by Tony » October 27th, 2005, 9:12 pm
I think Lewis held these beliefs, yes.
I don't think it's too late at all for those who die not having pledged faith to God, in Christ. Fundamentalists are the ones who limit the reach of the Christian faith.
I am not going beyond scripture or adding anything. I look at scripture, and God promises through the prophet Isaiah that "all humanity will see God's salvation." God does not break his promises. Jesus promised to return and fully inaugurate the Kingdom of God.
I believe in God's Kingdom and that when it arrives on Earth, that is, when Jesus returns, and all the dead are raised, those who are good of heart and have not believed will see and know God's salvation. All humanity, all who have ever lived and ever died, and who lived according the Jesus' way, love, compassion, understanding, sacrifice, they will all see the Kingdom. God will recover them all.
As John writes in Revelation 20:12-13
"And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and the earth gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done."
Our Lord's mercy is such that those who live in accordance with the Gospel, although not a part of Christ's church, will know salvation at the End.
"The Church is the natural home of the Human Spirit."
-Hilaire Belloc