The salvation of atheists?

[St_Francis]

Jimmy Akin wrote this blog post, and I am confused by it.

I think he is saying, well, the Church doesn’t want to alienate atheists so we don’t want to say that atheists are treading a dangerous line here, so we’ll be Jesuitical about it and not say anything straightforwardly.

This seems wrong to me. It seems to me that we (Catholics) would be better off saying: this is what the Church teaches, and explain that plainly. Yes, it might be a medium-sized paragraph, but it would be *clear. *As it is, it seems to me that we are being *unclear, *by sort of minimizing the importance of this, and that this could very well lead to the eternal loss of souls.

OTOH, I also realize that I am a personality type concerned most thoroughly with words as a medium of communication and that others are more affected by different aspects of communication, so I thought i would see what others think about this, or even if I am totally off the wall on my understanding.

 

[RPRPsych]

Jimmy Akin’s blog posts are often aimed at clarifying news stories about the Church.

In this case, I don’t think he goes so far as to say “let’s equivocate”. He was addressing a specific situation - a dialogue between Pope Francis and a confirmed atheist. Pope Francis wasn’t saying that atheists would necessarily be saved (horribile dictu) or even that they had a good hope of salvation; rather, he was trying to approach the question in a charitable spirit, and hopefully lead his interlocutor a few steps forward along the way. (Think of St. Paul’s sermon to the skeptical and superstitious Athenians in Acts 17: he’s affirming the truth, but doing it charitably.)

The Church has often affirmed its traditional teaching on salvation, even in recent documents such as Lumen Gentium and Dominus Iesus. However, an interview or dialogue with a member of the secular press isn’t really the same thing.

 

[phil19034]

Jimmy Akin wrote this blog post, and I am confused by it.

I think he is saying, well, the Church doesn’t want to alienate atheists so we don’t want to say that atheists are treading a dangerous line here, so we’ll be Jesuitical about it and not say anything straightforwardly.

This seems wrong to me. It seems to me that we (Catholics) would be better off saying: this is what the Church teaches, and explain that plainly. Yes, it might be a medium-sized paragraph, but it would be *clear. *As it is, it seems to me that we are being *unclear, *by sort of minimizing the importance of this, and that this could very well lead to the eternal loss of souls.

OTOH, I also realize that I am a personality type concerned most thoroughly with words as a medium of communication and that others are more affected by different aspects of communication, so I thought i would see what others think about this, or even if I am totally off the wall on my understanding.

I’ve read this blog before and I agree with what the previous poster stated.

I also believe I heard Jimmy talk about this blog. Or someone else talking about the Holy Father’s comments. Jimmy (or the other person) stated that the Catholic Church teaches what was reveled to us regarding how one gets to Heaven. However, Jesus knows our hearts. If Jesus wants to let in a good person who is an atheist, then that is Jesus’ prerogative. The Church is not saying that this happens or doesn’t happen. But if it does, it will be Jesus who makes an “exception” for this person based on that person’s heart.

In summary, we know what the “rules” are. But Jesus is God and God can break His own rules if He chooses to. However, we have no proof if He does make exceptions or doesn’t for a “good atheist.”

I hope this makes sense and is clear. God Bless

 

[St_Francis]

Thanks, Psych and Phil Now I understand better what the Pope was doing.

 

[Tom_Baum]

As I have said before and I say again, “God is a searcher of hearts and minds, not of religious affiliations or lack thereof” and “It is important what one does and why one does it and what one knows”

Jesus Is the Saviour of the world and it is a shame that so few believe it and much more of a shame that so few even want it to be.