Pope About to Abolish Limbo

[Skeptic]

According to this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5406552.stm) article.

Thinking about Dante's picture of hell as deeper and deeper circles of which Limbo is the first, I suppose that the question now is, "How low can they go"?

[Bikewer]

I saw that on another board as well. I had thought that the Catholics did away with Limbo some time ago... Guess I havn't kept up.

I reckoned that they invented Limbo to adress the paradox of how innocent people get sent to Hell just because they are ignorant of Christianity.

I have pointed out before that many millions (perhaps billions) of people have lived out their lives and died after JC did his thing, all in utter innocence of anything to do with Christianity.

[Zep]

...I suppose that the question now is, "How low can they go"?There's two answers, both sarcastic, I'm afraid:

1) About a corgi.

2) It's circles all the way down.

[Lothian]

He was supposed to make the announcement yesterday (or the day before) but didn’t. So the fate of limbo is……in limbo

[Zep]

He was supposed to make the announcement yesterday (or the day before) but didn’t. So the fate of limbo is……in limboKindly don't do that again.

Thank you.

[jmercer]

I reckoned that they invented Limbo to adress the paradox of how innocent people get sent to Hell just because they are ignorant of Christianity.

I have pointed out before that many millions (perhaps billions) of people have lived out their lives and died after JC did his thing, all in utter innocence of anything to do with Christianity.

No, you're thinking of Purgatory. Purgatory is for people who are innocent, but not forgiven by Christ. (Because they're either not Christians, or haven't asked for forgiveness, or were lapsed and so forth.) These people supposedly conducted themselves in a so-called "rightous" manner during their lives and didn't sin significantly enough to go to Hell. They supposedly suffer the same agonies of Hell in Purgatory, but it's not endless; eventually they're "purified" and make their way into Heaven. This was to answer the questions about people who died just before mass, or who were "good" people even though they didn't go to church, etc., etc.

Limbo was created to deal with the issues of stillborn babies, or babies that died before baptism. Effectively, it was create to deal with the issue of a God condemning innocent babies to either Purgatory or Hell due to "original sin".

Nice, isn't it? :rolleyes:

[Beerina]

Scroll down that link to the picture of the Pope, all in white, blessing something or other. Who does he remind you of?

Yes! The Emperor from Star Wars! "Help me, Ani! I'm so weak, help me. Ahhhh....And now, experience true power!" ka-zampf!

[Michael C]

Apparently he's done it. See:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21595262-663,00.html

Is the decision retroactive? All those people who were hanging around in limbo will now be waiting at heaven's gates: should be quite a crowd!

And note that the article quotes the Pope as having said (in 1984) that limbo is a mere "hypothesis." I wonder what other aspects of the Catholic faith will turn out to be mere hypotheses. Resurrection? Virgin birth? God himself?

[Cheesejoff]

Scroll down that link to the picture of the Pope, all in white, blessing something or other. Who does he remind you of?

Yes! The Emperor from Star Wars! "Help me, Ani! I'm so weak, help me. Ahhhh....And now, experience true power!" ka-zampf!

http://jokes4all.net/funpics/pope_star_wars.jpg

I knew it!

[darnell11]

So...the pope then, doesn't speak for god, he is god. The pope has decided, since most people don't think it's fair that babies who die without being baptised go to limbo, he's going to allow them to go to heaven instead. Wouldn't that be playing god on his part? Kinda proves that god isn't whispearing in his ears about these sorts of things. Because if he was, nothing about their religion and beliefs could be changed-cuz god said so.

Why not just say...we don't know what happens to those babies...but we will find out when we die and go back to heaven, so let's not tell everyone their innocent dead babies are being denied entry to heaven. That way at least he isn't punching anymore holes into the credibility of his religion.

[Belz...]

Does this mean that the previous divine relevations about Limbo were wrong ?

Or do we just make it up as we go ?

[KingMerv00]

He's just jealous that he can't get that big hat under the bar.

[headscratcher4]

According to this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5406552.stm) article.

Thinking about Dante's picture of hell as deeper and deeper circles of which Limbo is the first, I suppose that the question now is, "How low can they go"?

Can steele drum music and capri pants be far behind. Beware Harry Belefonte.

[strathmeyer]

So...the pope then, doesn't speak for god, he is god. The pope has decided, since most people don't think it's fair that babies who die without being baptised go to limbo, he's going to allow them to go to heaven instead. Wouldn't that be playing god on his part? Kinda proves that god isn't whispearing in his ears about these sorts of things. Because if he was, nothing about their religion and beliefs could be changed-cuz god said so.

I think it's less of a "everything is changing" thing and more of a "uhhh, things were always this way but we just recently found out about it so now we're all just going to pretend that things were always this way" thing.

[YouBelieveWHAT?]

So - an infallible Pope says Limbo doesn't exist, in spite of previous infallible Popes who would apppear to have thought otherwise.

yup - that's clear now.....

However, this example of danceism is clearly to be deplored - whatever next? :)

YBW

[Complexity]

Limbo is not going to take this lying down.

Limbo doesn't see any particular need for a Pope.

On this one topic, Limbo and I agree.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

Does this mean that the previous divine relevations about Limbo were wrong ?

Or do we just make it up as we go ?

That is a terrible allegation to make, are you really implying the catholic church just makes things up? :eek:

[Belz...]

Constantly.

[ImaginalDisc]

This Just In

Pope declares unbaptised babies no longer sent to Limbo. Twister is now their ultimate fate.

Right hand, green!

[Tanstaafl]

I think this is great. I never liked that damn dance anyway.

I guess I'm just not limber enough.