My views on objective morality

[bennyboy]

So do those Catholics of the past, some of whom did things which are evil by our standards, go to Heaven or not?  Is Heaven going to be filled with generations of Catholics who toed the party line?  Are you some day going to be sharing God's grace with witch hunters, for example?

I have no idea. The only people whom we claim to know the fate of are Saints - who we believe are in Heaven. Other than that, we don't know who is in the state of Hell or Heaven, since we cannot know what was in a person's heart.

That's a cop out.  Let's say a witch-hunter considered himself a good and loving Christian, and that he took his witch-interviewing duties seriously.  Let's say that in his love, he followed the proscribed methods of turning a witch to confession and to salvation (talking about torture, here).  He was in a state of total peace, confident because of papal decrees or agreements made at church, that he was doing the work of God.

Perfectly calm mind and openly peaceful heart, committing torture.

Heaven or not?  Because by your statements, it would seem that HE is going to Heaven, and the "witch," who would be a terrified, lonely old woman, cast out of society, blamed and tortured, and then told she must share the religious beliefs of her attackers, and "confess" sins she never committed, would be in the wrong mental condition to be allowed into Heaven.

I mean, we can trot out examples post after post until the cows come home, and you can keep saying "I don't know, I don't know." But if you don't know anything, then from whence comes your belief?

See, here's my problem with you (as I've already mentioned): you seem to be a generally good person, and I think you are projecting your OWN goodness onto the universe, and onto your God idea. But you cannot produce logical reasons for your beliefs, nor evidence that they correct, nor good reasons for believing a good God exists, nor evidence for beliefing a good God exists.

So why the heck to you hold the beliefs that you do? There's no reason for it that I can see except that you are a member of a Catholic culture.