Did you read the link you provided?
Yes.
That article makes it seem like - since there are only a few dozen who get to Heaven - that you are better off playing the lottery and spending your winnings on debauchery.
Let’s see - optimistically - (100 - (\frac{100}{7000000000} * 100) = …) doing the math - (99.99999857 ) % failure
No one knows what “few” means. It could mean a few hundred or a few billion.
However, it’s looking pretty bleak in America as atheism spreads like a cancer.
Church can’t complain - if you can’t make a good argument - a bad argument wins every time.
Your choice…
Their choice…
I still can’t figure out if Jesus was communist.
A failure rate, for what? in failing to ensure the safety of all its parish members?
A failure to inspire people to see the light - and choose the right.
What else are they for? What other purpose do they serve? Why else was the Church ever formed?
To get Christ’s message out to the world.
And what is “getting the message out to the world” other than what I stated?
If they didn’t believe you - did they “get the message”?
There is a best way to communicate - to cause the message to get to its target. If it gets to its target - the purpose of the message gets accomplished - end of story.
But now if the method being used isn’t getting the message to the target - or if by the message getting to the target isn’t accomplishing the goal/purpose — something has to be missing.
If something is missing - how can it be “holy”?
I think by definition - a holy man attempts nothing without success. Wouldn’t a holy church be the same? What is the holy church attempting such that 99.99% of people are not “saved” into heaven?
That begs the question as to whether the Church really is holy.
FreeSpirit1983
So, these are your kind of saints, FreeSpirit - those who preach fear and revenge in order to get people to be with God or turn back to God? How could anyone even know who goes to hell? (hell is here, not another plane after death). Have you ever heard of those last-minute reconciliations where one would turn his/her life back to God in the last minute? I wonder what your above saints would say about that?
I think of those who preach God’s love and compassion and mercy and who work to make the lives of others better or at least so much less horrible when I think of saints - not those who preach fire and brimstone… those like Mother Teresa and my favorite, Fr. Damien of Molokai.
Incidentally, I wonder how many of those so-called canonized saints of the CC sexually abused children?
Many of the saints preached both Heaven and Hell just as Christ did.
Jesus preached Hell about dozens of times in the Gospels.
Before someone becomes a saint, they are investigated for years. I’d be shocked if more than 1% got away with child abuse.
If you studied more about Christianity, you would know all this…
She would acknowledge that she wasn’t perfect, I’m sure. Even the saints are human.
That being said, I’m pretty certain she was more charitable than 99% of atheists…
I’ve read several of Hans Kung’s books. I agree with him on stuff.
Such as?
I misspoke somewhat. I should have said that when I read him, I remember agreeing with him on many things. But that was awhile ago. So before I answer you, I would have to get at least one of his books off the shelf to remind me what I agreed with. If you’re interested, I’ll do that.
As I recall though, he was disciplined by Pope John II for questioning papal infallibility. I question that too. So at least there is one point of agreement.
But like I say I think there were others. Have you read him at all? When he addresses an issue in a book he’s very thorough.
I have not but I know he was an arch liberal, heterodox Catholic that should have just become Episcopalian.