sarai...
In reference to Catholics, I think you read much more into my post than was there. I never, at any time, said all Catholics were bound for Hell, just as I most certainly would not say all Baptists are headed for Heaven -- neither is true. Many Catholics are saved people and many Baptists, Methodists, etc., are not.
What I did say is that the sole determining factor (for adults over the age of reason) for one's eternal destiny is that person's relationship with Jesus. If a person accepts the finished work of Jesus on the cross as the payment for his sins before God, he is saved. That is all that is necessary. Conversely, the person that refuses to accept Jesus as Savior is condemned.
It is all very simple (almost too simple, which is a problem for a lot of people) - we all sin (continuously), and the penalty of just one sin is eternal damnation. God has mercifully provided a way for that penalty to be paid and the sins forgiven (no matter how many or how bad), and it is up to each person to accept His provision or reject it. If a person truly accepts Jesus, there is nothing that can keep him from going to Heaven, but if he does not, there is nothing that can keep him from going to Hell.
As for Mother Theresa, I have no idea whether she was saved or not. Most certainly all her good deeds could never get her into Heaven (all our righteousness is but filthy rags before a Holy God), but if she put her faith in Jesus, she was saved. Just looking at the fruits of her life (we have zero first hand knowledge about how she lived) I would guess that she was a saved person, but that is only speculation - only God knows her heart and is able to judge, and judge He will.
Hope that helps clear it up a bit.
mlsoft
AI
