On May 22, 2013, the Huffington Post came out with the following article: Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics. Like many bloggers, Christian and otherwise, I jumped the gun and posted a response to this article right away (see my posts: Pope Francis Says Atheists Can Be Good & Billy Graham, Pope Francis, and The Doctrine of Total Depravity).
The Bible says: "A fool uttereth all his mind, but a wise man keepeth it in until afterwards." - Proverbs 29:11. As it turns out, I probably should have sat on that post for a few days. At least until I listened to Pastor Trevor Hammack's podcast, The Pope Said What? So if I have offended anyone, the Pope or otherwise, I apologize. Well, sort of.
After listening to Pastor Hammack's podcast, I realized that Pope Francis was not teaching that everyone - atheists included - were going to go to heaven. It's a little convoluted, but here is what I think the Pope was trying to say. 1. He believes, like many non-Calvinist Protestants, that our Lord Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. 2. Since Jesus died for everyone's sins, that means everyone has been redeemed. 3. Being redeemed is not the same thing as being "Saved" and only those who are redeemed AND saved will go to heaven. 4. But since atheists have been redeemed, even though they will not go to heaven when they die, they can do good works while they are on this earth.
That is how I understand what the Pope said. Apparently, this was the Pope's attempt to "evangelize" atheist. As one Roman Catholic explained:
"This method of evangelism is no different from the classic method of missionaries from St. Paul onward. We meet the non-believer on his territory, affirm what is good and beautiful about his belief and behavior, and move from there to introduce them to Christ." (See Did Pope Francis Preach Salvation by Works?).
I guess that is one way to go about evangelizing atheists. I prefer the method used by Dr. David P. Murray: "Without Christ, You're Damned!" (When Government Tries to Be God).
Recommended reading:
Reprise: The Gospel According to Rome - thecripplegate.com
