Independent: Pope Francis assures atheists: You don’t have to believe in God to go to heaven
Sin is not the same as naturally vicious behavior. But one cannot exclude the possibility that those who are engaging in naturally vicious behavior or in deliberate atheism have not sinned against the gift of faith and God. Without seeing the whole letter in a decent English translation I don't know if Pope Francis is sufficiently nuanced in his response. Does he talk about how right judgment (or conscience) is corrupted through repeated vicious behavior? (After all, those who are naturally vicious are acting in accord with their conscience.) Or that the disordered self-love that is engendered by repeated vicious behavior is opposed to God and the seeking of His forgiveness? God is greater than our vice and corrupted mind, but first we must acknowledge that what we have done is wrong and that we are not the center of the universe, and the path of a agape may be a difficult one because of the effects of our ingrained bad habits.
No comments:
Post a Comment