Most people reading the headline, "Pope Gets Rid of Limbo" are probably thinking, "What a killjoy! We really liked that game." They have in mind, of course, the game invented in Trinidad in which people shimmy their way to an ever-lowering pole and then try and propel their bodies, facing up and legs first, under the bar. It's a lot of fun to watch, especially when there are girls doing it, and alcohol is involved.
This type of limbo has not been outlawed by Pope Benedict, although I am sure he is ambivalent about it. Rather, the Pope has approved a theological commission's recommendation that the Catholic Church get rid of it's longstanding concept of limbo--a place, mentioned nowhere in the Bible, where babies go if they die before being baptized. Limbo has never been a formal doctrine of the Catholic Church, but it was considered sufficiently standard to be included in pre-communion lessons in Catholic schools around the world.
I was scornful of the idea when I first learned it in Catholic cathechism. But over the years I saw that it makes a kind of sense. The Christian idea is that we humans are born with original sin, what Immanuel Kant called the "crooked timber of humanity." This warped disposition is part of our nature, and therefore Catholics held that even newborns have it, and how can anyone who has an unrepented sinful nature go to heaven? Hell seemed like too harsh an alternative for little ones who had done nothing wrong, and so the Catholic Church invented limbo.
Think of limbo as a place which has no suffering, or if there is suffering, it is very mild. One of my Dartmouth professors explained it as a place where one-year-olds were gently pelted with marshmallows which they were nevertheless permitted to eat.
But today we live in a strange era in which infants are killed even before they are officially born. Thanks to Roe v. Wade and other abortion laws, being born is itself getting to be quite an achievement! And certainly it seems cruel and unreasonable to consign an unborn child, whose life has been snuffed out even before it began, to anything less than heaven. Even marshmallow pelting seems unfair under these circumstances.
And so from now on Catholicism will teach that unbaptized infants--born and unborn--go straight to heaven. I like this idea better, although I'm going to have to throw out my old cathechism book.
Reader Comments ( Page 4 of 33)
46. DINESH D'SOUSA is lying to you. In the last paragraph of his commentary he states that from now on the Church will teach that unbaptized infants will go straight to heaven. DINESH obviously does not have the ability to comprehend what he reads. The Church will not theach this because it cannot teach this! The Church that Christ founded never taught limbo as doctrine, but only as theology. Much like evolution is a theory, not a fact. Theology does not become doctrine until the Church says so. Once the Church teaches something as a truth, it can never reverse it, and you will never find a single instance in 2000 years where the Church has reversed any doctrine. DINESH should read the catechism before he throws it out, because he will find that the catechism teaches exactly what this newly released document states. So many people profess that their particular VERSION of the bible is the true version. Why sould anyone read a version written by a man with an axe to grind, such as the king james VERSION? Why not read THE bible, where all of the truth has been preserved for nearly 2000 years. Remember, that our Lord Jesus Christ left us the Chucrch, not the Bible. And the bible states that the Church is the "pillar and ground of all truth". Christ also left us the Pope to sheperd us, to teach us the truth. Christ said to Peter, " Feed my sheep." So the Church gave us THE bible, and when certain men didn't agree with the truth present within the true bible, they created their own version and forced it into the hands of the ignorant. King James and his wicked step-mother Queen Elizabeth prohibited reading the true bible and butchered anybody that refused to destroy it and accept their satanic version of the one true bible. If your bible is a VERSION then throw it out and replace it with the ancient but true Bible which has been guarded by the Catholic Church down through the ages.
jacobi at 10:34AM on Apr 21st 2007
47. If you have to be baptized in order to go to Heaven, then what happened to the thief on the cross? Baptism is an outward expression of what happens on the inside when you accept Jesus as your personal savior. In baptism, you outwardly show the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
If we need to do something, other than accept Christ, then Jesus’ death didn't save us, therefore we become our own "god" and we can boast in what we did and that's not what the Bible says at all, in any interpretation.
Sherry Phillips at 10:31AM on Apr 21st 2007
48. As a Christian who believes in a loving God, not a vengeful God, I find it hard to believe that He would send anybody to hell, even non-Christians. I was always taught that God's love is infinite, something humans cannot possibly understand. How could a God with infinite love damn to hell nearly 2/3 of the earth's population (i.e. non-Christians)? Also, that God is perfect, and I cannot reconcile the ideal of a perfect God with a God that would be jealous if one did not subscribe to a particular school of thought regarding the expression of their faith. I think if everybody's faith were more personal and less institutionalized, whether that be from the Pope or a megachurch or mosque or temple, this world would be a much better place.
Doug at 10:49AM on Apr 21st 2007
49. Jim, two things... 1- Please don't judge God by what humans do or say, including Popes. 2- If you are right about there being no God, neither of us has a problem. If you are wrong... I pray that God reveals himself to you so that you may come to understand who He truly is.
Rich at 9:15PM on Apr 21st 2007
50. I can't think of anyone in history that I would sentence to eternity in hell. I can see hell before repentance or hell for awhile but not forever. If I can't be this cruel, the God I know can surely not be this cruel.
Heaven is in your acts not in the church. God wants us to win; it's ours to lose. Do right, be kind, help out.
Mulepick at 11:07AM on Apr 21st 2007
51. The Original was Catholic, but read Revelations 6:1-8, they were blinded beacuse they allowed False teaching to come in in verse 2, then follow history in the rest of the verses and tie it to the Catholic Church, friends she is cursed beacuse she changed through mans opinion God's Original Word, Paul said if any man change it let him be accursed, how can it be God's Word if we change it anyway. I cannot help all the denominations ( or harlots) that have taken one Truth and died with it. God is coming for a Bride that is Fully dressed in the Full Word of God, not the popes opinion, The Bible said we must be babtised, it 's not the babtism that saves you , it's Obedience to God's Word. There will be alot of surprised people one day. He said come out of her My People, come out of what? the great whore, Search the scripture and you will find it
jh_shreiner at 11:19AM on Apr 21st 2007
52. Who said the Bible came from the Catholic Church?? There was no Catholic church back in 50-90 AD when the books of the Bible were written. The Bible also warns in Revelation 22:18 that there should be nothing ADDED or SUBTRACTED from the word of God. The Catholic Church should be ashamed of itself for teaching false ideas for so long. I am a Pentecostal Christian and I have never read in the Bible that people should be cannonized as saints and be worshipped and prayed to by men (Catholics), nor is there any mention of Limbo, or Original Sin. Babies GO TO HEAVEN because they are innocent and have not sinned in their short life. Please do not believe a lot of the traditions the Catholics teach. A lot of them are not founded in the Bible, or have been misinterpretted and never questioned. If you are sincerely curious about God, then read the Bible for yourself and join a good Bible study class. And go to a FULL GOSPEL church that doesn't take anything from the Bible out of its context.
Karrie at 11:31AM on Apr 21st 2007
53. I was born and raised a Roman Catholic and it embarrasses me that after all this time that the Catholic can change its mind and expect is members to say "Oh,OK anything you say" I never believed that any baby went to hell in the first place Baptism is a right of passage to the Catholic Church. If what they say that, all un-baptized children go to hell then that means only Catholics go to heaven. I don't believe that for one minute.
Helen Doyle
Helen at 11:43AM on Apr 21st 2007
54. It was only ever about control.
Pity those who,like D'Souza,fell for it.
James
james at 11:45AM on Apr 21st 2007
55. Sherry Phillips you are right on. Also, when I read the orginal report about this, a comment was made that the decision would also have implications for non-Christians who have led a good life- that there would be hope that they would spend eternity in Heaven. My questions are, "Who sets the standard for whether or not one has led a "good" life?" and "What constitutes leading a good life?" The Bible says that God's ways are not our ways. We tend to catagorize sin as one type being worse than another, but God says in Revelation 21:8 that even telling a lie is punishable by being sent to Hell. Who hasn't told a lie? The Bible also says there is no one who is good. So for Doug, who falsly believes that God is only a God of love, He's also a God of justice and, yes, He calls Himself a jealous God. We can't measure up to His standards. How great it is that He doesn't just declare us guilty, but He sacrificed His Son, Jesus, to receive the death sentence in our place, which we actually earned. And it's a free gift, for anyone who willingly accepts that they didn't do anything to earn it.
Stephanie at 11:41AM on Apr 21st 2007
56. Sadly, there seem to be people who actually want to believe in a God who condemns his children to a place of everlasting torture and it is not difficult to see why, to nonchristians especially, debates such as this are cause for perplexity if not ridicule. When we embrace a theology we enter an ideological box with boundaries that limit our vision--perhaps justifiably so--but there are Christians who see hope for a broadening vision in the Apostle Paul's radical words in Romans 5:18 concerning Jesus: "Therefore, just as one man's ("Adam") trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's (Jesus Christ) act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all." For those readers interested in pursuing this expansive inclusiveness I suggest reading Philip Gulley and James Mulholland's book: "If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person" Harper: San Francisco, 2003.
David Jongewaard at 11:42AM on Apr 21st 2007
57. The idea that God would send a child to hell, limbo, or otherwise is absurd. God is a God of Love, not of fear, hatred, or revenge. That God would send any of His children to burn in everlasting fire is so ridiculous that I am surprised most to the 21st century hasn't caught on to this trap.
Remember what Jesus taught , "All are welcome in my Father's House." What does this mean to you. "All", not some, not a select few, but ALL are welcome.
There is a universal law of cause and effect; our actions do have consequences, but if any of you really believe that God punishes anyone for anything, then you do not understand the God's nature of unconditional love.
Get out of this primitive way of thinking!!!
We are all born in love, not in sin! Just because someone in authority centuries ago said something doesn't make it right or true. For God's sake people, think for once in your lives, think for yourselves. (Once considered heresy by the church centuries ago.)
"The kingdom of God is within you." You don't need anyone to tell you how to worship, just be still, go within, and know God and the truth for yourselves.
Thank You and God bless you all.
Joe at 11:34PM on Apr 21st 2007
58. Can we first of all distinguish between the catholic church and the Roman Catholic church? This has led to much confusion over the years. the holy catholic church which is mentioned in many creeds refers to the "universal church" of God. His believers; That is the original meaning of the word "catholic" - universal . The Roman Catholic church is a denomination which the rest of you can continue to argue about. I'll sit back and read.
Lisa at 11:50AM on Apr 21st 2007
59. Please don't confuse Christianity with Catholicism. I am a Christian but I am not Catholic. Chrisitans are Christ Followers and live by the bible, not rules that are made up by men.
donna at 12:05PM on Apr 21st 2007
60. As Plato pointed out long ago, coherence is one of the hallmarks of truth, and as Aristotle taught us, a thing cannot both be the case and not the case at the same time in the same way. This is yet another example of humans claiming to have access to certain knowledge by all kinds of superstitious, irrational means when they have no such knowledge and no earthly idea what they are talking about. Humility would require them to, like the Wizard of Oz, to come out from behind the curtain and confess it.
Jeff at 12:15PM on Apr 21st 2007