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Apr 04, 2013, 06:50 AM
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Member Since: Nov 2002
Location: Mid World
Posts: 18,089
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PAYNE1
Don't Roman Catholics believe that Sheol is sort of between hell and heaven and people can be prayed out of it and into heaven? (Please, no throwing of stones at me if I am wrong, please!)
I said I wasn't going to respond any more, so forgive me for going back on that statement. However, I do want to comment on whether suicide is a sin. My understanding is that this belief is a tenet of the Catholic Church. I'm not sure about other faiths and religions. As far as I know (someone please correct me if I am wrong), no specific scripture in the Christian Bible condemns suicide directly. However, it can be inferred from the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" and other scriptures. I am hesitant to say much about this topic, though, for fear that my comments will push some folks over this edge.
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Payne, I was raised a Catholic, but haven't been a practicing Catholic in over 40 years. Let me see what I can remember....
I don't remember the term Sheol, but Catholics do believe in purgatory. I didn't understand it very well as a kid so my explanation might be off the mark. My understanding was that purgatory was for folks who hadn't done anything bad enough to go to hell, but also hadn't been good enough to go to heaven. It's possible for people to earn their way out of purgatory and into heaven, but I don't know how that happens.
I have no idea if the Bible has any specific injunctions against suicide. I always believed that was more a particular religion's interpretation of the Bible. When I was a kid we were taught that suicide was a sin because the body was the temple of God. You were insulting God by distroying his temple.
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