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Henry Belt
10/10/2017
Honors English
13680
Since the begging of time people have been searching for answers on who made the world.

Through this one question countless religions have been made. In the past there have been conflicts

between some major religions, but in the modern day instead of debating on which religion is better

now they have tried to live in harmony. In the past fifty years the Catholic Church has made efforts to

make peace with other major religions through the creation of the Vatican II documents. The Vatican II

documents try to explain how we are all connected through God. As well as that God has revealed

himself to all people to some extent.

The Vatican II documents state that the truth about God is revealed through Jesus and his

teachings. Nostra Aetate uses a quote from the Bible, "Christ is the way the truth and the life (para 2)."

This quote is just one example in the Bible and in the Vatican II documents that state Jesus is "the truth."

Many ancient peoples have come in contact with God in some way, but have failed to truly understand

him (Pope Paul VI para 2). This is because these people were before the time of Jesus or never had the

chance to come in contact in with Jesus. The Catholic Church explains that people can attain the

salvation and truth of God even if they do not know Jesus and his teachings, but they still unknowingly

follow Jesus' teachings (The Second Vatican Council para 16). This explains how people before Jesus and

people with other circumstances can still enter heaven. In Lumen Gentium Jesus' body is described as

the Church. Through this can be inferred that God's truth is revealed through Jesus and his Church.

However, people who have not been exposed to Jesus and the Church can still enter heaven by

following Jesus' teachings even if unknowingly.

For Catholics interacting with non-Catholics the Vatican II documents state that the Church

rejects nothing that is true and holy in the non-Catholic Religions (Pope Paul VI para 2). Meaning that

the Catholic Church is open to all morals and texts from the other religions that agree with the morals
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and messages of God. Through this the Church wants to bring different religions together by pointing

out the similarities between their beliefs. Nostra Aetate explains that "We cannot truly call on God, the

Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God (para

3)." The Church expresses that all Catholics should treat non-Catholics in the same respect as any other

Catholic. The Church aims to emphasize that God made all humans in one origin and that all humans

will have one final goal. As well as the document Nostra Aetate calling for peace among all men and

nations (para 3). Overall the Catholic Church wants all religions to live in harmony with each other.

Origin myths support the idea that God revealed himself to all people, which can be seen

through the similarities between Native American origin myths and the book of Genesis. The Native

Americans never had the chance to know Jesus or the Gospel until European settlers arrived in the

Americas and spread Christianity. However, there is still some evidence that God had revealed himself

to Native Americans before the colonization of America. Many Native American origin myths share

similarities with the book of Genisis. Like Catholics, Native Americans share a love for one or more gods

in their myths. In most myths the god creates the earth, animals, and humans, like how God did in

Genisis. For example, the Navaho origin myth described four gods making a man and woman out of

various resources from nature (Navaho). This is very similar to how God made Adam and Eve, but God

did not make Adam and Eve out of nature. There are many other Native American origin myths that

have similar qualities to Genesis which suggests that God had revealed himself to the Native Americans,

but they did not fully understand God's word.

Puritan beliefs show that God revealed himself to all people because of how similar Puritan

beliefs are to Catholic beliefs. The roots of Puritanism date back to the Catholic Church. The British were

originally Catholic, but then changed to Protestant through the Protestant reformation. Some people

thought the Church of England was still corrupt by the Catholic Church. These people were exiled from

England and therefore set sail to the new world becoming the Puritans (History.com Staff). Already
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connections are made because of the Puritan's roots. The Puritans believe in the same morals and God

as Catholics do, but many of these beliefs are taken to the extreme. Puritans lived more simplistic lives

where God revolved around everything they did. Puritans had a philosophy that if someone wasn't

working they should be praying. The Puritans mass is not much different from the mass of Catholics

(Almobayyed). However, Puritan masses did not have candles or incense, and also had simple music and

held mass in recreational buildings. On the other hand, Catholic masses contain lively music composed

of several instruments, and have special churches built specifically for worship. Overall Puritans have

some differences in way of life and celebration, but are still a branch of Catholicism and shares many

similar Catholic beliefs.

Weather someone is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or even believes in their Native American tribe's

religion, the Catholic Church believes that God has revealed himself to all people in one way or another.

Therefore, the Church claims that Catholics should live in harmony with other religions no matter what

religion they follow. A person that follow Jesus' teachings can still go to heaven even if they are not

Catholic. With all the current conflict between religions all Catholics should push for a mutual

understanding in hope that everyone is free to practice any religion they want without the fear of being

persecuted.
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