Non-Christian religions : their role in the economy of salvation

Abstract

Creation is the beginning of God's wondrous gifts of the Lord of History revealing Himself in creation. In His infinite mercy He progressively revealed Himself to men, throughout history and in various degrees to the different peoples all over the earth. Man found the need of seeking the meaning of life, of searching for its goal, of adoring a supreme being or beings. The Plan of Salvation History culminated in Christ, the supreme revelation of the Father, thus quenching man's thirst for the Infinite. The Church which He set up is a constant witness to Him and to Truth. There remains the question of the various peoples who do not know or cannot explicitly accept Christ or His Church. Does this mean that they are condemned to be deprived of the benefits of Salvation, of being eternally outside the Plan of Salvation without ever having the chance to share in Divine Grace? This essay proposes to look into this problem in the light of Divine Revelation and the Teaching of the Church. After seeing what God's Plan of Salvation really is and the Church's role in the realization of this plan, we shall see in what way, if at all, the non-evangelized can form part of this Divine plan, and hence which are the elements in non-Christian religions which could be considered as positively salvific by the infinitely merciful God.