Kristina, don't confuse pointed questions asked in earnest with rudeness and personal attacks. The questions I asked Elizabeth are the same questions I struggled with myself.

In relation to my questions, your understanding of hell and the typical fundamentalists understanding of hell is of no consequence.

Consider:
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Elizabeth, at least a few of these people you call 'saints' are going to die forever and be shut off from the wonders of the creator of the universe because they apparently are of no value to your god, if the bible is to be believed metaphorically anyway, because they don't believe in your god.

What kind of god do you worship and what does that say about you?
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See?

Plus, now the question is directed at you too Kristina. What kind of god do you worship and what does that say about you in light of my observation?

As for litter, religion gives us a need to find something (common ground) that we already have. Religion is a divider.

TJ,
Thank you for responding to my post. I fully agree with you that a blog consisting of identical opinions would not only be boring, but ultimately not useful. I was trying to say that it is possible to state contrary opinions without excessive sarcasm or personal attacks. We can have open conversation without a tone that smacks of smug arrogance. I suppose I'm old fashioned when I believe in being polite. =)

The Catholic idea of hell is not one filled with fire and brimstone. Hell for a Catholic means being forever divorced from God, never being able to truly know Him and be one with Him. If you don't believe in God, I don't think you will be condemned to burn for eternity or be sentenced to pushing a boulder up a hill only to have it always roll back on top of you. I think you will simply never know the happiness of truly knowing God. But if you don't believe in Him in the first place, I suppose that wouldn't be such a bad thing for you.

When the Bible speaks of the fires of hell, it is employing the use of metaphor. I do not read the Bible selectively, but I do read it critically. Not everything in the Bible is meant to be taken literally, as is insisted by some fundamental Christians. I am a Catholic, and as such, I read the Bible with an eye for discerning the will of God, while taking the historical and cultural events at the time it was written into account.

How is it that you feel Catholicism litters things up?

Kristina, If contrary opinions aren't welcome then all Elizabeth has to do is say so. I'll be more than happy to respect her wishes. I question the value of a blog on religious topics where everyone has the same opinion, but whatever.

My view that the Christian god will, supposedly, send some otherwise wonderful people to a nasty end simply because they don't grovel before him is antiquated and misinformed? Please, tell me more about this new Catholicism.

I couldn't read the bible selectively when I was a Christian and I'm not one any longer because of it. I can't do it now either.

It isn't so much that we can't find, or don't have, common ground, it's that religion in general and Christianity in particular really litters it up.

I don't think a person's religious views define them. Those people on the plane performed wonderful acts of kindness and displayed the generosity of spirit that many people believe is absent in this day and age.
I prefer to cling to the belief that there are more good people in the world than bad. If this makes me naive, so be it. In that case, I'd rather be naive than bitter and cynical.
Thank you for your post, Elizabeth. I'm technically Catholic but have been struggling with the whole concept of organized religion for months now. But my faith is still intact: not only in God, but in the people he has created.

I don't think a person's religious views define them. Those people on the plane performed wonderful acts of kindness and displayed the generosity of spirit that many people believe is absent in this day and age.
I prefer to cling to the belief that there are more good people in the world than bad. If this makes me naive, so be it. In that case, I'd rather be naive than bitter and cynical.
Thank you for your post, Elizabeth. I'm technically Catholic but have been struggling with the whole concept of organized religion for months now. But my faith is still intact: not only in God, but in the people he has created.

I am a Catholic, and I have nothing but respect for atheists. In fact, crazy as it may seem, I respect people of all religions. What saddens me is when people who don't believe in God feel that it's in their right to disrespect those that do. Elizabeth is not attacking your personal beliefs, so why must you?

She is writing about taking a moment to reflect on the good in all people, and how we are all interconnected. What is so exclusively Catholic about that? What do atheists believe in, if not their fellow human being? It is not for any of us to say who is going to hell-- We are not God. Such views on Catholics are antiquated and misinformed.

I would like to be able to dialogue with atheists, and I am able to do so occasionally. Unfortunately, sometimes I find that atheists can be just as hateful and closed-minded as the few extreme evangelical christians that they seem to base their opinions of religious people on.

Catholics believe in love, and goodness. Can we not focus on that? Can we not look at our similarities and find a common ground instead of posting messages of hate?

Why even communicate with these bitter hateful, anti - christian aethists. Their militancy against religion is as ignorant as their 40,000 foot view of people of faith.

I would never have beer with any of you in your current sickened state.

Thnk you.

Elizabeth, at least a few of these people you call 'saints' are going to burn in hell, if the bible is to be believed anyway, because they don't believe in your god.

What kind of god do you worship and what does that say about you?

Elizabeth,

So tell us, did the Lord file your story, slip some more money into your pocket for lunch, or tweak your left windshield wiper? Isn't it possible that people just have to take responsibility for their own lives and challenges?

What you thought were "saints" are called doctors. Half of them are cheating on their wives, most of them masturbate, and all of them lie at least several times a year to get something they want. But they sure know how to deal with a diabetic.

Good luck outgrowing your fantasies. Most of your fellow religionists never have.