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Sunday, August 11, 2013

What is LIMBO ?

When I was at Kordi's Funeral Mass I could see, off to my left the "Baptismal Font".
It stood in a small niche and was fronted by a huge wall painting , showing Jesus Christ on the Cross and at the bottom were depicted human figures burning in Hell Fire.

For a moment I was stunned at the juxtaposition of the baptismal area and the eternal agony of hell.
Then it occurred to me: According to Catholic Teaching you will burn in hell forever unless you are "borne again of water." 
(John 3:5). 

Now you must wonder: Why do we all burn in hell forever unless we are borne again of water ?
It's "Original Sin", baby, we are all saddled with because Adam and Eve, or maybe it was Eve alone, when in the Garden of Eden, ate of the forbidden fruit. The Bible does not tell us 'why' the fruit of this particular tree was forbidden, it just was.
But now, the Catholics had a bit of a problem: What should they do with all the new-borne babies who died before they could be sprinkled with water? You cannot just let them burn in hell forever. It's not their fault that Eve listened to a talking snake, and it surely is not their fault that they could not receive the Sacrament of Baptism. So they came up with a wrinkle: They invented a place, I don't believe is ever mentioned in the Bible. They invented "Limbo" for those little innocent kids, and no lesser man than Thomas Aquinas assured the parents that there, although they would not see the Lord, they would be well taken care of and exist in a relative state of contentment.

So, all these innocent babies, who could not possibly ever have sinned themselves, are, nevertheless, punished by never reaching heaven.

Some "Just God" we are dealing with here.

Let's just step back a bit: God, who is "all-knowing" knows the Past, the Present and the Future.
He created man in His image, created Adam and Eve and imbued them with a strong sense of curiosity.
So, they Had To Taste the forbidden fruit and God knew that they would... and when they did, He punished them cruelly. And not just them, but all of their descendants, including little kids, right up to now and forever into the future.

For doing what they were programmed to do, they got kicked out of Paradise and saddled with Original Sin, whose forgiveness could only be obtained by Baptism.

This entire story sounds preposterous. It sounds downright silly.

Please note: I am not a Bible Scholar! 

I am just

Bertstravels.


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