It serves 2 purposes. One has already been mentioned. The other is to enforce unity because as a conservative, he fears his Western constituents' liberal and ala carte interpretation of dogma, and he fears his 3rd world constituents becoming too divergent as they integrate Catholicism with their cultural routines.
Because all Pentecostals, Evangelicals, Baptists, Methodists are really inclusive? I'm not a fan of this Pope and disagree with him on a lot of issues. I believe as long as you are a good person and help others you will go to heaven, whether you follow a religion or not. I think it is stupid to even have to say that. I thought it was dumb that you felt the need to say that you think Catholics would go to heaven, as if there was some doubt for them compared to Protestants.
This is AWESOME. Now TRUE Christians don't have to just hate on muslims. Now they can have a full fledged hate-fiesta on everyone else too!
I have talked to many people who share your belief on this, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing how you came to this opinion? I am asking sincerely and I hear this opinion alot talking to people about heaven and I would like to understand how this belief is formed. If it is private info and you would email me I would appreciate it. Please don't respond at all if you do not wish to share this. Thanks
Reminds me of some rich ladies social club... "You can't trace your ancestry to the Mayflower? My goodness, you don't belong here!" I have a natural aversion to any organization calling themselves "true" and by implication, denying the worth of others. It just seems so undemocratic, and well, Middle Ages. Give me the Presbyterians any day... at least they encouraged everyone to read. Besides, there's a big difference between church and religion. I consider myself religious... Methodist even... but I'm not a big fan of churches. I'm much happier, at peace, and in tune with my Lord standing on a mountain gazing over creation than I am in a pew.
Thanks for asking. Busy... still unpacking some boxes, the kids are in all kinds of summer activities (my oldest is in basketball camp this week), and work is hectic. To top it off, fire season really started over the weekend and we're expecting a bunch of days of dry lightning in the Western US starting tomorrow. Locally, we've been without rain for two months and have had about three weeks of 95+ heat. Unless you're a pear tree living under a sprinkler, things are warm and dry. Other than that, we're taking the weekends to explore. Been to Crater Lake (awesome in the true sense of the word), went for a swim in the Applegate River, took a daylong float trip down an easy section of the Rogue, did some hiking around Ashland, and a couple of drives/picnics in the forest. We still need to get to the coast and Redwoods NP, as well as other parts of OR, but there is so much within an hour's drive that we are overwhelmed. Mrs. rimrocker and I have tickets to see The Tempest at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in August and we're off to see the Temptations and the Four Tops at the Britt Music Festival this week. (We live close to the Britt Festival grounds and were able to sit on our porch this weekend, sip some spirits, and listen to the Neville Brothers... even though it was somewhat muddled.) What's killing us is the daylight at this latitude. It doesn't really get dark until after 9:30 or so and our internal clocks, set by years of living in the SW, say it's 7:30. We look at the clock and realize it's 10pm and the kids haven't even been in the tub yet... our general living/sleep cycles are all screwed up. All in all, a good move so far and the opportunities and amenities are much greater here than in places we lived in the SW... though I do miss parts of NM and AZ.
Pope 1. English: nickname from Middle English pope (derived via Old English from Late Latin papa ‘bishop’, ‘pope’, from Greek pappas ‘father’, in origin a nursery word.) In the early Christian Church, the Latin term was at first used as a title of respect for male clergy of every rank, but in the Western Church it gradually came to be restricted to bishops, and then only to the bishop of Rome; in the Eastern Church it continued to be used of all priests (see Popov, Papas). The nickname would have been used for a vain or pompous man, or for someone who had played the part of the pope in a pageant or play. The surname is also present in Ireland and Scotland. http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact.aspx?fid=10&yr=0&ln=Pope Do a search for Bishop (English: from Middle English biscop, Old English bisc(e)op ‘bishop’, which comes via Latin from Greek episkopos ‘overseer’), or Priest or Father in the Roman Catholic Bible. Something might come up. Nothing came up for "Christmas" or "Dad" in Bible searches either... You can be better than this.
dude, he's just saying this cause non-catholics churches are turning corny with christan rap/rock and stupid tv channels. his holiness don't play dat!
This statement of the Pope reminds me so much of the types of Christians who say Catholics are not Christians.
Religion, for a lot of people, is highly influenced by their family and geography. I don't think kids in China or some woman in Iran are going to miss out on heaven because they never had the opportunity to find Christianity. I'm not even sure my own religion and faith are absolutely correct. No one on earth knows exactly what God is, or what God wants. We have ideas*, and, I think, an "innate" desire (which could be divinely created) to be good people. Sometimes society or circumstances can alter that, of course. But, I think, the only thing we can do is help other people, make the world better (even if it's just one small corner of it) and hope for the best. If it leads to eternal salvation, then that's wonderful, if for some reason it doesn't...then at least we made other people's lives better while we were living. That may sound naive and corny, but I think it's better than being arrogant and cynical. I'm not even sure if I answered your question with this rant. Sorry!
Thank you, I appreciate your explanation, I respect the logic of your reasoning. I have found in my own experience a difference. that people are well intentioned to do good, but lack the quality of perfect love. God is perfect love in my opinion. In His character He is just, kind, compassionate, responsible, generous, wise, gentle, good, true, faithful, forgiving, consistent, upright, pure, and the list goes on and on. God is perfectly good and loving. I do believe good people should go to heaven, when the decisions are made I guess we will have to go by the final decision of the gatekeeper. I am really grateful for your answer.
Zues and Neptune have gotten together and decided that the Catholic religion is incorrect, and it is time to go back to the old ways. Of course The Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians and Summarians have a different opinion. DD
