So atheists CAN be saved, kinda, sorta?

There was a big brouhaha recently when the pope said seemed to say that atheists can go to heaven. All sorts of reports and stories spewed from the media about this. At the time, HuffPo, among other outlets, reported that the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican representative, "clarified" the pope's words by stating that atheists cannot be saved.

But that was last week. I just came across a "corrected" story at HuffPo. They now report that Rosica never said this. Apparently what they originally reported was text from a catechism. (Though even in the corrected story, it seems Rosica offered the text. But who's quibbling?) Anyway, here's what they said in the corrected story:

Rosica wrote that it's not impossible for an atheist to eventually be saved by Christ. 

“Rejection of Christianity may not mean the rejection of Christ,” he wrote. "We can never say with ultimate certainty whether a non-Christian who has rejected Christianity...is still following the temporary path mapped out for his own salvation which is leading him to an encounter with God.”

Well, thanks for clearing that up. So my atheist path may lead me to an encounter with god, eh? Of course, there is no god so this meeting will never take place. However, should such an unlikely event come my way, I will punch this supernatural creature right in his gay-hating, woman-stomping, child-killing face. Come to think of it, I'd really enjoy pummelling the monster responsible for all the pain and suffering that living creatures experience.

But for now, I'm quite sure that being a militant anti-god blogger and novelist is the "path mapped out for my salvation". I just define salvation differently. So I'll blog on.

See you later, jeebus.