LOL look at the comments at how many people are saying "atheists can't get in!" So much hate for anyone that's not like them. It's unbelieveable how special they need to feel. If atheists get in, I guess they wouldn't feel "special." What happened to loving your fellow man? lol oh well.
lol maybe this Pope has the right idea about love: "Basically, anybody can get in regardless of what you believe or not believe." But, some of those people in the comments don't seem to care.
Can you imagine if there is a God and he rewards atheists and throws theists in Hell? The people who say, "Theists can't get in!" would be just as hateful. I can also see the theists calling us hateful if we said that lol I would stick up for the theists if that was the case and try to convince God to let them in too. I wouldn't want to see them suffer just for having a different belief.
Yeah, but the ones who are in it truly for "the love of God" would keep practicing their religion. If someone actually says, "Well screw my faith now. It's not needed," then that shows they were just worshipping for the reward as opposed to true love.
I don't want to go to heaven. That being said, good on the Pope for his interpretation. Now it's up to individual Christians to focus more on doing good than getting into heaven. They can start by giving up on the idea of telling anyone they will burn in hell. They can start by letting atheists hold office and generally exist without condemnation or discrimination. So congratulations to the Pope on his enlightenment. It's already evident that his tolerance will not spread here, and might even spark greater intolerance. I wonder how many people out there are saying shit like "the pope is an atheist... they got to our pope" etc.
Theists should be happy for this development. They no longer have to suffer through atheists complaining that God doesn't actually care about righteousness. Taking away the belief component now puts the afterlife squarely in the realm of a moral judgement. I would not stick up for anyone I agreed was immoral.
This isn't new. The Catholic Church has said something similar for a while now. I think he may have just expanded their previous stance on the issue.
If there is a god i'm sure it would have some form of judgment that is smart enough to decide someone's fate based on their morals and overall personality and view towards humanity instead of sending people to hell just for not believing in something. at least i hope so. if not that is not the kind of god i want.
yeah. its kind of an insult really to accept the notion that you have to believe in god or you go to hell. game show god. you answer the question wrong, and a trapdoor opens... it's an arbitrary and insulting concept and i'm glad to see someone with that authority trying to put it behind them. at least if you believe in judgement i hope the primary requirement is a good character rather than sameness of religion.
Religion is a bit more involved than that. It isn't some humanistic doctrine and at the same time it's not suppose to be a rigid fundamentalism. At it's core, religion is about the mystical experience.
Sure why not, it is only the church and not their holy texts that says you go to heaven when we die, I guess it is up to the pope to decide how things work
Was wondering when GC would start talking about this. I think it's awesome, really. Loved the comments from the christians, like 'heeey!, we NEED atheists to go to hell! they cant join our club!" I never thought I would like any pope, but I like the direction he's going. He made an announcement before this about having a poor church, to help poor people. I don't see the catholic church giving away ALL of their funds, but it would be nice to see a dramatic downgrade in the aesthetics of the institution. Not going to make me a believer by any means of the imagination, but at least the teachings of LOVE and ACCEPTANCE are actually being implemented.