As a Protestant, I'm kind of under-educated regarding Catholics, but to the best of my awareness, the question of "how buddy-buddy should we be with God?" is one of the primary divisions between Catholics and Protestants. Protestants generally believe in getting very personal with God, whereas Catholics keep him at a distance and approach through intermediaries. (Please correct me if I err.)
So it sounds to me like this revision is a case of Catholic theology becoming more Catholic.
The Periodic Table of Storytelling: Tropes in three characters or less.![]()
Hadn't thought of that.
They're good eatin', for the most part. What about them?
Uncertain, but I think it's unlikely. There are a lot of animals in the world.
It's possible that God makes exceptions for beloved pets. No written Scriptural support for the idea, though.
The Periodic Table of Storytelling: Tropes in three characters or less.I don't think animals have the necessary capacity for faith, belief, forgiveness, moral discernment etc. to make either general animal or species specific versions of either heaven or hell possible. Whether they are present in heaven as a part of the perfect form of the beauty of God's creation is another question altogether.
edited 9th Apr '11 3:39:57 PM by Saeglopur
Listen to Music with Tropers at The Troper Turntable!Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (yep, I'm pimpin') concluded that every being, from elementary particles to humans, have a spiritual component. Only in humans, though, it means a soul.
Of course, Father Pierre didn't get into Index Librorum Prohibitorum for fanatical doctrinal purity. As far as I know, the soul is, according to Catholic doctrine, something all humans — and only humans — get at conception. Not sure if it means that souls are continually created, but I think it's like that.
And now we get to the fun part. I wrote "...and only humans". Actually, the existence of aliens isn't considered contrary to the doctrine.
Yeah, I think that's more in the case of... you're not sure if it's human or not. Or if it qualifies for baptism. Or maybe has already been baptised.
Isn't the main thing with human souls that they were 'made in God's image'?
Perhaps you could claim that, by virtue of being sapient, an alien species would also be 'in God's image'?
Be not afraid...C.S. Lewis has an essay
that touches on that subject. He's a bit more pessimistic than I am, but it's very good reading.
Also, I usually find SMBC intolerably cynical, but this cartoon
always makes me smile.
edited 9th Apr '11 7:27:55 PM by ComputerSherpa
The Periodic Table of Storytelling: Tropes in three characters or less.I am not sure if I agree with his ideas, or even if I understand them correctly, but he sure is a fascinating read.
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.It was mentioned in Wikipedia's article on conditional baptism, but then removed for not having a good source. (I was reading through Wikipedia's article on A Canticle For Leibowitz, which has a conditional baptism of a mutant at one point, and got linked)
edited 10th Apr '11 12:36:40 AM by Tzetze
[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.Has anyone here read anything by Herbert McCabe
(the Dominican philosopher and theologian, I mean, not the oarsman)?
I was reading about analytical thomism on Wikipedia, and he seems a pretty interesting person:
I kinda want to try reading something of him sooner or later - does anyone have suggestions?
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.on the question of animals: i believe that the world is full of unseen spirits, angels and demons. I believe that animals all have some innate connection or awareness of this realms, just as humans do. I do not believe that animals have redeemable souls—after all dog's don't sin and Christ did not die to save the soul of my fluffy cat. I believe that all animals populate heaven in some form—and that the pets that we love are, by our interaction with them, made more "spiritual" than wild animals. I think then, that animal spirits will be in heaven, and I do not doubt that I'll see my puppy dog there. :)
Doodles
A wise and broadly-applicable concept, I think.
According some Jewish scripture/myths people age and their clothes deteriorate because there are little demons constantly rubbing, scratching, trying to make a mess of us and we are fortunate enough not to see them.
Just a little something to make it harder to get to sleep at night.

I'm a Christian. I have been since I was 7 and I intend to be one forever.