According to BBC radio, the Catholic church is abolishing limbo. Now, you either go straight to heaven or to hell.
Apparently (you learn something new every day, thanks BBC) there are 2 limbos. One for still-born babies that don't get the chance to be baptised and the other for good people who were around before Jesus was born so never got the chance for salvation.
Except now there ain't anymore cos the Pope's abolished them.
What a sensible religion.
Limbo abolished
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strictlybroadband
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Limbo abolished
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Re: Limbo abolished
What happens to all those who are already there? Do they just disappear?
We have need of you again, great king.
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strictlybroadband
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Re: Limbo abolished
The BBC report didn't say. It must be of concern to Catholic mothers who have had miscarriages.
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Re: Limbo abolished
One wonders how the dancers will take this.
Re: Limbo abolished
I am not wholly clear on the differance between limbo and purgatory. Can anyone help?
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Mysteryman
- Posts: 878
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Re: Limbo abolished
Wondered how long this would take to be noticed although the first announcement was some weeks ago.
Definitions:
Heaven. A place for the "Just" to live with, and in the glory of, God forever.
Purgatory. A place where souls who die in a "state of grace" suffer punishment for a given time for sins for which they have repented, before they can be admitted to Heaven. Used to be that all Catholics expect some time in Purgatory.
Hell. A place of eteernal punishment for those who would not repent their sins. At times the Church has said all non Catholics would go to Hell but it is generally held that only those who are truly evil and will not repent of serious sin are punished this way.
Limbo, a place where those who die before being baptised and being able to make their own decisions (generally held to be children under 7) spend eternity, in a neutral state. Stated to be on the edge of Hell.
From the Dark Ages it was held that all who died after living a good life prior to Jesus dying on the cross went to a place on the edge of Hell, formalised later as Limbo, and when, according to the Creed, Jesus descended to Hell, he actually went to Limbo to collect the souls of the just and lead them to Heaven.
Actually the definition of Limbo was invented just prior to the Reformation.
People across Europe were questioning the faith, baptisms were falling and the Church wanted to ensure children were baptised. As they preached that children under 7 could not, of themselves, do wrong any child under that age, which died and was not baptised, would go to Hell due to Original Sin.
This had caused great consternation as it seemed the massive number of children who died in their early years in those days would suffer damnation just for being born.
Limbo was invented as a gentler place - still somewhere no "right minded" parent would want a child to end up -as Limbo would still be seen as an imperfect place to be. At the same time, Limbo conveniently answered an age old question about the whereabouts of the "just" prior to Christ's redemption.
Now it is to go. Having screwed up generations of Catholic mothers, my own included, who insisted her stillborn 4th child was baptised by the midwife (conditional baptism) although the child never drew breath.
Limbo also complicates the Church's teaching on abortion. At what point does a soul begin to exist? The teaching has never been that miscarriages have had a soul, no official rite has ever been widely used to aid the soul of a naturally aborted foetus, yet an abortion by human intervention at the same point of pregnancy is deemed to be murder by the church.
Stillborn children again, officially, could not be baptised as they had never enjoyed self supporting life. But did they have a soul?
Theologians have argued these points for centuries. The problem with designing complicated myths is that solving one problem always opens up other cans of worms.
If there is a controlling, loving or even a disinterested creator, he/she/it is far removed from the myths promulgated by a group of very powerful and twisted people living in luxury in Rome and other centres of the Church.
Definitions:
Heaven. A place for the "Just" to live with, and in the glory of, God forever.
Purgatory. A place where souls who die in a "state of grace" suffer punishment for a given time for sins for which they have repented, before they can be admitted to Heaven. Used to be that all Catholics expect some time in Purgatory.
Hell. A place of eteernal punishment for those who would not repent their sins. At times the Church has said all non Catholics would go to Hell but it is generally held that only those who are truly evil and will not repent of serious sin are punished this way.
Limbo, a place where those who die before being baptised and being able to make their own decisions (generally held to be children under 7) spend eternity, in a neutral state. Stated to be on the edge of Hell.
From the Dark Ages it was held that all who died after living a good life prior to Jesus dying on the cross went to a place on the edge of Hell, formalised later as Limbo, and when, according to the Creed, Jesus descended to Hell, he actually went to Limbo to collect the souls of the just and lead them to Heaven.
Actually the definition of Limbo was invented just prior to the Reformation.
People across Europe were questioning the faith, baptisms were falling and the Church wanted to ensure children were baptised. As they preached that children under 7 could not, of themselves, do wrong any child under that age, which died and was not baptised, would go to Hell due to Original Sin.
This had caused great consternation as it seemed the massive number of children who died in their early years in those days would suffer damnation just for being born.
Limbo was invented as a gentler place - still somewhere no "right minded" parent would want a child to end up -as Limbo would still be seen as an imperfect place to be. At the same time, Limbo conveniently answered an age old question about the whereabouts of the "just" prior to Christ's redemption.
Now it is to go. Having screwed up generations of Catholic mothers, my own included, who insisted her stillborn 4th child was baptised by the midwife (conditional baptism) although the child never drew breath.
Limbo also complicates the Church's teaching on abortion. At what point does a soul begin to exist? The teaching has never been that miscarriages have had a soul, no official rite has ever been widely used to aid the soul of a naturally aborted foetus, yet an abortion by human intervention at the same point of pregnancy is deemed to be murder by the church.
Stillborn children again, officially, could not be baptised as they had never enjoyed self supporting life. But did they have a soul?
Theologians have argued these points for centuries. The problem with designing complicated myths is that solving one problem always opens up other cans of worms.
If there is a controlling, loving or even a disinterested creator, he/she/it is far removed from the myths promulgated by a group of very powerful and twisted people living in luxury in Rome and other centres of the Church.
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Sam Slater
- Posts: 11624
- Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:40 am
Re: Limbo abolished
If God is real, wouldn't it be his job to abolish limbo, and not the churches?
!laugh!
!laugh!
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