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Monday, September 16, 2013

Heaven or Hell?

  I heard my priest say that you do not have to be Catholic, or even Christian, to be saved. That Jesus came here to save us all, and it's not our religion that matters, but how we treat ourselves and others. What matters is that we are GOOD and DO GOOD. He asked the congregation if they knew Protestants who were good, I mean *really* good, people. There was a reluctant murmur and a small show of hands. He asked if they knew good Baptists. Nearly dead silence. "Come on now, half my family are Baptist's, and some of them are genuinely good people." This solicited a bit of uneasy laughter from the crowd, but I think they were starting to figure out where he was going with this. Know any good Buddhists? Good atheists? He went on to say that it is easier for Christians to get into heaven, because they are taught a doctrine of compassion and forgiveness, whereas most of the rest of the world operates on a "me-first" basis.

  Now I imagine that this is going to cause no small amount of theological sphincter puckering (the air sure got thin in the church I was in during this part of the sermon.) over the "FAITH vs. WORKS" issue. And while I don't completely agree with the statement, I do agree with the sentiment.

  I think the point that he is trying to make, and it seems to echo Pope Francis' sentiment, is that our God is an all loving, all compassionate, all forgiving God. If you are a good person, you are not going to Hell.  Hell is reserved for those people who willingly separate themselves from God. Who willingly separate themselves from LOVE. There are millions upon millions of Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Wiccans, and yes, even Baptists (etc., ad nauseam) who are, deep down in their heart-of-hearts, good, loving, compassionate, forgiving people, who I simply cannot believe are destined for The Pits. God knows who his own are. They are His choice, not ours.