Tuesday, July 10, 2007

I'm not saved

And Pope Benedict XVI said ... ("Amen!")

Pope approved a document released today that says, "Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches," according to an AP article. "...Because they do not have apostolic succession - the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles," and "did not have the 'means of salvation.'"

That's right, if you're not attending a Roman Catholic Church, you will be turned away from heaven because your pastor does not have the means of salvation to pass on to you.

What's really ironic is that yesterday, the Barna Research Group released the results of a study of American Catholics. 4000 adults were surveyed to compare 97 facets of life between Catholics and non-Catholics. The study found, among other things, that Catholics ...

... are half as likely to identify their faith as their priority in life.
... donate 17% less money to their local church.
... are 38% less likely to read a Bible.
... are 20% less likely to share their faith.
... are more likely to say that Satan is not real.
... are more likely to argue that Jesus sinned while on earth.
... are more likely to contend that salvation is earned.

That last one gets me, especially compared to the others. Where's Martin Luther when you need him?

3 comments:

Tami said...

Yup. That's what I grew up believing...wholeheartedly (if you can call it "wholeheartedly"). I even had me a scapular.

Lex said...

You had a what? Is that something people use to remove the scalp from people who aren't Roman Catholic?

Tami said...

sometimes. but it doesn't work very well, 'cause it's really like a necklace thingy made of cloth and "anointed" with holy water, if I recollect. you wear it around your neck at all times so that if you die while wearing it, you're guaranteed to go to heaven...which was a big *whew!* google it, dude.