I’m an atheist. My Catholic father thinks I’ll go to heaven

  • Thread starter Thread starter WillPhillips
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
InternalRhyme said:
This is the dictionary definition of agnosticism: “a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena”.
Click to expand...
Do you have anything to add to my question?

But yes, I can not claim to know (ie a-gnostic). I don’t know (since I can’t prove it). I’m clearly not a theist as well, right?

I don’t know. I don’t believe. I’m agnostic. I’m atheist.
 
I’d think that most responses to this inquiry would have been exhausted by now. What exactly are you looking for that you didn’t already get?
 
VanitasVanitatum said:
I’d think that most responses to this inquiry would have been exhausted by now. What exactly are you looking for that you didn’t already get?
Click to expand...
Out of the 200+ responses here, only a handful of honest, empathetic answers (including these, and yours). Its not been very helpful at all. I’m not the one who keeps responding.
 
Here is a LINK to a rather detailed history by Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. In it, he outlines the teaching about who can be saved, and how thar doctrine has developed over the years. Near the end he summarizes like this:

“Who, then, can be saved? Catholics can be saved if they believe the Word of God as taught by the Church and if they obey the commandments. Other Christians can be saved if they submit their lives to Christ and join the community where they think he wills to be found. Jews can be saved if they look forward in hope to the Messiah and try to ascertain whether God’s promise has been fulfilled. Adherents of other religions can be saved if, with the help of grace, they sincerely seek God and strive to do his will. Even atheists can be saved if they worship God under some other name and place their lives at the service of truth and justice.”
 
WillPhillips said:
Yes. A “citation” is most definitely not referring to posts on a message board.
Click to expand...
Connect the dots, my friend. 😉

The OP says his father thinks he will go to heaven, even though he’s a Catholic who is now an atheist. @JimG pointed to one ‘Catholic’ who would agree (on account of his misguided support for universalism). The link discusses, among other things, that ‘apokatastasis’ – that is, the teaching that all go to heaven – is incorrect.

So… yeah. What makes that ‘unreliable’? 🤔
What do you think about my original question?
Click to expand...
Which question? About ‘resumes’? I already answered that one.
 
JimG said:
Here is a LINK to a rather detailed history by Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. In it, he outlines the teaching about who can be saved, and how thar doctrine has developed over the years. Near the end he summarizes like this:

“Who, then, can be saved? Catholics can be saved if they believe the Word of God as taught by the Church and if they obey the commandments. Other Christians can be saved if they submit their lives to Christ and join the community where they think he wills to be found. Jews can be saved if they look forward in hope to the Messiah and try to ascertain whether God’s promise has been fulfilled. Adherents of other religions can be saved if, with the help of grace, they sincerely seek God and strive to do his will. Even atheists can be saved if they worship God under some other name and place their lives at the service of truth and justice.”
Click to expand...
Appreciate the link but yeah that’s a lot. Cliff notes anywhere by chance? Thank you for responding to my question (I’ll look into him more).
 
Gorgias said:
Connect the dots, my friend. 😉

The OP says his father thinks he will go to heaven, even though he’s a Catholic who is now an atheist. @JimG pointed to one ‘Catholic’ who would agree (on account of his misguided support for universalism). The link discusses, among other things, that ‘apokatastasis’ – that is, the teaching that all go to heaven – is incorrect.
Click to expand...
What dots? (And what are you winking at? Someone being eternally tortured?) Also, I’m the OP. I (think) I agree with your interpretation of Catholic teaching. I’m asking for catholic rebuttals to that thinking.
 
Gorgias said:
40.png
WillPhillips:
Also, I’m the OP.
Click to expand...
LOL! 255 posts later, I’d forgotten. 😉
Click to expand...
Hilarious. You’re going to hell and I’m laughing out loud in all caps at your sincerity. Wink wink wink
 
Sorry, looks like it’s beating a dead horse at this point. Thank you all for your comments 👍
 
WillPhillips said:
Hilarious. You’re going to hell and I’m laughing out loud in all caps at your sincerity. Wink wink wink
Click to expand...
You don’t believe in God, right? So… you don’t believe in hell, right?

And, I’m laughing at my mistake. Not yours. 😉
 
The context of the wink seems to imply something else.
 
Last edited:
Gorgias said:
40.png
WillPhillips:
Hilarious. You’re going to hell and I’m laughing out loud in all caps at your sincerity. Wink wink wink
Click to expand...
You don’t believe in God, right? So… you don’t believe in hell, right?

And, I’m laughing at my mistake. Not yours. 😉
Click to expand...
Correct. Correct. Can you see what I was trying to convey with that sarcasm?

Also, your mistake was not worthy of laughter, fyi
 
It looks like sarcasm and not like he is laughing at the possibility of people going to hell.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top