74 - The Catholic Church goes to Confession

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Church leader have long known how to deal with evidence, stories, facts, and events that contradict the stories they peddle. They simply ignore them. By intentionally not saying something, the speaker/writer's intention is to be deceptive, Intentional deception is called a lie of omission.

As you surely know, the Catholic Church makes a big deal about being truthful and about not lying. Apparently, deceiving the public by not speaking life-changing truths is excluded from the Catholic Church's list of sins.

I'm about to share with you an example of a lie of omission and a small piece of the truth that I'll bet you've never heard. I've been a student of religion and spirituality for more years than most most people have been alive, and in the 12 years since Pope John Paul made the profound statement that I'm about to share with you, I knew nothing of of it until a chance, side comment brought it to my attention in December 2011.

Here's the story:

Roman Catholic Theology tell us (and all the present Catholic Church leaders continue to publically agree) that in matters of the church, the Pope is infallible.

In July of 1999, Pope John Paul II told the world that hell is not a physical place, but rather it is symbolic and figurative. He said that hell means a separation from the joyful communion with God.

In the annals of Catholic history, Pope John Paul's statement is among the most profound, and yet it's been intentionally ignore, buried, and largely forgotten. Here's the kicker:

If the Pope is infallible, then the Christian Bible is not the literal word of God. Why not? Because an active, infallible pope in the Roman Catholic Church said that a vitally important piece of Christian Bible was not to be taken literally. If hell is not a real place beneath our feet, then where are (and what happened to) all the millions of people who are reported to be in residence there?

What about the Christian heaven which, according to Christian theology, is above the clouds of planet Earth? Could that also be symbolic and figurative? Could heaven also be a state of mind instead of a physical place?

The evidence tells us that the Pope stuck a knife in the heart of the Christian fairytale. His statement created another internal conflict in Christian theology, this one at the core of Christianity, itself.

On the other side, if the Christian Bible really is the literal word of God, then the Pope is not infallible. Has the pope made and error in a matter of the Church? Is that possible? Does this means that some of the Papal proclamations have been wrong? Does this means we can't simply trust that the supreme head of Roman catholic Church is telling us the truth? If that's true, then we are pushed into the ultimate no-no of Christianity, thinking for ourselves.

The Pope can't be infallible and in error at the same time. The Christian Bible can't be literal and symbolic at the same time.

So, where is the truth? The evidence directs us to the conclusion that the belief in the Pope's infallibility and the belief that the Bible is the literal word of God are both false.

But then, that's just what the evidence point to. Since God is all powerful, perhaps He has performed another magic act and made both of these stories true at the same time.

How do us mere mortals deal with things of this nature? We simply ignore them. But ignoring the evidence doesn't make it go away. It simply piles another shovel full of manure onto the foul smelling mountain of Christian hypocrisy.

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An Internet Page on this Topic

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From: http://www.ovrlnd.com/Cults/poprejectshell.html

Found on line December 2011

POPE JOHN PAUL II REJECTS REALITY OF A LITERAL HELL

During his weekly address to the general audience of 8,500 people at the Vatican on July 28, 1999, Pope John Paul II rejected the reality of a physical, literal hell as a place of eternal fire and torment. Rather, the pope said hell is separation, even in this life, from the joyful communion with God. According to an official Vatican transcript of the pope's speech, Pope John Paul II noted that the Scriptural references to hell and the images portrayed by Scripture are only symbolic and figurative of "the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God."

He added, "Rather than a physical place, hell is the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy."

He said hell is "a condition resulting from attitudes and actions which people adopt in this life."

Concerning the concept of eternal damnation, the pope said, "Damnation consists precisely in definitive separation from God, freely chosen by the human person, and confirmed with death that seals his choice for ever." The pope also added, "The thought of hell and even less the improper use of biblical images must not create anxiety or despair." Rather, he stated, it is a reminder of the freedom found in Christ.

The Religion News Service reported that a Vatican-approved editorial published several weeks ago in the Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica agrees with the pope's latest pronouncement. The editorial explicitly pronounced, "Hell exists, not as a place but as a state, a way of being of the person who suffers the pain of the deprivation of God" (Los Angeles Times, 7-31-99). The pope said eternal damnation is "not God's work but is actually our own doing." Only a week earlier the pope stated that heaven is neither "an abstraction nor a place in the clouds, but a living, personal relationship of union with the Holy Trinity. "

Such a statement on hell is strikingly similar to that made by Billy Graham several years ago in which he was quoted,

The only thing I could say for sure is that hell means separation from God. We are separated from his light, from his fellowship. That is going to be hell. When it comes to a literal fire, I don't preach it because I'm not sure about it. When the Scripture uses fire concerning hell, that is possibly an illustration of how terrible it's going to be-not fire but something worse, a thirst for God that cannot be quenched. (Time magazine, 1 1-1 5-93)

Both Graham and now the pope completely reject the clear teaching of Scripture regarding the reality of a literal lake of fire that burns throughout all eternity. The author of Hebrews taught that the reality of hell is a vital Bible doctrine (Heb. 6:1, 2). Jude taught that believers are to contend for the faith (doctrine) once delivered unto the saints and that hell is a real, literal place of fire and torment Jude 3, 7). The apostle Paul taught that those who knew not Christ would suffer the vengeance of God which entailed everlasting damnation (2 Thess. 1:8, 9). The apostle John saw that hell was a real place (Rev. 14: 1 0; 20:10-15; 21:8). And, Jesus Christ, Himself, taught that hell literally exists, that it lasts forever and that those who reject His perfect salvation would spend eternity therein (Matt. 13:41, 42; 18:8, 9; 25:41-46; Luke 16:19-31).

Rejection of the Biblical doctrine of hell by the pope and Graham does not nullify the fact that a literal hell truly exists. "Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:3, 4).

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