I was raised Catholic. How many of you ex-Catholics knew then that Catholic doctrine believes that only Catholics have a chance at heaven? I did not know this until recently. I am finding quite a few others did not know either.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.And you call yourself an ex-catholic dear, dear, dear you're catechesis beggars belief.
Look on the bright side, at the hour of your death you can recant and ascend into heaven, which may come in handy.
waitingforgodo
Level 8
July 20, 2020
0
I was raised in Italy . Everybody goes to hell for not apparent reason . 
All u have to do to end up with hell as your potential future in Italy , is to wear your dress the wrong way or not have your hair tight up properly , or the unthinkable , eat meat on Friday
Lucky me , my father was an atheist and the Catholic Church was not in our menu . We were the town’s evil/ hideous / Satans as far as the church cared for , but we had money and power , so they were kissing our behinds regardless
It was great
Pralina1
Level 9
July 21, 2020
10
I was raised Baptist. I don't know when I started thinking this, but for as long as I can remember I thought that Catholics believed that you had to belong to (be baptized into) the Catholic Church in order to get to heaven.
Being raised Baptist, I was taught that Catholics were going to hell because they have the pope, baptize babies and pray to saints. That said, according to what I was taught, the vast majority of those who identify as Christian are going to hell along with all the non-Christians because they don't believe the exact right things about Jesus.
Joanne
Level 7
July 20, 2020
4
.No different than other fucking religions who think they are the true ones. But my answer to all of them is: get over yourselves, nobody gives a flying fuck!
Mofo1953
Level 9
July 20, 2020
6
Good point. But I was not taught this and was one foot out the door when I heard from a zealot who was in seminary. So I was surprised and kinda pissed
@TBthree you weren't taught a lot of shit. Were you taught about the nazi pope? Were you taught about the rat lines? Were you taught about the apocryphal and gnostic gospels? Were you taught about the IOR? Where you taught about the Holy See protection of pedophile priests even to the date? No my friend, there are these and many other things that you should be even more "pissed" about that you weren't taught. It is up to us to take our blindfolds off.
I was raised Methodist but this city is in the middle of a Catholic intellectual sinkhole.
Yes, I was aware of the Catholic doctrine you noted. I have de-converted a few Catholics and found x-catholic priest (now atheist) Edward Tarte useful in understanding the Catholic virus. Here is a random video all his religion videos are worth watching.
NoMagicCookie
Level 8
July 20, 2020
3
I and my sisters went to the Methodist church. On Easter my mom went a few times, always we were just deposited at the door for Sunday school and church. My Dad had been raised Catholic and as the youngest boy he was picked to become a priest. Clearly that did not work out. Don't know what all he knew about the faith BUT he knew the Bible six ways from Sunday. In fact he collected Bibles and was an atheist for most of his life. I left home when I was twenty and sadly never really had the many conversations I wish I could of had with him. He passed in 1994.
What I knew about being Catholic I picked up from friends who were and thought it was a weird way of believing but then by 12 years old I had quit going to church because the hypocrisy in the Methodist church was not fun.
@silverotter11 In early grade school I figured out the church (Methodist) was BS when they taught the Joseph and Mary star to locate the manger 3 wise men fable. A star would have to be a tiny fraction of the smallest star and located a few yards above the manger. This clearly does not reflect reality. I figured the entire church thing was nothing more then a Santa-clause story of nonsense designed to keep children in line and bilk them of their resources. I incorrectly also assumed no older person could possibly believe these childish stories that were not in agreement with reality. Many years later I lost a lot of optimism for continued social and technological advancement when I discovered many old people did not grow up and dump these BS stories.
@altschmerz Edward is great. While de-converting the first Catholic, I asked Edward a few questions and he quickly gave me answers so I could help the Catholic escape his indoctrination. Funny actually, after months of going back and forth with the Catholic, his last argument for believing in a god was . . . . Priests exists. Priests are ordained by god. Because there are priests, there must be a god. I gave him the link to Edward and the next day he thanked me (for several weeks after) for helping him escape religion. Nice young man. Before escaping Catholicism, He would routinely awake in the middle of the night with nightmares of being burned in hell because he did not please his god. His nightmares went away and he later told me his quality of life greatly increased on many levels.
@altschmerz Religion is the foundation of many mental illnesses. I honestly feel sorry for most religious people as they are not experiencing the honest beauty of real world nature. I also feel sorry for the rest of us as the religious also often make horrible faith based choices that adversely affect us all.
Your are good now and that's what really counts. So many people never reach your level of honesty and (what I consider) mental health free from accepting faith (belief without evidence) as facts (things that can be demonstrated as true). In the past I've made a few profoundly sad choices that would have significantly changed my current position in life. I wish I could go back and warn myself not to burn a decade trying to save another at my own expense but aside from occasionally typing this statement, I devote no resources to lamenting not making a better choice long ago.
Hope all goes well for you.
Interesting. I grew up Southern Baptist, with a grandfather who was a Free Will Baptist Minister. I was told in each denomination that Catholics were not true Christians and would not enter heaven. But, I was also told that the other denominations weren't true Christians either.
Dorkyndaft
Level 6
July 21, 2020
3
Actually, that was the chink in the armor for year old me. There was a recitation at every mass called the profession of faith, that was supposed to list the things we believed. It started, I believe in one god... Towards the end,it says I believe in one holy catholic apostolic church...My rebellion was to not recite that part, looking around sheepishly...As got older, I left out more and more sections of that profession...And to think, I memorized that thing in spanish, english and latin...
elgato3141
Level 5
July 21, 2020
2
I didn't know that and I was raised Catholic. I was never good at being a Catholic. I remember gagging on the wafer of first communion. I was a picky eater as a child.
RobertMartin
Level 8
July 20, 2020
2
My ex-mother in law is Church of Christ. Her husband was catholic. As he was dying of cancer she was begging him to convert church of Christ so she could see him in heaven.
TaylorWalston
Level 6
July 20, 2020
3
That's rough
@TBthree yeah, you would think being married 35 years and him NOT converting she could focus on I love you and will miss you until I see you again.
@TaylorWalston I agree. Religion is rough
Yes. I remember that. The rest get to chill in purgatory for a bit.
BAMFRavenclaw
Level 5
July 20, 2020
3
Oh for sure. When I was in grade school there was a public middle school across the street. They were the heathens - outcasts - going to hell crowd because they were not catholic. Somehow I just could not see how because of their birthing into a protestant family would condemn them to hell for eternity. But then again I always was thinking for myself even at an early age.
starwatcher-al
Level 7
July 20, 2020
2
Don't worry they're not allowed to check your ID at the gate. 
oldFloyd
Level 8
July 20, 2020
2
You just need to be able say 7 Hail Mary's and 12 Our Fathers plus add a few extra tithes and they'll let you through just so long as you have your Credit cards with you as well....LOL.
@oldFloyd Yep, the Catholic Churches actually sold 'Free Passes" ( can't quite remember what they actually called them though atm), to those who had the money to buy them.
That would have to be one of the Top Ten Scams of ALL time since you can be 100% certain that NONE of the 'Suckers' you sold the scam to would EVER come back and demand their money be returned.
At 65, I am old but not THAT old. It is only in my lifetime with Vatican II in the 1960's that Jews were finally "released" from not just collective, but personal, individual responsibility for the death of Jesus.
Don't kid yourself, ever, that this kind of fundamentalism is a thing of the past. It is just under the surface for many, many religious folks. See: Fundamentalist Muslims, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, Christian Warriors, Ultra-Conservative Catholics, Hindu nationalists, the list goes one.
Mitch07102
Level 8
July 20, 2020
2
Jesus was the biggest Jew ever!!!! Then he would have himself been complicit in getting himself killed. Judas, who was also a Jew Im pretty sure, gave up his location but Romans under order were the ones that grabbed him. The mob seemed to support it and Pontious Pilate went along with it.
I did and partly because it was really insisted upon that it was the 'true' faith; all others were charlatans (oh the hypocrisy). I regarded the many Christian denominations like Baptists and Evangelicals as inferior, and viewed them with a sense of pity because they were going to hell. Even writing this makes me cringe so badly at how indoctrinated I was, but I was a child so I suppose I shouldn't beat myself up about it too much.
HannaYou
Level 6
July 20, 2020
1
I had the similar sense of superiority but without the knowledge of no chance for them. As I learned more about some other Christian sects, I felt they were so cultish. Ironic
I found Catholicism to be rife with hypocrisy, arrogance and inconsistencies from an early age. I went to catholic school from second grade thru high school (thanks, mom!) and always had issues with “god loves you unconditionally!! (Except for these conditions)”...
steveo270
Level 4
July 22, 2020
1
Step right in, folks, and give your money to US!
tinkercreek
Level 8
July 21, 2020
1
Being a baptised Catholic has always been a necessary pre- condition for eventual access to .... . Catholic heaven only. The muslims too have their own paradise, with its rivers of honey and more than enough virgins for dead jihadists. Stare at the sky.There is more than one heaven that meets the eye.
Klodzan
Level 5
July 21, 2020
1
My mind just might be dirty (ok, it is, but that's how I get these thoughts) but a sticky river in a place full of virgins doesn't really sound like my paradise. And sometimes the river is made from milk. And as homophobic as Islam seems to be, did they ever promise female virgins along this sticky, milky river system? I'll let anybody else connect the dots to the gutter I call my thought process.
That was not 100% the case (purgatory and limbo are Catholic doctrine), but in regards to adults who are knowledgeable about their god, yes. It gets even weirder as they have changed the Catechism over time. If you really want to scramble your brains, ponder how many shots you can do, at least you should have more fun that way.
PadraicM
Level 7
July 20, 2020
2
A lot of religion believed that way that if you don't follow the right practice you go to hell. As a kid the baptism to remove original sin and go to heaven, that never made sense to me. An innocent child wouldnt go to heaven if they died before baptism? What if no one in their country even ever heard of Jesus, then they all go to hell? I always felt rebellious at that idea. No one could explain it to me either. I suspect the church has become more progressive about this over the years to regard such ceremonies in a more symbolic way. I know from knowing a lot of Catholics, like any group, they don't all think the same nor do they agree always with the church on everything.
thinkwithme
Level 7
July 20, 2020
2
Ignorance can be bliss especially when it comes to Sinning because IF you don't know you are sinning then you must be innocent....LOL.
i thought everyone knew this. Most religions teach tht they are the only ones who are correct
raymetcalfe
Level 6
July 20, 2020
2
Yes. But were you raised Catholic?
I was raised Moron (oops, Mormon). The Morons believe that only Morons have a chance at heaven. But the Morons also believe that people who die as non-Morons have a chance to convert in the afterlife. That's why Morons do proxy baptisms for the dead, so that the dead can accept it (and go to heaven) or reject it (and go to hell). I'm glad I'm not involved in Moronism anymore. It's just way too weird.
BestWithoutGods
Level 8
July 20, 2020
1
So I can live it up and be depraved in this life and convert in the next? Hell, sign me up and I'll get my bucket list of sins ready to go.
Dont you want a planet?
. . . while waiting with the MN atheists to participate in the Gay Pride parade, I noticed a group of Gay Mormons -- I thought -- that's an oxymormon if I ever saw one ! 
I don't find it surprising. I believe it is a fairly recent phenomenon that individual Christian denominations believed members of other denominations had a chance at heaven - only recently that they would accept the baptisms performed by other Christian churches. Still, various churches - the more cultish ones, imo, like Mormons and JW's - hang onto the belief that only their church and their denomination is the only true church and the only one that can offer a chance at heaven.
RussRAB
Level 8
July 26, 2020
1
I don't think that is Mormon doctrine.
@skado - Mormon doctrine can be difficult to pin down since it does evolve even in the face of a basic claim that it never does. Mormonism does teach of a multi-tiered heaven but the "highest" and most desirable tier reserved for faithful Mormons. To add to the confusion, Mormons believe in post life conversions supported by baptism by proxy. For example, Mormons believe that all American Presidents who died prior to say 1950's (I am unaware of the actual time frame) have "joined" the Mormon church and have been baptised as members postumously. The rituals performed for living members in Mormon temples are also done by proxy for those deceased before "joining". So, while Mormons may say that those who died before becoming a member of the Mormon church is technically true, it is also true that the nonmember cannot be admitted to the highest level of heaven without having the necessary rituals performed by a proxy.
@RussRAB Former Mormon here. Yes, I actually participated in "baptism for the dead"! I look back on that now, and cringe, at having done that at I think, 14 years of age. I remember asking, why we were doing it? I was given a b.s. answer. Truly, the one thing I regret in life! I actually regretted it as a member!
@TeresaWyckoff - The practice of baptism for the dead has been the subject of controversy (as I'm certain you are aware). In order to have names of deceased individuals for these rituals, the church began name mining any source they could find. When Jewish groups discivered that the mormons were using the names of Holocaust victims for these rituals, tney became ratber upset and demanded the Mormons not mess with these victims of Nazi mass murder. I understood that church officials had agreed to stop using the names of Holocaust victims but were later found to still be mining this source for names to perform their proxy baptism program. Other individuals who felt particularly put off by the Mormon church have also stated while alive that they wanted nothing done in Mormon temples on their behalf. Outwardly, the church says people are to honor these stated wishes but lessons and church talks on the subject can make certain members reconsider whether to honor these directions. After all, according to the belief system, honoring such a request assures that a loved one can naver get into the highest most desirable level of heaven.
@RussRAB I look back at that time now, and feel ashamed, that I participated. By the way, I had myself excommunicated years ago. Interesting side note, I got sick, the day I was supposed to talk with the bishop, he suggested it was God's way of keeping me from getting excuminicated!! Right!! Vomiting, did not stop me!
@TeresaWyckoff - I would encourage you to find a way to find forgiveness for yourself. I mean, the most you actually did was get wet in an oversized indoor bathtub. Nothing you did either helped or harmed anyone. You can give away the thought that you did anything wrong or that you did something to cause harm. It was all a fantasy, you have realized it and took appropriate action for your mental health and well being. Time to put it in the past the best you can, bit by bit if that's what you need.
Imo, Christianity thrives of the shame and guilt it can get someone caught up in. Some denominations are far worse than others - Mormonism ranks fairly high by my estimation. But it is false guilt and false shame to keep a believer hooked. It is something they can never allow you to be forgiven of - not really. It will alway hang over your head so long as you let it. A real turning point for me was a realization that came from a line from an old film "War Games". In the film a young high schooler hacks into the Nation Defense computers and starts a sequsnce of events that may fool the computer into starting a thermal nuclear war with Russia. To get the computer to abort its real response to the attack from the game, the young hacker gets the computer to play tic tac toe against itself. As game after game ends in a draw, the computer eventually learns and response with, "The only way to win is not to play the game." And so this is my advice to you: the only way to win with the Mormon church is not to play their game.
I wish you the very best life. Peace
@RussRAB I've already done that.
@TeresaWyckoff - I hope I haven't offended in suggesting it. That certainly was not my intent.
@RussRAB Not at all, this post just reminded me of those times in my life.
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