[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).

[MeganC]

Well then, I suppose where we stand after all of this is that my salvation is assured and yours isn’t unless you continue to satisfy your obligations.

The key semantic difference here is that I act a certain *because* I’ve been saved and you act a certain way in *hopes* of being saved.

If I die today I will be with Jesus. I pray you would be so blessed.

- Megan