"Everyone is a potential Christ"
G.D.O'Bradovich III
May 2, 2015
“Everyone is a potential Christ” is phrase that I have discounted on a rational basis and theological grounds. If I had been told yesterday that I would agree with this idea, I would have been incredulous. However, we exist in a strange universe.
The Orthodox Church has the concept of theosis where the faithful can become divine. They can not become Christ, as Christ is a distinct person. Neither can they become God since they can not possess the characteristics of God.
For the majority of Protestants, they have Christ as their savior with no knowledge of either becoming divine or a Christ.
Therefore, through the process of elimination, the idea of becoming a potential Christ must have its origin in Roman Catholic theology. As I told Apprentice Tyler, we may not agree with Catholic teaching, but it must be internally consistent. This insistence on consistency has led us to an understanding of the Catholic position and, of course, our agreement is irrelevant.
We caution the reader that in Roman Catholic understanding, Purgatory is a division of Hell and the Orthodox Church does not know of a purging fire after this life. Therefore, the Orthodox Church only teaches Heaven and Hell for the afterlife.
We do not read about becoming a potential Virgin Mary or a potential Saint, but only about the potential for Christhood. The following matrix will clarify the differences between the Roman Catholic understanding of Mary, Christ and the Saints.
The Orthodox Church has the concept of theosis where the faithful can become divine. They can not become Christ, as Christ is a distinct person. Neither can they become God since they can not possess the characteristics of God.
For the majority of Protestants, they have Christ as their savior with no knowledge of either becoming divine or a Christ.
Therefore, through the process of elimination, the idea of becoming a potential Christ must have its origin in Roman Catholic theology. As I told Apprentice Tyler, we may not agree with Catholic teaching, but it must be internally consistent. This insistence on consistency has led us to an understanding of the Catholic position and, of course, our agreement is irrelevant.
We caution the reader that in Roman Catholic understanding, Purgatory is a division of Hell and the Orthodox Church does not know of a purging fire after this life. Therefore, the Orthodox Church only teaches Heaven and Hell for the afterlife.
We do not read about becoming a potential Virgin Mary or a potential Saint, but only about the potential for Christhood. The following matrix will clarify the differences between the Roman Catholic understanding of Mary, Christ and the Saints.
Born Sinless Sinned in life Went to Purgatory Ascended to Heaven Released or can release souls from Purgatory |
Mary
Yes No No Yes Uncertain |
Christ
Yes No Yes Yes Yes |
Saint,
non Martyr No Yes Yes Yes Yes |
Saint,
Martyr No Yes No Yes Yes |
We understand that Mary and Christ were born sinless and Saints are born with sin. We stress that this is the Roman understanding of Mary since 1854. The Orthodox Church teaches that the Immaculate Conception denies Mary her humanity, since she was unable to sin and, therefore, the possibility of not giving consent to the Incarnation is removed.
Mary and Christ did not commit sins while Saints fall short of the glory of God in this world. Of the four subjects, only Christ and non martyr Saints went or go to Hell. This teaching in found in the Roman and Greek Churches. According to the Roman Church, Mary did not descend into Purgatory since she had no sins to purge and was assumed into Heaven. Non martyr Saints go to Purgatory and at some undefined point, ascend into Heaven. Saints who die for the Faith ascend to Heaven at their death.
Christ spent three days in Hell before his Resurrection preaching to the Old Testament prophets. We presume that He released those souls he found there since John the Baptist is a Saint. John the Baptist is not a Martyr since, logically he was not a Christian and was imprisoned by Herod for being critical of Herod’s multiple marriages. This evidence for the John the Baptist being released from Hell is his undisputed Sainthood by the Western and Eastern Churches. Saint Stephen is designated the first Martyr.
All four of our subjects are in Heaven.
Apprentice Tyler and I can not understand from the Roman catechism and from various Catholic websites if Mary can release souls from Purgatory. Logically, it seems as though she should be able to do this since the merits of the Saints assist those in Purgatory and her incalculable merits (born sinless) outweigh her non existent demerits. Prior to his Resurrection, Christ released souls from Purgatory.
We can understand why not everyone can be a potential Mary: she was born sinless and this can not apply to anyone else, besides Christ. It could be stated that one could become a potential Saint, but this would necessitate that the individual must be Roman Catholic and that they have sufficient merit to release souls from Purgatory. This statement can not be honestly made, firstly, since not everyone is Roman Catholic and, secondly, they many not possess enough merit to release others from Purgatory.
Again, by the process of elimination, we are left with the everyone being offered the possibility of becoming Christ. We understand possibility because John the Baptist was not a Christian (“ Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?”, St. Luke, 7:19), that is, he is neither a believer or an adherent of Christ’s teaching, yet he was released from Purgatory. Therefore, we conclude that non Roman Catholics are destined for Purgatory. Since Purgatory is a division of Hell, then it is correct to say that all non Roman Catholics are destined for Hell. While this fact is rarely stated since the second Vatican Council, it is still their teaching. We must remember that no dogma was introduced or changed at the second Vatican Council, the Roman Church only express itself differently.
For the concept that “everyone has the potential to become a Christ” to be correctly understood, we must realize that Christ was not a Christian, that is, he was not a believer or follower of himself. Therefore, it is consistent Roman Catholic teaching that non Christians have the possibility of reaching Heaven. We caution the Gentle Reader that this possibility of reaching Heaven is not a guarantee of a Heavenly existence.
We can deduce that when Christ resurrected, Purgatory was emptied of all souls that were present. Since the Resurrection, Purgatory is again accumulating all human souls, except the Saints who have been purged and who have ascended into Heaven. We recall that on All Souls Day that two types of Saints are recognized by the Roman Church: those Saints who are known to the earthly Church and those Saints who are known only to God. Therefore, the number of souls currently in Purgatory are all the departed since the Resurrection minus the known Saints and minus an interminable number of unknown Saints.
We can not understand the idea of becoming a Christ without understanding one additional Catholic doctrine.
In Roman Catholic teaching, good works and works of mercy by the living faithful and the Saints can assist the departed souls in Purgatory. These accumulated merits of the living can be applied to the souls in Purgatory for the soul's release into Heaven. While we many not agree with these teachings on Purgatory and works, we must acknowledge the Roman Church’s position on these topics.
We can finally and completely understand how it is possible for every Roman Catholic to become a potential Christ from the following parallels:
Mary and Christ did not commit sins while Saints fall short of the glory of God in this world. Of the four subjects, only Christ and non martyr Saints went or go to Hell. This teaching in found in the Roman and Greek Churches. According to the Roman Church, Mary did not descend into Purgatory since she had no sins to purge and was assumed into Heaven. Non martyr Saints go to Purgatory and at some undefined point, ascend into Heaven. Saints who die for the Faith ascend to Heaven at their death.
Christ spent three days in Hell before his Resurrection preaching to the Old Testament prophets. We presume that He released those souls he found there since John the Baptist is a Saint. John the Baptist is not a Martyr since, logically he was not a Christian and was imprisoned by Herod for being critical of Herod’s multiple marriages. This evidence for the John the Baptist being released from Hell is his undisputed Sainthood by the Western and Eastern Churches. Saint Stephen is designated the first Martyr.
All four of our subjects are in Heaven.
Apprentice Tyler and I can not understand from the Roman catechism and from various Catholic websites if Mary can release souls from Purgatory. Logically, it seems as though she should be able to do this since the merits of the Saints assist those in Purgatory and her incalculable merits (born sinless) outweigh her non existent demerits. Prior to his Resurrection, Christ released souls from Purgatory.
We can understand why not everyone can be a potential Mary: she was born sinless and this can not apply to anyone else, besides Christ. It could be stated that one could become a potential Saint, but this would necessitate that the individual must be Roman Catholic and that they have sufficient merit to release souls from Purgatory. This statement can not be honestly made, firstly, since not everyone is Roman Catholic and, secondly, they many not possess enough merit to release others from Purgatory.
Again, by the process of elimination, we are left with the everyone being offered the possibility of becoming Christ. We understand possibility because John the Baptist was not a Christian (“ Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?”, St. Luke, 7:19), that is, he is neither a believer or an adherent of Christ’s teaching, yet he was released from Purgatory. Therefore, we conclude that non Roman Catholics are destined for Purgatory. Since Purgatory is a division of Hell, then it is correct to say that all non Roman Catholics are destined for Hell. While this fact is rarely stated since the second Vatican Council, it is still their teaching. We must remember that no dogma was introduced or changed at the second Vatican Council, the Roman Church only express itself differently.
For the concept that “everyone has the potential to become a Christ” to be correctly understood, we must realize that Christ was not a Christian, that is, he was not a believer or follower of himself. Therefore, it is consistent Roman Catholic teaching that non Christians have the possibility of reaching Heaven. We caution the Gentle Reader that this possibility of reaching Heaven is not a guarantee of a Heavenly existence.
We can deduce that when Christ resurrected, Purgatory was emptied of all souls that were present. Since the Resurrection, Purgatory is again accumulating all human souls, except the Saints who have been purged and who have ascended into Heaven. We recall that on All Souls Day that two types of Saints are recognized by the Roman Church: those Saints who are known to the earthly Church and those Saints who are known only to God. Therefore, the number of souls currently in Purgatory are all the departed since the Resurrection minus the known Saints and minus an interminable number of unknown Saints.
We can not understand the idea of becoming a Christ without understanding one additional Catholic doctrine.
In Roman Catholic teaching, good works and works of mercy by the living faithful and the Saints can assist the departed souls in Purgatory. These accumulated merits of the living can be applied to the souls in Purgatory for the soul's release into Heaven. While we many not agree with these teachings on Purgatory and works, we must acknowledge the Roman Church’s position on these topics.
We can finally and completely understand how it is possible for every Roman Catholic to become a potential Christ from the following parallels:
Through the merits of Christ, the departed in Purgatory can enter Heaven.
Through the merits of the living faithful, the departed in Purgatory can enter Heaven.
Through the merits of the living faithful, the departed in Purgatory can enter Heaven.
By slightly altering the wording, we have can understand how it is possible for everyone, not only Roman Catholics, to become a potential Christ:
Through the merits of a non Christian (Christ), the departed in Purgatory can enter Heaven.
Through the merits of the living (faith is not necessary), the departed in Purgatory can enter Heaven.
Through the merits of the living (faith is not necessary), the departed in Purgatory can enter Heaven.
QED: Everyone has the potential to be a Christ, that is, they can release souls from Purgatory