.
When a Protestant claims Mary is the Virgin Mother of Jesus, but refuses to venerate her as the Theotokos, the God bearer, the Mother of God, they are accepting maybe 25% of the 100% truth of Catholic Mariology.
This same concept extends out to the other children of Abraham, namely the Muslims and Jews.
When a Jew venerates the Torah, prays the Shema, and says Baruch HaShem Adonai - Blessed be the Name of the LORD - they are saying a 100% true statement, they are proclaiming Catholic Truth. But when they reject the Messiah Jesus of Nazareth as a false Messiah, they are rejecting Truth 100%. If they accept that Jesus was a holy man and wonderworker and Prophet, but can't believe he is the Messiah, then they may believe in say 20% Truth. They are on the path to Truth, and Truth is fulfilled in Heaven, where we will gaze on the Truth and have 100% understanding of the Truth.
When a Muslim prays to Allah - which is the Arabic word for God - it is etymologically related to the Hebrew word Eloah. Deuteronomy 32:17 reads "They sacrificed unto devils, not to God, to gods whom they knew not". In Hebrew, the word used for God is Eloah, a grammatically singular word for God, and gods uses the word Elohim, a grammatically plural word for God or gods, which is used in both ways throughout the Hebrew Bible. It doesn't take a scholar in Semitic languages to see the connection between the Hebrew Eloah and the Arabic Allah.
Biblical Hebrew's genealogy is as follows: Afro-Asiatic > Semitic > Central Semitic > Northwest Semitic >Canaanite > Biblical Hebrew
Classical Arabic, also known as Quranic Arabic, has a genealogy thus: Afro-Asiatic > Semitic > Central Semitic > Arabic > Classical Arabic.
So we can see, the first three generations, with a common ancestor of Noah's son Shem, the Sons of Abraham, the Sons of Ishmael and Sons of Isaac and Sons of Israel - we all have a familial relationship to each other on earth, and are all in various relations with the One God. The Muslims being Sons of Abraham and Ishmael, the Jews being Sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the Christians being the Sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.
Obviously as a Catholic, I believe the Christians, specifically the Catholic Christians, are the True Sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and the family in full covenant with the God of Israel, the New and Eternal Covenant which was signed, sealed and delivered by the Blood of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
However, God did not forget the Jews or Muslims, for what did he say? Genesis 17:20-21 "As for Ish′mael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”
So the Muslims, being Sons of Abraham and Ishmael, have become blessed and multiplied exceedingly according to Gods Eternal Word - Ishmael has grown to a great nation of over 1,600,000,000+ souls and counting. God has not abandoned the Muslims - far from it, he has blessed and multiplied them according to His Word.
But what did God say? His covenant was not to be established through Ishmael (Although the Muslims believe this, it is not true according to Catholic Truth), His Covenant was established through Isaac and his son Jacob.
St. Paul in the 4th chapter to the Church at Galatia writes thus:
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. 24 Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;[b] she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one that dost not bear;
break forth and shout, thou who art not in travail;
for the desolate hath more children
than she who hath a husband.”
break forth and shout, thou who art not in travail;
for the desolate hath more children
than she who hath a husband.”
28 Now we,[c] brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. 30 But what does the scripture say? “Cast out the slave and her son; for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brethren, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
The Sons of Hagar, the Muslims, are in the same situation as the Jews - they are in slavery to the Law. Muslims being in slavery to Sharia Law, and Jews being in slavery to Mosaic Law, the Old Covenant which was meant to be a preparation for the Messiah and his New and Eternal Covenant. But since God does not revoke his promises, and since men have free will, the Sons of Ishmael and Isaac are free to choose slavery to Sharia or slavery to the Old Law - they are free to reject the New Law of Grace and the Messiah Jesus.
But this does not mean God hates them - God hates no one, and wishes all to be saved. God cares for and guides the Jews and Muslims, because they recognize him as God to the best of their ability, and since they are in possession of various levels of Truth, through the infinite merits of Christ God, it is possible for Jews and Muslims to be saved by the grace of God, so long as they have not either truly known the Catholic Truth and Jesus and truly rejected him and/or been truly wicked men and committed truly wicked deeds -but only God can judge. I am absolutely sure there will be devout Muslims in hell and devout Jews in Heaven. I am absolutely sure there will be devout Catholics in Hell, and there will be devout Protestants in Heaven. I am absolutely sure there will be devout Jews in hell, and devout Eastern Orthodox in Heaven. God will judge each and every man by their deeds, not only by their beliefs - though belief is intended to produce good deeds which solidify and affirm the Grace which inspires it.
Now we have covered the approximately 4,000,000,000 souls on earth who are the descendants of Abraham.
What of the other approximately 3,500,000,000 souls on earth who belong to various other religious and cultural traditions and philosophies? What of the approximately 1,000,000,000 Hindus, or the approximately 500,000,000 Buddhists, and the 650,000,000 of other various Eastern and Folk religions like Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Jains, Shintoist's, Taoists and Confucians, traditional African/Native American/South American/Australian/Asian/European religious, cultural, and philosophical traditions? What of the approximately 1,350,000,000 souls who have no specific religious affiliation, or remain agnostic, or atheist?
Has God left 3.5 billion human souls to be left to their own devices and damned to hell? God forbid!
When Hindus and Buddhists believe in following the Golden Rule, and believe in a divine realm, when a Zoroastrian believes in One God Ahura Mazda, when an atheist believes in treating people well and altruism, when a Shintoist believes his righteous ancestors are in a heavenly realm, when a Buddhist practices love for creation, when a wise Confucian loves his fellow men, when polytheistic and/or monotheistic and other theistic traditional communities on Africa or South America believe in a Creator, believe in the fall of humanity and a primeval sin which resulted in the death of the soul and loss of communion with the Creator, when they believe in Devas or Angels or demons or various spiritual entities, when they believe in life continuing after physical death - they are all believing, to various degrees, in Catholic Truth. And since the Law is written on every human heart, and since God is revealed by Nature itself - remember, there is both a Natural Revelation available to every human, and a Supernatural Revelation available to the majority of humans - God will judge each with absolute Justice.
The violent Indian tribe who practice cannibalism and human sacrifice will be judged how they ought to be - the peaceful pre-Columbian Native Americans have been judged justly - the violent Aztecs have received their just desserts - the Canaanites, Hittites, Jobsites, Perezites and Amorites were judged by God, deemed worthy of death, and only he knows if any of them experienced Sheol in a heavenly manner or a hellish manner, as either a "Bosom of Abraham" experience or a "flames of hades" experience, and whether any of them were released from the temporal prison in the eternal realm when Christ descended to Hades and brought the righteous souls of all the Fathers, from Adam, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, David, Solomon, Josiah, Hezekiah, Habakkuk, Zechariah, Judas Maccabee, the Seven Sons of Maccabees, and all the other righteous dead who died Before Christ into Heaven with him to await the Final and General Resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ and Consummation of the Heavens and Earth and the Renewal and Recreation of the Heavens and Earth.
And only God knows whether the righteous among the nations who lived before Christ, such as Zarathustra, Gautama Buddha, Socrates, or the wicked among the nations, Nebuchadnezzar, Sennacherib, Pharaoh, Antiochus Epiphanes, etc. - it is for God to decide what happened to their souls at the time of their passing from this earth, whether they were judged to ascend into Heaven with Christ at His Resurrection to await the final and perfect Resurrection or whether they were judged to remain in prison until their final condemnation and the second death; when Hell itself, sin and death itself, the devil and all fallen angels, and all fallen and damned souls will be cast into the lake of fire and cut off from the living for all eternity. Whereas King Jesus and Queen Mary, together with Prince Michael and Prince St. Peter and all the Church Triumphant will be gathered with the Church Penitent and the Church Militant and all the souls on earth to be judged at the end of time, each to go to his own reward, some to the New Jerusalem in the New Heavens and Earth to live forever with God and his angels and saints in bliss, in glorified and perfected bodies eternally; some to go the way of the devil, sin and death, and cast into the lake of fire, never to be seen or heard from again in the Land of the Living.
Lord have mercy!
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