:: Running from the Thought Police ::

Reality-Based Thoughts, Ruminations, and Unsolicited Opinions of a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ~~student~~ alumnus and employee.

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I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
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[::..posts to note..::]
::daily illini/danish cartoon controversy timeline::
::evolution/young earth creationism correspondence series::
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::blogging style I hate::
::comments policy::
::why the name?::
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[::..pertinent..::]
:: owasippe outdoor education center
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:: benet academy
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[::..lefty blogs..::]
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[::..medblogs..::]
:: the cheerful oncologist
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[::..illinois blogs..::]
:: archpundit
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[::..local blogs..::]
in location and spirit
:: it's matt's world
:: the next frontier
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:: illini? or huskie?
:: illini wonk
:: illinipundit
:: discursive recursions
:: willBLOG
:: news-gazette weblogs
:: cu blogs.com

[::..catholic blogs..::]
that aren't boring or caustic
:: catholic ragemonkey
:: the shrine of the holy whapping
:: waiting in joyful hope
:: bad catholic
:: unapologetic catholic

[::..feeder blogs..::]
:: the raitt stuff
:: doublethink
:: mel
:: uncensored blog madness
:: zwichenzug holding zone
:: steeph's blog
:: the lion and the donkey

[::..flag of interest..::]

:: the city of new orleans flag

[::..biased reporting..::]
:: the nation
:: dubya's scorecard of evil
:: smirking chimp
:: the register
:: progressive punch

[::..wastes of time..::]
:: the onion
:: dave barry's blog
:: a private dick's blog
:: addicting games
:: darwin awards
:: college humor
:: devil's dictionary x
:: democrats.com
:: popdex.com

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[::..cartoons..::]
:: weebl and bob
:: strongbad email
:: neurotically yours

[::..ego inflation..::]
:: blogosphere ecosystem details

Enhanced Terror Alert


<< # St. Blog's Parish ? >>

:: Monday, August 09, 2004 ::

I Got A Letter

So I'm slogging through the email backlog for the blog (mostly spam) when I came across a letter - the first ever generated by someone visiting the blog:

I have a blog and through my blog I can across yours. I was wondering if people can comment on your blogs or not. I had a couple questions for you and I couldn't figure out how to comment. The couple questions were in regards to your belief of Catholiscism. (sp?) I used to be Catholic, but now I am Baptist. I was wondering this...if you were to die today, would you go to Heaven? If yes, how do you know? Just wondering. By the way, my blog is LeonPeon, if you want to know.

To which I replied:

LeonPeon,

I can honestly say that I do not know where I will go upon my death, and that I like it this way. Even though I am Baptized, am in full communion with my church, and am confirmed, my soul is and always will be in jeopardy of falling into sin. If I were to fall completely into sin I would be damned to hell. However, if I can be redeemed I will go into Purgatory, which is a theologically intense subject to handle, and from there into Heaven. If you want, I can dig up some good links for
you on the subject, but for now I'll refer you to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for an in-depth discussion of it. The quickie version goes like this: Heaven is the ultimate abode of all good souls, where they spend the rest of existance with God. Such souls have to be perfect in nature as any sin will cause them immense pain while in the presence of such a perfect and good being. Purgatory is the temporary place where souls who are destined for Heaven remove (or purge) all that is sinful from themselves. Purgatory is a temporary place - because all souls in Purgatory are headed to Heaven, Purgatory will cease to exist as soon as the last soul leaves it shortly after the end of the world.

I'm not quite up on what the Baptists believe (as I'm more familiar with the denominations most closely related to the Mother Church) but I have problems with the idea/logic of the predestination system, which I will be more than happy to into later if you so desire. I would like to ask, though, what made you leave the Catholic church? Switching one's religion is not a lightly made decision.

Sincerely,
TheSquire

I now await her response.

:: The Squire 6:22 PM :: email this post :: ::
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