A vote on LIMBO

[hammurabi2000]

The long held doctrine of LIMBO is set to be consigned to the dustbin according to press reports. This intrigues me because given the doctrine of Papal infallibility I should have thought that doing so would raise a few problems.

What do people think about:
[1] LIMBO?
[2] The proposals from the Vatican?
[3] The implications for Papal infallibility?
[4] What Lewis thought and said about it?

[mjmann]

What do people think about:
[1] LIMBO?
MJM: I can see the rationale for Limbo (is there a reason why you spell it in upper case letters?) but do not agree with it as it would seem to limit the mercy of God.

[2] The proposals from the Vatican?
MJM: I would have no problem if the Church consigned the doctrine of limbo to the dustbin. It has never been more than an idea of the theologians, formulated to account for the fate of the 'righteous 'unbaptised. The Church has never declared her mind on the issue. If she does formally declare that the doctrine of limbo is unsound, she is not reversing any previous judgement.

[3] The implications for Papal infallibility?
MJM: For the reasons mentioned in [2] I do not believe that there are any implications for the doctrine of papal infallibility whatsoever.

[4] What Lewis thought and said about it?
MJM: I don't know! I shall let someone else answer that one!

MJM

[robsia]

[Theo]

The only time I can recall Lewis explicitly referring to Limbo is in "Screwtape proposes a toast", which is of course primarily a piece of fiction (it also refers to Cerberus) and not a theological tract. There, Screwtape refers to it as the place for souls that don't manage to qualify for either heaven or hell (somewhat like the antechamber of hell in Dante, but pictured more like the Greek Hades - a not particularly horrible, but boring and pointless place of grey gloom).

[Sarah N.]

To me, limbo is not neccesary because everyone who would be in there would be covered under the idea of baptism of desire, if I understand limbo correctly. Also, my beliefs are probably influenced by my two miscarried siblings, who would be in limbo, if such a thing existed, and whom I believe to be in heaven.

[hammurabi2000]

[mjmann]

[Sylvia Lee]

I don't believe in "limbo," as such. But I do believe in something kind of _like_ limbo, in that I believe it is still possible for souls to repent and/or accept the Savior after they have died, if they did not have a fair chance to do so in this life (don't ask me to define a "fair chance"-- only God can do that).

Oh, and I am not a Roman Catholic-- but I think pretty much everyone already knew that.