Hell prediction suit

[arcticpenguin]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=2&u=/nm/20030717/od_nm/odd_funeral_dc

SANTA FE, N.M (Reuters) - A New Mexico family is suing their local Catholic church over a funeral Mass in which they claim a priest said their relative was only a middling Catholic and going straight to hell.
...
Court papers filed last month say that Rev. Scott Mansfield said at Martinez's funeral last year that the deceased was "living in sin," "lukewarm in his faith" and that "the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell."
...
Nine members of the Martinez family are seeking punitive and compensatory damages for severe emotional and physical suffering. Lawyers did not say how much the family was seeking in damages.

I don't know which side bears the burden of proof on Mr. Martinez's actual post-life location.

[Brown]

I spoke with a minster last year about how he handles a funeral in which the deceased was a jerk.

The most important thing, he said, is not to lie. The people attending the funeral know a lot more about the deceased than you do, and they will spot any BS at once.

As I recall, however, he did not favor the idea of claiming to pronounce the Almighty's judgment upon the deceased's soul, nor did he favor the idea of insulting the deceased, even if he was personally confident that the world was a better place without him.

In the case of a deceased who was an incredibly offensive jerk, the minister tactfully remarked that he didn't know the deceased very well.

[calladus]

If he had a Get out of Hell Free card (http://www.goohf.com/) it wouldn't matter!

[I'll_buy_that]

I found this completely irresponsible of the preist. In the church he has no authority to judge this man. (for those that believe)

funerals and burials are for the living, not the deceased. It gives the family time to greive and to have some closure on the persons life. What right did this preist have in upsetting the family and what good does it do?

My guess is he was trying the old religion line (catholics are the worst at it) of scaring people into the faith. "You will go to hell if you are not a catholic; not just a christian" It was insensitive to the man's family. Maybe he was a nice guy.

Never mind that the whole story of God above in the clouds and hell below in the earth is a rediculous childish view.

JMNSHO (just my not so humble opinion)

[pgwenthold]

Originally posted by I'll_buy_that
I found this completely irresponsible of the preist. In the church he has no authority to judge this man. (for those that believe)



OTOH, it is not uncommon for people (including priests) at funerals to declare that someone was a good person, and that they are likely enjoying their reward with god right now.

Why should that be acceptable?

[EdipisReks]

when i read the thread title, i pictured a suit of clothing that made predictions about hell. that would have been cool ;)

[Blue Monk]

the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell


While the priest's actions are apalling you have to give the guy credit for being able to turn a colorful phrase.

I'll have to remember this one for the next happy hour.

[zakur]

I remember reading about a similar incident once...[searches]...Oh, yes, here (http://www.thereader.com/createpage.asp?ContentID=654) it is:Loxley, Ala., street preacher Orlando Bethel, who was scheduled to sing at the June funeral of his wife's uncle, was beaten by parishioners and physically tossed from the Pine Grove Baptist Church after he screamed from the pulpit that the deceased was a "drunkard" and a "fornicator" and was now "burning in Hell" and that the parishioners would be right behind him. Bethel defended his outburst by claiming that the "Holy Ghost" had ordered him to tell the truth.More on this incident here (http://muffin.cocula.com:8080/kitchen/story/2002/7/10/1747/26062).

[zakur]

From that second link I posted:"He almost got killed," Glynis Bethel said. She said her husband was seriously injured and she later found him "balled up in an embryo position.":dl:

[Brown]

Originally posted by Blue Monk
While the priest's actions are apalling you have to give the guy credit for being able to turn a colorful phrase. Actually, I think phrases like this appear in the Bible, in the books of Jonah and Revelation.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by Brown
Actually, I think phrases like this appear in the Bible, in the books of Jonah and Revelation.
Yeah, but he was a Catholic, what would he know about the Bible? :p

[whitefork]

Reminds me of that old joke whose punchline is

"Well, his brother was worse".

[Blue Monk]

Originally posted by Brown
Actually, I think phrases like this appear in the Bible, in the books of Jonah and Revelation.

Uhoh! Isn't plagiarism a sin?

I think it's right up there with downloading mp3s.

[I'll_buy_that]

Originally posted by pgwenthold


OTOH, it is not uncommon for people (including priests) at funerals to declare that someone was a good person, and that they are likely enjoying their reward with god right now.

Why should that be acceptable?

Only becuase, as I said, the funeral is for the living to give the deceased's relatives comfort and time for grieving.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

A New Mexico family is suing their local Catholic church over a funeral Mass in which they claim a priest said their relative was only a middling Catholic and going straight to hell.
Or, they could decide the entire idea was utter nonsense and not worry about it at all. No way! Sue the bastages!

~~ Paul

[Jethro]

Originally posted by EdipisReks
when i read the thread title, i pictured a suit of clothing that made predictions about hell. that would have been cool ;) I misread it as Hell Protection Suit. I was picturing the kind of suit vulcanologists wear.

[rwald]

Originally posted by Jethro
I misread it as Hell Protection Suit. I was picturing the kind of suit vulcanologists wear. Whew! I'm not the only one who thought that!