Mother Teresa was becoming an atheist? Will she be allowed in heaven?

Question

As an atheist she was the one Christian I actually admired, she walked the talk. Yet it seems she had a lot of doubts and may have even stopped praying. My question to Catholics or any Christians, will see now not go to heaven?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/23/eveningnews/main3199062.shtml

I never said she was an atheist or was a bad person. I still would admire her no matter what her religion was. The question was...Does she gain entrance to heaven?

Thanks reallytrue101, why such anger and hatred? I am just asking a question. I don't really care about her sainthood....she already is one the best Humans I have ever heard of.

Answer 1

every believer struggles with faith. that is why it is faith. If there were no doubts, then there it is not faith, but blind acceptance.

That Mother Teresa struggled with doubts is testament to her humility and humanity, and even though she had doubts but still persisted in service to the poor, is testament to her saintliness.

Answer 2

WAIT UNTIL THE BOOK COMES OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

According the the article these letters were compiled by the priest incharge of making Mother Teresa's case for sainthood. She was such a popular figure do you really thing the Roman Catholic Chruch would publish anything adverse about her? Would she have been conflicted and have difficulty in the face of what she was up against? Who wouldn't?

There is no sin in doubting. The sin happens when you allow that doubt to over take you and steer you away from God's path for your life.

Answer 3

Actually, if you read the lives of many saints you will find they all experienced times (years) of doubt...and some died feeling far from God.

The thing is, faith is not feelings. Mother Teresa may not have felt her faith but she lived it. This is what God asks us to do. The holy spirit used her and spoke through her. She was an inspiration to many and helped people come to know God. That was her purpose. So, she fulfilled her calling, in some ways because she struggled so much to seek God. She obeyed him and put his will above her own.

We do not see questioning faith as a bad thing. It is our desire for him, the burning love even when our "feelings" let us down. It is in cases like hers, when a person really attains a level of holiness that they often feel the most unworthy and far from God. It is because they have the spiritual sight to see just how undeserving we really are.

I believe that Mother Teresa is in heaven.

Answer 4

You are one of the least spiritual and least
knowledgeable people I have ever witnessed.
First of all, let me explain this to you: A church system or any human person, cannot
name a Saint. Saints are set-aside ones and were named as such by God for something they did BEFORE even the Adam and Eve event. These are the Election of God. No Church can add a person to a list that God developed as a result of a prior event. Its not possible -
but there they are, naming saints. Mother
Theresa was not a "saint" unless God had already named her as such, and we simply do not know whether he did or did not.
For all you know, that drunk that you pass by on the way to work, IS a saint, just not
awakened to their purpose as of yet. And those who you see put up on a pedestal, may be the furthest thing from a saint - they are just doing good things in the flesh, period.
I don't say this to take away from Mother Theresa, but you need to understand this was a flesh and blood woman, period. She did work that involved watching children die on her lap by the hundreds every week. She
ate whatever was available; she lived in the most horrid of conditions. She had death all around her, every day, every nite, every
moment. And you can't see why she would
have weak moments? And you can't see how the devil does his work? I heard someone pray once: "Lord, help me with my unbelief". Life can be very hard, very
testing. Can you even begin to imagine what one day was like for Mother Theresa?
Even days here in Pennsylvania can have
there difficulties - people question their faith constantly. We have the devil waiting there
just for such a moment when we let our guard down because of a tragedy. Well, tragedy was constantly in the eyes of the
woman. "Lord I believe: help me with my unbelief". A statement from weak flesh who
understands the weakness of our flesh.

Is Mother Theresa going to Heaven? No person has the answer to that question for any person. God does the judging, and he is damn good at it.
I can tell you this much from Scripture: the
white linen you wear in the spiritual body is made up of the goodly acts or works you do while in the flesh. The woman will no-doubt be clothed well. Others will only have
enough cloth to cover them as a bikini, and then there are others who will be as naked
as a porcupine.
I cannot imagine anyone with that much fine linen will not be in "Heaven", esspecially since if you realize that Jesus Christ died
for our sins, you also know that upon repentance she is washed clean of any sin.
In addition, Scripture is clear that the fine
linen covers up a "multitude of sin".
I think Mother Theresa is in very good hands.
After the woman tried so hard to do Gods Work, just because of a weak moment in the flesh, you think God is gonna just throw her right into hell? Thats ridiculous; thats
not the God we serve.
What the hell kind of God are they painting
out there, anyway?
You probably have more to worry about since you posted this with questionable
motive; yep, Mother Theresa is in better
shape today than you are, thats for sure.
Repented lately?

Answer 5

First, I think it's wrong to publish her private letters, especially letters to her confessors and letters that she had asked be destroyed.

Second, her kindness and compassion was always in the name of Christ. As commanded, she was "feeding his sheep" and "tending his flock," recognizing the divine and Christlike in the "least of these."

If anyone who doubts or feels empty or questions their faith is banned from Heaven, it's a pretty empty place.

The one thing about Christianity that is rarely mentioned on the R&S forum is the most important: Grace. That is, God's understanding that we are imperfect, struggling humans, forever turning away from God and God's wishes for us, but that God welcomes us any time, no matter how far we've strayed.

If anyone thinks that Mother Teresa would be turned away from Heaven, then they have no understand of the concept of Grace.

Answer 6

Without having ever read her letters, people are free to come to their own conclusions about her faith or the lack of. I would guess that her doubts arose from the realization that the catholic church is no more than a man made religion that fails to convey the true message of Jesus Christ(God).
The fact is that most people are going to hell and that very few people are going to heaven. God knows the hearts of men and whether they really believe in Him. MAT 7:21 says"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Even most spiritual leaders don't follow the will of God.

Answer 7

Having doubt does not brand someone as an atheist.
I have doubts but also realize that I may not be included in Gods inner circle and therefore not see the "Big Picture".
Therefore, I consider myself agnostic.
As far as Mother Theresa is concerned.....If heaven does exist, she should be in the seat of honor for all the good she has done in this world.

Answer 8

She was human and like all humans she had doubt. That does not mean that she would be kicked out of line. We all look around the world and see many problems that we pray GOD will take care of but we don't see his plan nor do we have the right to tell him what we think he should be fixing in the world. He will fix it when the time is right and not one second before.

Answer 9

Actually she was always a Christian but she talked of God deserting her in her later years.

My hypothesis, Full knowing she was going to die in a few years God tested her to the fullest. Knowing that she would have an eternity in Heaven with "him" God tested her in her last few years of human life.

Which most atheists seem to forget the fact we believe in an eternity after we die. Now compare 4 billion years to the years you spend on this earth, virtually non exsistent then tack on eternity and its nonexistent.

So that child that died at 6, it could actually be argued that that was a gift. Not cruel like so many humans would interpret it from their limited ignorant perspective. Try looking at it from Gods perspective and things change.

Answer 10

It looks like the media is doing what they do so well...taking things out of context, forming personal opinions and reporting their own beliefs instead of reporting the news. How can they justify taking one sentence out of letter and expecting us to draw a conclusion? We can't, of course, so they give us a conclusion they want us to have. I try not to believe anything the news says unless verified by 27 other sources.

Answer 11

She wasn't becoming anything. Empty surely doesn't mean atheist, it means she had "Let Go" of all man-made concepts of Deity. Space is an Emptiness, inside or outside. She served the suffering and so she lived a life of suffering, and not for herself alone. When we become one with God , what need is there for prayer. To be one with is to be in communion with. Mind always perceives from the point of separation from God.