Catholics/Re: Anti-Christ

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Expert: - 5/12/2004


Question
Hello,

Since the Cathechism of the Catholic Church does indicate that a political/religous figure will emerge as the ant-Christ, could Catholics not say that some type of predestination occurs?  (i.e., since Scripture must be fullfilled, we know that at least a third of mankind will follow the devil and be damned).  


Thank you,


Paul  

Answer
Hi Paul.. St. Augustine is often upheld for saying that we're free to choose, but God knows how we will choose. Jung thought this was a cop-out, because God, he reminds us, is the author of mankind, and knows everything in advance.

I think the limits of Jung's thinking may be found in his lack of humility. He seems to imply that he is in a position to make definitive statements about God, time, and free will.

My own view is that part of the problem lies in the fact that we're to some degree limited in and by time. But God is above and beyond all time. As such, our understanding suffers.

As for your belief about the anti-Christ and so on, I believe that it is healthy to remember that scripture is variously interpreted, for various reasons. If you require further reading in this area, please don't hesitate to get back to me.

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Michael Clark, Ph.D.

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I'm a progressive Catholic--not a liberal, conservative nor a single-minded critic of Catholicism. I simply believe that adults in the 21C should use the mind God gave them and not just repeat ancient and medieval modes of thinking.

I can probably help with questions that intelligently and respectfully question those aspects of Catholicism that are not infallible. But if you're looking for someone to vigorously defend or perhaps refute Catholicism as a whole, that's not me. So please ask another expert.

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I run an educational website earthpages.org and know what the web has to offer. I might suggest hyperlinks and/or book titles as I have a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and a considerable personal library.

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Print Media:
My table from "Religions and Cults" at earthpages.org is reproduced with permission in L. Lindsey, S. Beach and B. Ravelli, Core Concepts in Sociology, 2nd ed., p. 157

World Wide Web:
My online article "Letter to God" coauthored with Buddhist monk, E. Raymond Rock, appears on several different spirituality-based websites, including http://tinyurl.com/db7a5o

I've interviewed, as a Christian, a self-proclaimed mystic: http://tinyurl.com/cawykr

My articles appeared at the former New View magazine nuvunow.ca and are published at earthpages.org.

Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Religious Studies
M.A. in Comparative Religion
B.A. Hon. in Psychology/Sociology
For more info, please see my CV and letters of recommendation and my blog at michaelwclark.com.

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