How to Raise a Heathen

[Shin]

How to Raise a Heathen

1. Never talk about God to your children.
2. Make your life, your conduct, and your behavior indistinguishable from the pagan world around you.
3. Never teach your child about the Catholic Faith.
4. Do nothing to instill Catholic values in the child.
5. Never teach your child to pray, most especially morning, and night time prayers, including the Most Holy Rosary.
6. Make sure not to have a Bible (Douay Rheims) in your house. (If you do have one, you may keep it dusted, but never take it out to read to yourself or to your child.)
7. Use bad language in front of your child, especially using the holy name of God and Jesus Christ in vain.
8. Let the television or the internet with all its filth, baby-sit your child for long hours each day.
9. Never say grace before and after meals.
10. Have little or no Catholic books in your home.
11. Pretend God, the devil, heaven, and hell do not exist.

Remember:

"If a child goes to hell (God forbid!) because of the neglect of the parents teaching them their faith, you can be sure the parents will follow." (St. John Marie Baptiste Vianney)

"But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged around the neck and that he should be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18: 6)

[Shin]

Came across this and thought I'd share it!

[odhiambo]

Came across this and thought I'd share it!

Thank you for sharing.
I have been toying with the idea of starting a thread titled " Did you know?", where I would post every thing I find interesting and want to share with the others.  
With "How to Raise a Heathen", you have just started one for us  

[Bailey2]

Are you sure that those who are ignorant of the faith go to hell?      I thought it said differently in the catechism (written after St. Vianney).   

[Shin]

I'm not seeing where that was said above?  

Speaking generally, ignorance in and of itself is not conducive to salvation, it's not salvific. It's seen as a curse and a great evil.

The purpose of man's existence is to know, love, and serve God. Everything that was created, was created for this sake. If you can't do that because you're ignorant, that's a curse, not a blessing, a punishment, not a reward.  

In and of itself any kind of ignorance, culpable, inculpable, invincible, is a barrier and a detriment, not a benefit.

Infants however are ignorant and baptized they gain salvation.   And so then...

[Shin]

Came across this and thought I'd share it!

Thank you for sharing.
I have been toying with the idea of starting a thread titled " Did you know?", where I would post every thing I find interesting and want to share with the others.  
With "How to Raise a Heathen", you have just started one for us  

Glad to hear it odhiambo! Just make sure it's good quality and good source! 

[Shin]

Some good quotes on ignorance! 

'To attain the knowledge of God is impossible for those who are still under the control of their passions. Therefore they cannot attain the salvation they hope for as they have not obtained any knowledge of God. He who fails to attain this end is clearly subject to the charge of being ignorant of God, and ignorance of God is shown by a man's manner of life.'

St. Clement of Alexandria

'Then he goeth and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in they dwell there. It is not enough for him that he possesses the house alone; he seeks companions: the place is spacious: it needs many dwellers there.  But who are these seven spirits? Why also are they seven? Why are they more wicked than himself? Because seven are the gifts of the Holy Ghost, by means of which every soul is converted to faith in Christ, and defended against the contrary evils. Therefore the unclean spirit takes unto him those seven wickeder, contrary, spirits, with which he defends the house against the virtues.

Namely, opposing the spirit of stupidity to the spirit of wisdom; the spirit of revolt and unreason to the spirit of understanding; the spirit of rashness to the spirit of counsel; the spirit of inconstancy and fear to the spirit of fortitude; the spirit of ignorance to the spirit of knowledge; the spirit of impiety to the spirit of piety; the spirit of contempt and hate to the spirit of the fear of the Lord.'

St. Bruno

'Scripture says: "Hell and perdition are manifest to the Lord" (Prov. 15:11. LXX). This refers to ignorance of heart and forgetfulness. Hell is ignorance, for both are dark; and perdition is forgetfulness, for both involve extinction.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

'If knowledge can cause most people to become vain, perhaps ignorance and lack of learning can make them humble. Yet now and then you do find men who pride themselves on their ignorance.'

St. John Climacus

'We are convinced, that this sin [willful ignorance] alone causes the loss of more souls than all the other sins together, because he who is ignorant does not realize the harm he does by his sin, nor the great good he thus forfeits.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

[Bailey2]

But there are people who are truly ignorant and in that ignorance have no desire to find out because they think what they know is true.  Does that make sense?   It is not willful ignorance.  I remember once I went inside a Mormon temple.  It had just been built and not "dedicated" yet so was on tour.  Interesting.  Somewhat weird.  But the old man who took us to their "holy of holies" really felt as if he were in the presence of God.  I dare say that his felt devotion could be likened to what any of us feel before the tabernacle.  He said to us, "You can just feel the presence of God here, can't you?"  (I didn't)  His devotion to God might have been misplaced but it was a clear desire for God as he knew Him in his ignorance.  See what I mean?  That's not willful ignorance.  Just ignorance that would make him not seek elsewhere.

[martin]

It seems from scripture that persistent ignorance is a punishment rather than an inculpable state of unawareness, for St. Paul says,
"And if our gospel be also hid, it is hid to them that are lost,
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine unto them."
(2 cor 4:3,4)

[Bailey2]

I think Paul is referring to heathens who sacrificed kids and participated in all sorts of evil behaviors.  He probably, at the time, figured Jews were not saved either.  As the Church grew in its understanding of Jesus' sacrifice, things changed.  We no longer consider Jews, Muslims, or Christian non-Catholics as punished or damned.  

"Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, ans, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience-- those too may achieve eternal salvation."  (LG 16; cf. DS 3866-3872 in the Catechism 847)  [don't ask me what that first set of numbers is-- it's in the back of the catechism in a most peculiar way of listing references!]  In fact, if you read the section of the catechism called Who Belongs to the Catholic Church in the Profession of Faith section you will find all sorts of other things regarding Jews, Muslims, and non-Christian religions.  For example,
"The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved.  Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as 'a preparation for the Gospel and given by Him who enlighten all men that they may at length have life'.   It then goes on to talk about being blinded by sin and needing to come to God through the Catholic church, the purpose of evangelization. 

[Patricia]

I have seen heathens who are extremely pious when it comes to their gods and beliefs, but when there is a mention of Christianity they bristle and curse. It is indeed a punishment to be so ignorant and not seek the truth.  

On the other hand there are some who cling to their gods , do not hate Christianity and it seems to me they will face a milder punishment in hell. There is no excuse. The gospel has spread to all ends of the earth. One must seek and find the truth!!

[Bailey2]

Patricia,
"The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved.  Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as 'a preparation for the Gospel and given by Him who enlighten all men that they may at length have life'.  Catechism

I don't think those that are pious in their religions are going to hell.  Any convert will tell you that it takes years of moving through the fog of "shadows and images" before coming to the fulness of truth.  Should those people have died before they converted, I just don't think the teaching is that they go to hell.  I think the teaching is that if at the moment of death a person curses God, denying His grace and love completely-- they condemn themselves to hell.  

Besides, a gospel not lived is a gospel not spread.

[martin]

Baily this could be a chance to clean the dust of those   
Mine have become a bit grubby. 

[Bailey2]

I'm only quoting the catechism Martin.   

[Patricia]

I don't think those that are pious in their religions are going to hell.  Any convert will tell you that it takes years of moving through the fog of "shadows and images" before coming to the fulness of truth.  Should those people have died before they converted, I just don't think the teaching is that they go to hell.

Bailey, Earlier teachings of the Catholic church contradict this. Since Vatican ll there is a secular twist to our traditional teachings. Even a Catholic is saved with great difficulty so I have no contempt for the poor heathens just my prayers for their conversion to the Catholic faith. Being a Roman Catholic I'm struggling spiritually everyday and praying for my own salvation. What about those outside the refuge of the Faith?

Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
~~ John 3:5

Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. [55] He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day.
~~ John 6

[Bailey2]

Bailey, Earlier teachings of the Catholic church contradict this. Since Vatican ll there is a secular twist to our traditional teachings.

Ex...cuuuuu....sssss....eeeee.....ME?!

Where do I hear Pope Benedict say that Vat II is not in conformity with Church teachings?  Are you and you guys part of that sect that the Pope reconciled with the church not too long ago?