Even apart from the image of a truly merciless God that contradicts everything we can assume from what Jesus says about the Either of the lost, can we be surprised at a time when retributive punishments without an opportunity of probation are being increasingly abandoned in education and penal justice, that the idea not only of a lifelong, but even eternal punishment of body and soul, seems to many people absolutely monstrous.
Hans KungI don't cling to earthly life because I believe in eternal life. That's the big distinction between my point of view and a purely secular position.
Hans KungIn my view, the Catholic Church as a community of faith will be preserved, but only if it abandons the Roman system of rule. We managed to get by without this absolutist system for 1,000 years. The problems began in the 11th century, when the popes asserted their claim to absolute control over the Church.
Hans KungHundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.
Hans KungI'm not saying goodbye to life because I'm a misanthropist or disdain this life, but because, for other reasons, it's time to move on.
Hans Kung