However, I’m definitely with you on the main point here- for us, it is surely best to withhold anything like final judgment on these matters. Our own merit is doubtful enough, dependent completely on His great grace; the last thing we need to do is condemn others. Our standards are out of whack, no matter how much theology we know or how sincerely we strive to be holy- we’re as fallen as the next guy. Far be it from us to try to nail down the channels of God’s grace for our own conceptual convenience, to doubt His power even within faithless hearts. Maybe Larry King will have his moment of truth and choose to follow the Good Shepherd, whether formally or inwardly. All things are possible, etc.

The task, I think, is not so much reassuring those outside our own theological fold that we’re not automatically condemning them- although that’s worth doing. The task is to speak the truth of our faith without compromise- which, uncomfortably, involves some hellfire and brimstone- but to present the magnificence of God’s love, the boundlessness of His saving grace, with the same uncompromising clarity. Christ’s Church is more than an important institution, it’s the *only means* of salvation- this we should be unafraid to say. Yet there are many ways of relating to the Church, and the Church as Christ’s mystical body reaches far beyond its formal membership. Maybe a better response to King’s cynical question would be a glimpse of hope. “He who has begun a good work in you…”