Atheists Can Join Club.

[chrisgel]

It seems the pope has decided that even atheists can go to heaven as long as they do "good"
It seems like a radical departure from their usual dogma to me.
Do you think they're trying to claim all the atheists for themselves perhaps?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330135/Pope-Francis-says-atheists-good-SAVED.html

[jomifl]

^wrong thread :-)

[Khandro]

v-e; But, I believe they stock a limitless supply of Barolo, - after all, it is heaven.

[atalanta]

Can you imagine a zillion years of wearing a long white frock and a crown of light and playing the harp and singing hymns ? I can't sing, anyway.
And after the first zillion years, the second zillion years, the third zillion years - . . . I'd much rather be nothing.

[vetuste_ennemi]

The first zillion years were the worst. The second zillion years were also the worst. After that I went into a slow decline.

[modeller]

Tonight 9pm on Al Jazeera a close look at the Vatican Empire.
May be interesting judging by the previews.

[ludwig]

Share and share alike. The atheist vision of what happens after death is also open to all people of religion.

[Huderon]

All he has done is broaden the scope of baptism of desire, something the Catholic church has recognised since at least the time of Thomas Aquinas.

[chrisgel]

Knocked it down and built a motorway more like.
No mention of an atheists "desire" to receive baptism.
No mention of atheists repenting of their sins.
And no mention of atheists being charitable.

[Wharton]

The usual ill-informed anti RC piffle, yawn.

[vulcan42]

Wharton, are you saying the pope is ill informed?

[Wharton]

No vulcan42, just his auntie.

[Huderon]

You don't have to "desire" baptism to qualify.

If I recall my school theology, and the subsequent logic correctly, originally the Catholic church held that only people who had been baptised could have a chance of going to heaven. That was fine until they started thinking about the people who had never heard of the Christian faith, but lived a good and moral life according to their own beliefs.

Excluding them from heaven seemed like a bad idea, so the idea of baptism of desire was introduced. By living a good and moral life they showed a desire to be at one with God despite not knowing about him. This indicated that if they had known about the Christian God, they would have converted and been baptised. This meant that they desired baptism even though they didn't know about it, and so were considered to have been baptised when they died.

Of course back then there weren't as many atheists around as there are now, but the same original problem applies - most atheists live a good and moral life, so excluding them from an eternal life they don't believe in seems a bit daft (yes I know it sounds ridiculous) but the Catholic church can get round that by extending the scope of baptism of desire.

[mikey4444]

beckersjay...how true !

[emmie]

no thanks,