LIMBO

". . . Although Catholics have long believed that children who die without being baptized are with original sin and thus excluded from heaven, the Church has no formal doctrine on the matter. Theologians, however, have long taught that such children enjoy an eternal state of perfect natural happiness, a state commonly called limbo, but without being in communion with God . . ."

Am I the only one that finds this funny, sad, weird?

To think that any child would be punished because he or she was not baptized does not sound God like to me. In fact, the general teachings about being excluded from heaven unless all of the sacraments are completed seem so arcane and fundamentally flawed. Really, if you had truth, true faith in your heart, then why should any God care if you jumped through all of the hoops the Pope holds up? Don't you find it odd that these rules basically mean that over 60 percent of the world's population, including good portions of our friends and family, will never be "saved?" This sounds like a gimmick to me. Like propaganda; utilized for the sole purpose of controlling the faithful.

Do you think that Jesus would have supported "limbo" of children that had not been baptized?

I just don't get this one. But then I also don't get how we can calmly go through life thinking (and not really caring) that our own beliefs mean that significant portions of the people we know will not be "saved" under the rules of the seven sacraments.

Are we that much smarter than the next guy? Are our beliefs really that much better? Do you really think that zero Jews, Islams, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. will make it into heaven? This doesn't sound correct to me.

The concept of being saved as promoted by the RC Church is just too simplistic and is anything but Godly.

I don't think heaven would be such a worthy place to go if it truly enforced such rules. This is not my heaven.

Salvation? Vatican II? Very interesting stuff. Maybe, as one Pope suggested, it is just about having a true heart?

But what if you are "born a sociopath" in which certain things are out of your control? What if you are beaten and raped during most of your childhood and turn out to be a sociopath? Isn't there still hope for you? Or was that hope literally beaten out of you?

How does our church deal with the fact that we are not all given the same opportunity to develop a healthy faith?

How would you treat such a person if it was up to you?