J
JDaniel
Guest
DH:Maybe not, but maybe Unitarian Universalism is.
Iâm very glad to hear that you got your life back on the right track. Naturally, I donât believe that atheism necessarily implies the denial of conscience, but I can certainly see why it would appeal to accept both together.
I appreciate your compliments â youâve definitely corrected many misconceptions I had about Aristotelian and Thomist metaphysics.
Hereâs a thought-provoker which probably belongs in a separate thread: Assume that I decide that theism is better than atheism. What is there for me in Catholicism if I cannot, in good conscience, worship a God who does not preside over a system of universal reconciliation? This is not a hope of salvation for all; it is a demand, a prerequisite.
Thank you for your kind words.
Your âthought provokerâ is another tough one. I donât mind taking a stab at it, but, only if you will always bear mind that I am not well versed in the exigencies of the belief systems of the many religions of the world. Also, I herewith concurrently ask for help from any Catholics with better understanding of our reconciliation with others extant in the world.
As I understand you, you are âdemandingâ that God, insofar as the Catholic Church is the Church that the Christ fashioned by committing to Peter (Rock) the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, figure out a way to open up reconciliation for salvation to each and every person ever born, or ever to be born, on at least the planet Earth. On my life, I cannot imagine how I, or the Church, could cause God to do our will. That being said, it seems to me, as I imperfectly as I understand our Faith, that there are few, or no, other Churches that accomplish the proximity to that with such exactness.
First, the Catholic Church has as part of its earthly model, a course of reconciliation like no other on earth. The Catholic Church has instituted the mechanism of reconciliation, not only as a mechanism whereby anyone and everyone can be forgiven of their grave trespasses against God, but also, by its understanding that Christ intended it to be more than a simple âmechanismâ. The Church has rightly understood it to be a Sacrament.
What is the significance of Penance being a Sacrament? It is significant because it is made an exigency that fulfills at least two necessities for efficacy. First, it is something not simply left to the intellects of men to learn of it haphazardly, thus provoking reconciliationâs potential for failure, or the possibility for recurrent failures that might negate it at the moment of death. It is an outward sign that this is the manner through which one is going to be reconciled for salvation and simultaneously protected from the clutches of Satan, whose entire purpose is to prevent oneâs salvation. So, in the Catholic Church, it is not only the methodology towards salvation, it is a shield, in a sense, from recurrent temptation.
Second, it is the âmarriage ringâ, as an outward sign, that binds us, in a way, with God and God with us. It is Godâs assurance to us that we can have reconciliation while at the same time it hopes that we will assure God that we werenât deceiving Him when we asked for it.
In the process of Godâs revelation, He did not say to us that we could get away with anything and be with Him in Heaven. But, He did say to us that if we were truly remorseful and desirous of reconciliation, we could. He is our Father. A good father will be a forgiving father. But, there has to come a point. An old saying goes, âI am willing to go to the wall for you. Please donât make me climb it, too.â If a human being rejects God, Heaven and salvation - all the way to his death - is he still to be forgiven and allowed in? If he embraces Satan and abhors God, is he still to be allowed in despite not having any real remorse whatsoever? Not only does God say âNoâ to that, even I, His humble servant, think it does not make sense.
There exists many ways to be purged of grave sin prior to death, as far as the Catholic Church is concerned. Obviously, the first is the mechanism of acts of reconciliation. Then, there is the state of the soul when the bad act was committed; it the act was not understood to be grave sin during the life of the actor, he would be in a state of invincible ignorance. Obviously this would apply to those acts that reasonably could not have been known to be grave sins by any other means, such as natural law, e.g., missing Church on Sunday. If one didnât know missing church was a grave sin, he is blameless. However, if one is a murderer by profession, each of his murders is a grave sin that cannot be forgiven by invincible ignorance. Even atheists know murder is wrong.
Neither the Church nor I would have any idea of how we would get God to repeal his revelations regarding punishment for grave sins and crimes. Neither the church nor I would be able to get God to accept someone into his Heaven by some sort of demand. But, to that extent, He has provided another form of temporary atonement for those whose sins were very bad, but, were absolved, or, for those whose reconciliations were imperfect. This is called Purgatory.
So, it seems to me that there is no other church that has historically provided all of these mechanisms to salvation. If one thinks about it, the existence of all of these leaves little room for slippage. Almost anyone can receive assurance of salvation, under the Catholic faith.
jd
