Posted by Placenta Jones at dpsnet.detpub.k12.mi.us on November 30, 1999 at 12:34:28:
In Reply to: Kevin please help me! Q re: the Angels(*spoiler!) posted by Bethany27 on November 30, 1999 at 12:01:48:
Jeez...thirteen years of Catholic school and I can't even answer this basic question.
From what I understand (which way be wrong), when Jesus died, his sacrifice made it possible for all humans to enter heaven. To go to heaven, you only only had to accept Jesus as your savior and ask forgiveness for your sins (I'm hazy on whether you had to peform the sacrament of confession or if personal prayer would suffice.)
The best example of this is when Jesus forgave the criminals who were crucified with him at Golgotha. Because they believed he was the son of God and asked forgiveness, JC told them that they would "be at his right hand" in heaven.
SO, here's the questions... After cutting off their wings, do Bartelby and Loki become normal, original sin tainted human beings? Does God's decree about keeping the two of them out of heaven still apply once they become human? If it doesn't, why didn't B&L think of this a LONG time ago?
Also, where does Purgatory come into this? (Purgatory is something almost no Catholic truly understands.) Maybe they had to use the pleniary indulgance loophole because getting into heaven the normal "human" way could lead them into an eternity stuck in the limbo of purgatory? Maybe the loophole was the only way that they guaranteed could go DIRECTLY to heaven?
And, my final thought, if Bartelby and Loki were banished to Wisconsin, why was it so easy for them to leave it? Was Wisconsin their purgatory? Basically, I think most of the confusion around this whole deal comes from the question of how "human" do angels become once they cut off their wings.
Cripes, I don't know...maybe we're looking to deep into this...damn good question, Bethany. Oh, and hey, you can find an early version of the Dogma script online at www.script-o-rama.com.