"I think they've since canceled Limbo. I'm not completely sure, but I think when they purged a few of the saints they called off Limbo, too. I hope they promoted everyone and sent them to Heaven, you know, and didn't just cut them loose in space..."
George Carlin
"Special Dispensation--Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo"

Turns out George Carlin was 35 years ahead of his time--on the subject of Limbo, anyway. It took thirty Catholic theologians to decide that, in fact, they worship a merciful god who would not consign stillborn babies and unbaptized infants to a place other than heaven. And, for good measure, they also seemed to say that the Church never taught such a silly thing in the first place.

That last bit is a big galling, especially for those families who could not get church burials for their unbaptized dead children. But, you know, Christianity is all about forgiveness, right? Bygones.

Nonetheless, the concept of Limbo (not to mention other afterlife climes such as Heaven, Hell and Purgatory) is a serious one for some religious people. And it's not just Christians. We in the west have had a field day with the news that some Muslim suicide bombers die in the belief that they will score 72 (or so) virgins in Paradise. Never mind the obvious disconnect: If you were really in Paradise, you'd get 72 courtesans, not 72 girls who are more likely to get their teeth in the way than provide much pleasure.

Limbo falls into the same category. Why would you worship a god who cruelly consigns the innocent (well, other than original sin) to the dustbin of the afterlife? Most folks are born into their religions, and those that change tend to join groups that think like they do. Fundamentalist Christians (the older ones, anyway) are rabidly anti-gay not because the Bible says so. Rather, they join anti-gay churches because they feel that way already. Most people look for their church to confirm their prejudices, not challenge their beliefs.

This goes for the "liberal" parts of the church as well. A number of our friends are Unitarians, and the "dogma" (used loosely here) is that all religions have something valuable to contribute. This is all well and good for us multi-culties, I guess, though in practice Unitarianism seems to be more of an extension course in religious studies rather than part of a real religion.

So what does the unofficial canceling of Limbo mean? Is it a Ghostbusters-like moment when all those souls cooped up for so long get to take flight and enter Paradise (which, loosely defined, might well be New York)? Or is it simply an admission from the church that humans really have no idea if there is an afterlife, much less any concept of what that afterlife might be?

The truth of the matter is obvious. Putting any weight in decidedly superstitious bits of ancient dogmatic logic is silly. My own personal belief is that religion ought to help people make peace with themselves and the world. If I were a Catholic, I'd have rejected Limbo out of hand right about the time the priest mentioned it in Catechism class. I understand the logic behind something like Limbo, but if God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then it seems likely that God would think and act in ways that people cannot (and will never be able to) understand. You hear it at any given funeral ("We're not meant to know why..."), so why not apply it to things like Limbo?

Ah, but then again, applying something like logic to the mystery of faith is also silly. The rationale and basis for faith is largely not comprehensible, and it shouldn't be, really. I don't believe in God, but if I did, I'd do it because it helped me make sense of the world, not because I read some C.S. Lewis book. But then again, that's applying logic to the concept of religion. I'm making the same mistake as everyone else.

The real irony in this whole Limbo thing is that, given the "unofficial" status of the decision, the only thing that remains in Limbo is Limbo itself.

Who says the Pope isn't a funny guy?

Jon Worley is a born-again atheist. When he dies, he hopes he ends up in someone's beer.