Returning to Terre Haute on horseback, had some interesting talk with my fellow travelers. The first was a Catholic.
“What shall I do to be saved?” I inquired.
“Believe in the Holy Catholic Church, and obey it in all things.”
“But cannot one be saved without being a Catholic? If one believes in God, Christ, and obeys the divine law, cannot he be saved if he is not a Catholic?”
“It is possible he may be; but it is not safe to rest one’s eternal all on such ground. The church is the door into heaven, and I have no evidence a soul can be saved without passing through that door. You Protestants have great expectations of reaching heaven, but I am fearful most of you will land where ‘the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.’”
The landlord of the house where I dined, was a zealous Methodist. “What shall I do to be saved?” I asked.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus.”
“What must one believe concerning him?”
“That he is the second person in the adorable trinity, and willing and able to save all who come to him.”
“Cannot one be saved without believing that Jesus is the second person in the trinity?”