Posted on 03/29/2007 5:20:08 AM PDT by Gamecock
FoxNews reported today that while addressing a parish in a suburb of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI clarified his view of hell. The Pope said concerning hell, [it] “really exists and is eternal, even if nobody talks about it much any more,”
According to reports from the Vatican this straightforward language is in effort to eliminate confusion pending an upcoming release of the new Catholic catechism. One might wonder about confusion from a church that proposes that its doctrine does not change.
However, even the casual Catholic should remember the last Pontiffs less literal view of hell. Speaking of hell, Pope John Paul II said that it is the ultimate consequence of sin itself . . . Rather than a place, Hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy.
According to Catholic dogma the Pope is infallible and exists as the functional head of the body of Christ on earth. So how can we have such divergent views on the reality of hell?
Hell is not the only issue with which we seem to see some contemporary doctrinal progression from Rome. In October the Pope indicated that limbo, supposed since medieval times to be a halfway house between Heaven and Hell, inhabited by unbaptized infants and holy men and women who lived before Christ, was only a theological hypothesis and not a definitive truth of the faith.
It is a real shame that millions and millions of folks are walking lock step with the Pope as their authority rather than Scripture. In order to be a good Catholic your theology must progress with the evolution of Papal theology, even at the expense of former Pontiffs. How dangerous it is to be blown about by Papal winds. Not so for Christians who reject Romes magisterial view of authority and embrace the doctrine of Sola Scriptura where Gods unchanging, inerrant, infallible divine Word is the ultimate authority in the church.
Sorry. My rib-poker is going back in its holster.
"What then did Christ refer to when he talked about Himself? The Law, the Prophets, the Psalms."
According to my Jewish relations, it's called The Torah.
The bible wasn't compiled til later. But, of course you know that.
"(But where DO babies come from? I've always wondered.)"
Remember, we're Catholics. We close our eyes...
or so I've been told.
We close our eyes, and we either really love one another OR we have low self-esteem. (IF we love one another AND have low se'f-esteem THEN do we have twins?) And this summons the stork or the cabbage patch trespassers ....
Golly (oops again!) biology is confusing! I'm so glad I stuck with theology.
But, okay, I see why Catholics have so many babies because we all know we have low self=esteem and are blind -- so it's like the eyes are kind of automatically closed.
This is bad. I'm beginning to understand it.
"And this summons the stork or the cabbage patch trespassers .... "
"This is bad. I'm beginning to understand it."
You know those bunnies that make absolutely no sense at Easter?
Now, extrapolate that and cabbage heads into large families.
(Caution: Not for educational purposes. Entertainment only. Do not try this at home. We are experts.)
And I'm sure you know that the OT is part of the Bible, about 2/3 of it.
No, really? /sarc.
It's a shame about the books y'all ditched.
You mean the books that were added to the Canon after Luther??
Well, when ya'll do figure out where babies come from, I'd appreciate a heads up. I just found out I got me another one coming, and it would be great to know how this keeps happening.......and where the little stinkers are coming from.
At Trent, of course.
The books are not something that jumped out from space: they had been in process since 100 AD. The whole discussion would take volumes. ~And I am not wont to do so since I really don't care about your thoughts on the matter and this is a BBS for fun, and not an academic setting.
Ah, but I still can't find sola scriptura. Perhaps I should go to the Talmud. I can't find it in the New Testament.
See you later. Have a great day.
Congratulations!!!
How wonderful.
Happy, healthy baby to you and pop, too.
(Dang bunnies.)
It's all part of Baldric's cunning plan!!!
If you would destroy the Church of Christ, what better way than to a: splinter off pieces that each believed that it was equal to or better than the Church, and b: introduce the idea of personal interpretation where each individual believes that his interpretation is equal to or better than the Church.
It's all part of Baldric's cunning plan!!!
If you would destroy the Church of Christ, what better way than to a: splinter off pieces that each believed that it was equal to or better than the Church, and b: introduce the idea of personal interpretation where each individual believes that his interpretation is equal to or better than the Church.
We've had some rather lengthy sidebars on other topics about the abridging and editing of the Bible by Martin Luther, continued to this very day.
Read what I said: The RC's added to scripture as a result of Luther.
Thanks, a lot. I am feeling pretty gidding at the moment. Baby turns two in less than a month, and I was getting baby fever pretty strong.
Broke the news of FR....I guess I am an addict after all.
Wow!
Now seriously, I think it has SOMETHING to do with staying warm on cold nights.
God bless and protect you all.
LOL! Aren't we all!
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