Anathema
- 1520s, "an accursed thing," from Latin anathema "an excommunicated person; the curse of excommunication," from Greek anathema "a thing accursed," originally "a thing devoted," literally "a thing set up (to the gods)," from ana- "up" (see ana-) + tithenai "to place," from PIE root *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious).
- Originally simply a votive offering, by the time it reached Latin the meaning had progressed through "thing devoted to evil," to "thing accursed or damned." Later applied to persons and the Divine Curse. Meaning "formal act or formula of consigning to damnation" is from 1610s.
- Placed on high, suspended, set aside.
- A term formerly indicating offerings made to the divinity which were suspended from the roof or walls of temples for the purpose of being exposed to view. Thus anathema according to its etymology signifies a thing offered to God. The word anathema is sometimes used in this sense in the Old and New Testaments: In Judith 16:23, it is said that Judith, having taken all the arms of Holofernes which the people had given him and the curtain of his bed which she herself had brought, offered them to the Lord as an anathema of oblivion. In II Mach., ix, 16, Antiochus promises to adorn with precious gifts (anathemata) the temple he has pillaged; and in Luke 21:5, mention is made of the temple built of precious stones and adorned with rich gifts (anathemata). As odious objects were also exposed to view, e.g. the head of a criminal or of an enemy, or his arms or spoils, the word anathema came to signify a thing hated, or execrable, devoted to public abhorrence or destruction.
Scripture
| Rom 9:3 | For I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh. |
| 1 Cor 12:3 | Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.†And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,†except by the holy Spirit. |
| 1 Cor 16:22 | If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. |
| Gal 1:8-9 | But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach [to you] a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed! |
Discussion
The Church does not teach that only Catholics go to Heaven and all others go to Hell.
The Church is not sitting in judgment of Protestants when it says that those who object to her teaches are to be treated as outcasts (anathema sit). She is not saying that all Protestants are going to Hell.
Rather, the force of the term is to teach Catholics that the doctrine is an essential part of the faith and that one may not claim to be Catholic without assenting to the doctrine. Whoever objects to what is taught with authority by the Church is by that objection placed outside of the Church--they make themselves "anathema," outcasts. What effect that has on their salvation is known only to God.
References