The Theory of Limbo

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So, there are some Catholics who believe in the theory of Limbo.

There are a good number of reasons why I tend to be skeptical of it. One reason being that, when the new Heaven and the new Earth come, where would the resurrected dead who ended up in Limbo go? We are obligated to believe that we either go to Heaven (with possible purification in purgatory), or Hell after death and will likewise be resurrected to glorified life in Heaven or condemned to the “second death” of Hell. I’m not sure, hypothetically, where this would leave Limbo.

Just curious speculation on my part but I’m curious what others think…
 
roseproject said:
So, there are some Catholics who believe in the theory of Limbo.

There are a good number of reasons why I tend to be skeptical of it. One reason being that, when the new Heaven and the new Earth come, where would the resurrected dead who ended up in Limbo go? We are obligated to believe that we either go to Heaven (with possible purification in purgatory), or Hell after death and will likewise be resurrected to glorified life in Heaven or condemned to the “second death” of Hell. I’m not sure, hypothetically, where this would leave Limbo.

Just curious speculation on my part but I’m curious what others think…
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If you mean Limbo for Infants it has never been Church doctrine. It was only ever a theological hypothesis. Catholics are and always have been free to believe in it or not.
The Church does not know what happens to unbaptised infants, including the unborn, who die which is why the Church simply teaches that these infants are entrusted to the mercy of God.
 
Yeah, I know that. I just know that some people do seriously consider it a possibility and wanted to hear their take on it 🙂
 
I think they would just go back to limbo. Limbo is considered a part of hell so everyone is still going either to heaven or hell.
 
Well the theory is that Limbo of the Infants is the outer most part of hell, free of punishment, etc. a happy place, but void of the Beatific Vision.

The theory fits in with the theory about the 4 parts of hell (according to St Thomas)
  1. the inner or lower most part is Gehenna, where the devil, demons and the damned are
  2. Purgatory
  3. Limbo of the Fathers (where the OT Saints were until Jesus brought them to Heaven). Also called Abraham’s Bosom
  4. Limbo of the Children (or Infants) is the outermost part of hell.
Dr Taylor Marshall does a great job describing it here:


My GUESS is that after the final judgment, God would allow the children in Limbo to join Him since He allowed the ones in Purgatory and Limbo of the Fathers to enter.

God Bless
 
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RedDuke said:
I think they would just go back to limbo. Limbo is considered a part of hell so everyone is still going either to heaven or hell.
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Maybe not, because Purgatory and Limbo of the Fathers are part of hell too
 
Yes, but it wouldn’t make sense to me if God did that since those in the children’s limbo are in a different state than those in purgatory or the father’s limbo. The Summa says “For children have no hope of the blessed life, as the Fathers in limbo had, in whom, moreover, shone forth the light of faith and grace”. It’s of course possible, but I personally don’t think He will.
 
phil19034 said:
Maybe not, because Purgatory and Limbo of the Fathers are part of hell too
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Purgatory is NOT part of Hell. Nobody can escape Hell. Purgatory means you have been saved. Nobody in Hell is or can be saved.
 
I believe it exists because;

Only baptized persons (either by water, desire, or blood) can enter into heaven. A lot of babies who die (particularly aborted ones) haven’t been baptized, so they can’t go to heaven. At the same time, they never sinned or did evil, because they weren’t capable of doing so, so they don’t merit hell either. Therefore, there must be an in-between.
 
You’re speaking of Hell with a capital H. The guy you are responding to is speaking of hell with a lower case h. This latter use of the word hell refers to the place of the dead, not necessarily the place of the damned. When we say in the Creed that Jesus “descended into hell,” we are referring to this latter lower case hell, in which He preached to the spirits in prison there and led a host of captives free. They were not in Hell; but they were in hell.
 
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roseproject said:
…
Just curious speculation on my part but I’m curious what others think…
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Theories

Before St. Augustine - St. Gregory, intermediate state admissible without Beatific Vision.

From St. Augustine to Abelard - Abelard rejected material torment and retained only the pain of loss as the eternal punishment of original sin. Unbaptized infants share in the common positive misery of the damned but of the mildest form.

From St. Abelard to St. Thomas Aquinas - limbus infantium is a place or state of perfect natural happiness.

Council of Florence, that “the souls of those dying in actual mortal sin or in original sin alone go down at once (mox) into Hell, to be punished, however, with widely different penalties.” Which is to say no Beatific Vision for them and this occurs immediately.
 
phil19034 said:
Well the theory is that Limbo of the Infants is the outer most part of hell, free of punishment, etc. a happy place, but void of the Beatific Vision.
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That was one of the theories. Another was that it was part of heaven, but without the Beatific Vision.

That’s the problem with the notion of “limbo”. It forces us to add doctrines that are neither Scriptural nor part of Apostolic Tradition.

Remember – as @Vico pointed out, the original thought was that it was a ‘third destination’ (until the Church weighed in and reminded us that there are only two final destinations). Then, those who wished to proclaim a ‘limbo’ for the unbaptized had to “find” a place for it. Nothing really works very well, though. “A part of hell that isn’t hellish” doesn’t quite work, but it’s the best that limbo devotees can come up with. 🤷‍♂️
 
thistle said:
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phil19034:
Maybe not, because Purgatory and Limbo of the Fathers are part of hell too
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Purgatory is NOT part of Hell. Nobody can escape Hell. Purgatory means you have been saved. Nobody in Hell is or can be saved.
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No, watch the video I posted. What we typically call Hell is Gehenna, which no one can leave. But the underworld (relm of the dead) has 4 sections according to St Thomas. At least 2 of them people can leave and enter Heaven before the end of time. Only one of them (Gehenna) is where the damned stay for eternity.

Note: this is also why man Eastern Orthodox says that some people don’t stay in hell forever, because they view purgatory as part of hell (not Gehenna) and don’t use the word purgatory to refer to the exact same place.
 
Limbo as a third final destination, which is neither heaven and hell, does not work, theologically, for many reasons, including the reason you stated (the general resurrection).

Limbo as a fringe of Hell is implied by the teaching of the Church on dying in a state of original sin alone. However, the Church has never defined that infants go there. Adults in that place would be resurrected with the rest of the unjust souls in Hell, given bodies, and then sent to the second death of a Hell fit for body and soul.
 
thistle said:
If you mean Limbo for Infants it has never been Church doctrine. It was only ever a theological hypothesis.
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It’s not even that.

When Augustine wrote about the absolute necessity of baptism, he wrote a note in the margin (the “limbus” in Latin) asking, “but what about newborn babies?”

The whole concept of “Limbo” comes from the note in the limbus.

hawk
 
Limbo is Hell, albeit the highest level and with none of the suffering.
 
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