04-05-2004, 02:53 AM
Hi,
But I know many Catholics who do not really believe that un-baptized babies go to hell due to "original sin".
I'm at a loss of how to handle this.
Catholic doctrine is that original sin exists, that the reason we needed Christ was to atone for that (and only that, our own sins *we* can atone for once the way was open) and that anyone not baptized does not go to heaven. They postulate heaven for the saved, hell for the damned, purgatory for the fixer-uppers, and limbo for those that never got a chance.
*That* is doctrine. And accepting that doctrine is what makes a Catholic a Catholic instead of a Lutheran or a Baptist.
When someone says "many Catholics do not accept this or that doctrine of the Catholic Church", I know that that is, in a way, often true. But, in another way, it is not true. It is not true because those who do not accept the doctrine of the church they claim to espouse are not members of that church, they are heretics to that doctrine. And I am frankly sick and tired of people claiming to be some form of christian but having no damned idea of what they are claiming. That's like claiming to be a capitalist but not believing in a free market. Or a socialist claiming that government should not meddle in our private affairs.
The number of people who claim to belong to some religion or other, who defend their "beliefs" loudly, but who have no idea of just what they are claiming to believe in when they take on a label is amazing. People, and Americans in particular, accept a religion the way they accept a sports team -- uncritically, passionately, and for no rational reason. And then they substitute social interaction for dogma and call that religion. And wonder why those that actually think about all this consider them fools.
--Pete
But I know many Catholics who do not really believe that un-baptized babies go to hell due to "original sin".
I'm at a loss of how to handle this.
Catholic doctrine is that original sin exists, that the reason we needed Christ was to atone for that (and only that, our own sins *we* can atone for once the way was open) and that anyone not baptized does not go to heaven. They postulate heaven for the saved, hell for the damned, purgatory for the fixer-uppers, and limbo for those that never got a chance.
*That* is doctrine. And accepting that doctrine is what makes a Catholic a Catholic instead of a Lutheran or a Baptist.
When someone says "many Catholics do not accept this or that doctrine of the Catholic Church", I know that that is, in a way, often true. But, in another way, it is not true. It is not true because those who do not accept the doctrine of the church they claim to espouse are not members of that church, they are heretics to that doctrine. And I am frankly sick and tired of people claiming to be some form of christian but having no damned idea of what they are claiming. That's like claiming to be a capitalist but not believing in a free market. Or a socialist claiming that government should not meddle in our private affairs.
The number of people who claim to belong to some religion or other, who defend their "beliefs" loudly, but who have no idea of just what they are claiming to believe in when they take on a label is amazing. People, and Americans in particular, accept a religion the way they accept a sports team -- uncritically, passionately, and for no rational reason. And then they substitute social interaction for dogma and call that religion. And wonder why those that actually think about all this consider them fools.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?