2013-09-13 16:17:52.487396+00 by Dan Lyke 3 comments
Fascinating to see how the Catholic Church is adapting to the changing culture: Pope Francis assures atheists: You don’t have to believe in God to go to heaven.
You can take all your biz speak "pivoting" and "minimum viable product" and what-not, Pope Francis is definitely using agile techniques to aggressively pursue new markets.
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2013-09-13 17:35:10.015152+00 by: Larry Burton
I'm assuming that most, if not all, atheist do not believe in an afterlife so I'm trying to figure out how this could be of any assurance.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-09-13 18:23:20.648175+00 by: Dan Lyke
What it says to me is: "If you were about to separate yourself from this community because of what we believe about the afterlife, you're still welcome here." This is a message to atheists only as it's a message to the believer community about accepting the atheists into their community.
Which is a very strong statement about the church as a social institution rather than as a dispenser of dogma.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-09-13 21:17:48.501307+00 by: Larry Burton
Maybe that's why I missed his point. I've accepted atheists and non-Christian believers who bear the appropriate fruits as brothers and sisters in Christ for most of my adult Christian life. I believe the Church has been a lot more inclusive in it's history than we give it credit for today. I ran across a blog post by a fellow Methodist today that tends to agree and I think it meshes well with your interpretation of Pope Francis' message.