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What happens to those who die and do not believe?
Catholic Answers ^

Posted on 10/16/2024 9:51:11 AM PDT by Angelino97

It depends. If you mean, “What happens to those who die rejecting Christ?” the Church’s answer is uncompromising: They will go to hell.

But no one goes to hell by accident. If someone is simply ignorant of the name of Christ through no fault of his own, there is no sin in that. He has not rejected Christ. Moreover, we know Christ is not constrained by our knowledge. He can work in a heart even when that heart is only dimly aware of it.

Jesus speaks of this in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. The ones judged here are “the nations”—those outside the visible communion of the Church. How are they judged? By the way they responded to Christ when he came to them in disguise. “I was sick and you visited me; hungry, and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” How do the sheep and the goats respond? With surprise.

The point is, we may not know it, but Christ comes to us even when we don’t (or can’t) come to him. This is why the Church counsels us to hope and pray for the dead. We must not pretend we know what God is up to in the lives of others. We know where the Church is. We do not know where it is not.


TOPICS: Religion
KEYWORDS: belongsinreligion
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To: ducttape45

Couldn’t possibly be easier.


81 posted on 10/16/2024 12:49:21 PM PDT by MayflowerMadam (I'm voting for the felon with the pierced ear. )
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To: Angelino97

Yet the current Pope says there is no Hell. He is an annihilationist. He says hell is just separation from God. Like going to sleep and never waking up.


82 posted on 10/16/2024 1:08:50 PM PDT by circlecity
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To: fidelis

Scripture was rewritten, changed throught the first4 centuries after Christ’s deaths. Then the Roman church and then the Reformation interpreted it differently.

So “ scripture” is very variable.


83 posted on 10/16/2024 1:14:49 PM PDT by Recovering Ex-hippie (RINO going along to get along with)
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To: Recovering Ex-hippie
Scripture was rewritten, changed throught the first4 centuries after Christ’s deaths. Then the Roman church and then the Reformation interpreted it differently. So “scripture” is very variable.

That's just ignorant. The oldest biblical manuscripts we have dating before the Christian era show that that is not the case. You should not comment on things you have no knowledge of and and expect people to swallow it.

84 posted on 10/16/2024 1:22:50 PM PDT by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)
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To: stanne
“ member somewhere in the amazon who’s never heard of Jesus goes to hell??”

Probably a rhetorical question which can be taken more than one way.

"Leave me alone"

You were the annoying kid in the movie "Mom he's touching me." I'm not touching you. But if it makes you feel safer, retreat to your "safe zone" and hide. I think Catholics have the thinnest skin around. Somebody somewhere doesn't think like they do and they're angry. And on another thread one started name calling. Sheesh, get a life.

85 posted on 10/16/2024 1:29:28 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I may have flunked high school but the pigeons have accepted me as their leader, so I have that.)
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To: Recovering Ex-hippie
So “ scripture” is very variable.

Actually, it's pretty durable. The OT has writings that are very ancient. They match what we have. Gods Word had a warning about those who would attempt to change it. So, you're wrong.

86 posted on 10/16/2024 1:39:27 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I may have flunked high school but the pigeons have accepted me as their leader, so I have that.)
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To: wardaddy

Sometimes refusing to take the Bible literally isn’t a willful decision. It’s often simply that the stories don’t make literal sense to one.

Do you believe that we should just *say* (basically pretend) that we believe as you do, even if it’s simply impossible to our reason?

God gave us reason and intellect, and expected us to use it. Unless sincere ‘belief’ is actually a ‘gift’ given to some and not to others (which would be very strange, from a ‘loving God’), I don’t think God is going to punish anyone for failing to believe the Bible literally in every respect.


87 posted on 10/16/2024 1:54:07 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: TigerClaws

“All humanity is born with the sin of Adam.”

Wasn’t there a scripture that said the children shall not be punished for the sins of the fathers


88 posted on 10/16/2024 1:55:49 PM PDT by conserv8 (Casual to casualty?)
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To: conserv8

That’s rather the opposite of what God said...

Exodus 34:6The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
7keeping steadfast love for thousands,fn forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”


89 posted on 10/16/2024 1:58:57 PM PDT by Z28.310 (does not comply well with others)
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To: Cronos

Revelation 11:15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; ...

at some point the kingdoms of this world will be under the reign and rule of Jesus Christ.


90 posted on 10/16/2024 1:58:59 PM PDT by MIA_eccl1212 (10-10-10-10)
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To: BipolarBob
I think Catholics have the thinnest skin around. Somebody somewhere doesn't think like they do and they're angry.

After many long years here, I guarantee you, it works both ways in these forums in spades. You would think a person could be content living his his own religion without going out of their way to attack the religion of another, but these forums are Exhibit "A" that that doesn't see to be the case with many.

91 posted on 10/16/2024 1:59:40 PM PDT by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)
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To: fidelis

I’ve been on the Internet since the pre-WWW, wild Usenet days; but I’ve never witnessed anywhere the kind of religious enmity I’ve seen here on FR.


92 posted on 10/16/2024 2:02:32 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Cronos

Excuse me? Where exactly is Christ Returning to at the 7th Trump, in Spiritual Form to Set Up the Kingdom? Mars? We all change into our Spiritual bodies at the 7th Trump,Sign,Seal Upon the Return Of the True Christ....not sure what you mean by earthly reign, frankly that makes ZERO sense if you understand the scripture.


93 posted on 10/16/2024 2:07:34 PM PDT by scott says (Servant of the Living God--YHVH)
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To: Z28.310

That is a boil them in crap mindset


94 posted on 10/16/2024 2:08:44 PM PDT by conserv8 (Casual to casualty?)
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To: fidelis
"but these forums are Exhibit "A" that that doesn't see to be the case with many. "

Discussion is not the same as attacking. You may think praying for the dead does something and others do not. That's not attacking. Some native dies in the jungle and a lot of people on here are jumping up and down claiming this or that. I say it's none of our business. God does the judging, not us and not our system. I can't invest the emotional weight that some on here do because what we think doesn't count for what other people do or their eternity destination.

95 posted on 10/16/2024 2:12:32 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I may have flunked high school but the pigeons have accepted me as their leader, so I have that.)
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To: MIA_eccl1212

I think he is going to be imprisoned for 1000 years for running with the devil.

(Along with his servants)


96 posted on 10/16/2024 2:19:42 PM PDT by conserv8 (Casual to casualty?)
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To: BipolarBob
Discussion is not the same as attacking.

Nobody is saying that it is. But there is truly more attacking then there is discussing religion in these forum. When anti-Catholics assert as fact Catholics are not Christians and the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon or whatever, or an ignorant Catholic charges that all Protestants are heretics, that is an attack, not a basis for Christian discussion. Things like that are proposed as a conversation stopper and they are.

97 posted on 10/16/2024 2:22:12 PM PDT by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)
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To: fidelis
Things like that are proposed as a conversation stopper and they are.

Again, I would ask for their basis of their belief. As a classified Protestant, I am by definition a heretic in the Catholic standard. That doesn't bother me as I don't hold myself to their standard. Likewise, by a strict narrow interpretation all Christianity is a cult because we have excessive veneration for a figure (Christ). Of course over the years cult has taken on a different meaning as a sinister secretive venue.

If a person asserts I am ignorant, I merely ask in what and how did they determine that. The person (in this case) was so incensed they could not respond. I didn't get upset but the accuser did.

I probe for WHY do they believe such and such.

98 posted on 10/16/2024 2:37:58 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I may have flunked high school but the pigeons have accepted me as their leader, so I have that.)
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To: BipolarBob
As a classified Protestant, I am by definition a heretic in the Catholic standard. That doesn't bother me as I don't hold myself to their standard.

That shouldn’t bother you because if you are not a Catholic, you are not bound by Catholic standards. You may believe erroneous things that, were you a Catholic, would make you a heretic but since you aren’t, it doesn’t apply to you. If something you believe is erroneous in the context of whatever form of Protestantism you ascribe to (provided they have some recognized authoritative standard of doctrine aside from personal Bible interpretation), you might in that case be a material or formal heretic within that group, but not by Catholics. The only exception might be if you held something that was universally held to be heretical by ALL Christians, for example the Trinity.

99 posted on 10/16/2024 3:09:19 PM PDT by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)
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To: fidelis
The only exception might be if you held something that was universally held to be heretical by ALL Christians, for example the Trinity.

Call me dense but I'm not catching your drift. Are you saying you (Catholics) don't believe in the Trinity or that Protestants don't believe in the Trinity?

100 posted on 10/16/2024 3:46:45 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I may have flunked high school but the pigeons have accepted me as their leader, so I have that.)
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