[MeganC]

About the salvation of the thief not being by faith alone - what about the Centurion? The Centurion absolutely was not a Christian or a Catholic yet his faith (as Jesus Himself called it) was instrumental in the commission of a Miracle.

[paladinan]

Sorry for the delay; I just noticed this one (before the "page break" in the forum)!

About the salvation of the thief not being by faith alone - what about the Centurion? The Centurion absolutely was not a Christian or a Catholic yet his faith (as Jesus Himself called it) was instrumental in the commission of a Miracle.

It was... and certainly, faith is critically important, and it's sufficient for SOME things. My point is that "faith ALONE" (especially in the Luther-esque sense of "apart from all works whatsoever") is not sufficient for justification or salvation.

As an aside: Sacred Tradition doesn't specify what happens to the Centurion in that story, but "tradition" (with a SMALL "t"--i.e. a plausible theory, based on the writings of the Church Fathers) suggests that the Centurion converted to Christianity, and is now a Saint (though not formally recognized among the canonized).