Catechism paragraph 846 (excerpt):
“Outside the Church there is no salvation”
...
“Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.”
Seems to me that, since being a member of the Catholic Church is a work, your catechism indeed says that works are necessary for salvation.
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/846.htm
If indeed it is not a thing that “happens” integrally as a result of believing the call of Christ (as of Protestant beliefs I disagree with that as particularized to Roman Catholic, but still could understand the belief), but some earthly act of affiliation to an earthly organization... good point. I have to ask this particular earthly denomination to count me in, in order to make me right with God. Rather than not caring whether or not they do, so long as I care about what Christ wants.
Do you have to believe in Christ to be saved? By your crazy logic, believing in Christ is also a work. So you believe that works (believing in Christ) can save you.
I will spend as much time as necessary to help you understand the REAL teachings of Christ and the Church he established. We can do it here, but I'd hate to steal the thread.
But works are a part of the salvation plan of Christ. You may be confusing what the Church teaches with what the Bible teaches:
"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."Philippians 2:12
And here:"You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." James 2:24
But you probably don't trust the Bible, because the Church gave us the Bible. Where did the table of contents of the Bible come from?
Bookmark. Thanks for posting this. I’ve been told by numerous Catholic FReepers that I was wrong when I said that I was taught this as a child. They told me that I was lying/making this up, etc. Too bad that they don’t understand that outside of Jesus there is no salvation. This is one of the numerous reasons that I left the Catholic religion. I now have a very personal RELATIONSHIP with Jesus - no middleman needed.