“The eschatological message of Jesus and the New Testament is therefore a novelty. The eschaton has already occurred in the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus.”
I cannot agree with his position here. The eschatological message of the New Testament is framed by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles and the mission given to all disciples of Jesus Christ. It is the mission of the proclamation which Avery Cardinal Dulles explains in Models of the Church—the model of Church as Herald—the proclamation is an Eschatological event. Every person who hears the Gospel—which is a double edged sword, they must either choose for Christ or not; they must choose salvation or damnation. The Gospel in itself is a public notion of religion, all the baptized are called to evangelize the faith by virtue of their baptism. The baptized are called to proclaim the Christ event of His death, resurrection, and salvation,
Furthermore, regarding, being saved not being members of the Church—What is meant by Church would need to be defined too—but while it is true God is not bound by the ordinary means of salvation, any sort of hermeneutic that may suggest it likely those who are not a part of the Church will be saved is not the teaching of Lumen Gentium and should be avoided as we are called biblically to publicly proclaim the Christ event to all nations because although God is not bound by the ordinary means of salvation, the teaching of Lumen Gentium 16 does teach that its possible, but we can not be assured and the Church is then necessary. The second part of Lumen Gentium 16 says:
But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator. Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, “Preach the Gospel to every creature”, the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.”
Furthermore, the question is posed to the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke, being the word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, in the context of whether those who believe themselves to believers and whether they will be saved, Jesus answers them vv. LK 13: 25- 27:
25 After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’26 And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ 27 Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
We can have hope and confidence in our salvation as members of the Body of Christ, but we should never presume it. And we cannot blindly hope that those who do not know the gospel will be saved either. We must be vigilant in our own pilgrimage toward the Kingdom of God. And we must tell others about the Lord along the way.
While it is true that people outside the Catholic Church can be saved through Baptism of Desire or of Blood, it must be through no fault of their own that they do not belong to the one true Church founded by Christ.
The dogma of extra ecclesiam nulla salus exists "to safeguard the truth that there is only one Body of Christ and therefore only one Church which possesses and communicates the fullness of the blessings brought to men by Christ. No church set up by men /against/ the original Church of Christ can be a means of salvation. In so far as these churches are non-Catholic and anti-Catholic, they cannot give supernatural life....
"God does not refuse grace to anyone in good faith, to anyone who is outside the Church through invincible ignorance; but it is essential that he must be in good faith. Whoever, without his fault, is not a Catholic, but sincerely seeks the truth and keeps the commandments to the best of his knowledge, does not indeed belong to the visible body of the Church, but in spirit, as it were, belongs to the soul of the Church, and therefore can be saved. He is not saved /without/ the Church of Christ and /against/ her, but /through/ her" [Fr. John Laux, Catholic Apologetics (Charlotte: TAN Books, 2011), 133-134 {emphasis mine, since italics do not exist in replies here}].
Anyone who freely chooses not to belong to the Catholic Church, who deliberately chooses to reject the teachings that she holds are necessary for salvation, cannot be saved. However, a person who, through no fault of their own, does not belong to the Church, can indeed be saved, through the mercy of God. Belonging to the Catholic Church -- either visibly or invisibly (belonging to the "soul" of the Church, as Fr. Laux said) is not optional, but is indeed necessary in order to attain eternal life. This is why Our Lord gave us the Great Commission to "teach ye all nations" and baptize them (Mat 28:19); if it were not imperative that one belong to the Church in order to be saved, Christ's commission would not be nearly as important as we know it to be.
You quote Walter Kasper
“The eschatological message of Jesus and the New Testament is therefore a novelty. The eschaton has already occurred in the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus.”
I cannot agree with his position here. The eschatological message of the New Testament is framed by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles and the mission given to all disciples of Jesus Christ. It is the mission of the proclamation which Avery Cardinal Dulles explains in Models of the Church—the model of Church as Herald—the proclamation is an Eschatological event. Every person who hears the Gospel—which is a double edged sword, they must either choose for Christ or not; they must choose salvation or damnation. The Gospel in itself is a public notion of religion, all the baptized are called to evangelize the faith by virtue of their baptism. The baptized are called to proclaim the Christ event of His death, resurrection, and salvation,
Furthermore, regarding, being saved not being members of the Church—What is meant by Church would need to be defined too—but while it is true God is not bound by the ordinary means of salvation, any sort of hermeneutic that may suggest it likely those who are not a part of the Church will be saved is not the teaching of Lumen Gentium and should be avoided as we are called biblically to publicly proclaim the Christ event to all nations because although God is not bound by the ordinary means of salvation, the teaching of Lumen Gentium 16 does teach that its possible, but we can not be assured and the Church is then necessary. The second part of Lumen Gentium 16 says:
But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator. Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, “Preach the Gospel to every creature”, the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.”
Furthermore, the question is posed to the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke, being the word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, in the context of whether those who believe themselves to believers and whether they will be saved, Jesus answers them vv. LK 13: 25- 27:
25 After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’26 And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ 27 Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
We can have hope and confidence in our salvation as members of the Body of Christ, but we should never presume it. And we cannot blindly hope that those who do not know the gospel will be saved either. We must be vigilant in our own pilgrimage toward the Kingdom of God. And we must tell others about the Lord along the way.
While it is true that people outside the Catholic Church can be saved through Baptism of Desire or of Blood, it must be through no fault of their own that they do not belong to the one true Church founded by Christ.
The dogma of extra ecclesiam nulla salus exists "to safeguard the truth that there is only one Body of Christ and therefore only one Church which possesses and communicates the fullness of the blessings brought to men by Christ. No church set up by men /against/ the original Church of Christ can be a means of salvation. In so far as these churches are non-Catholic and anti-Catholic, they cannot give supernatural life....
"God does not refuse grace to anyone in good faith, to anyone who is outside the Church through invincible ignorance; but it is essential that he must be in good faith. Whoever, without his fault, is not a Catholic, but sincerely seeks the truth and keeps the commandments to the best of his knowledge, does not indeed belong to the visible body of the Church, but in spirit, as it were, belongs to the soul of the Church, and therefore can be saved. He is not saved /without/ the Church of Christ and /against/ her, but /through/ her" [Fr. John Laux, Catholic Apologetics (Charlotte: TAN Books, 2011), 133-134 {emphasis mine, since italics do not exist in replies here}].
Anyone who freely chooses not to belong to the Catholic Church, who deliberately chooses to reject the teachings that she holds are necessary for salvation, cannot be saved. However, a person who, through no fault of their own, does not belong to the Church, can indeed be saved, through the mercy of God. Belonging to the Catholic Church -- either visibly or invisibly (belonging to the "soul" of the Church, as Fr. Laux said) is not optional, but is indeed necessary in order to attain eternal life. This is why Our Lord gave us the Great Commission to "teach ye all nations" and baptize them (Mat 28:19); if it were not imperative that one belong to the Church in order to be saved, Christ's commission would not be nearly as important as we know it to be.