Are Catholics sure they are going to heaven?

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*You don’t have to be a trained theologian to be able to commit a mortal sin. All that is required for “full knowledge” is the awareness that the action is considered “wrong.” *

*Quite true. If they understand that killing is wrong, and if they understand that the infant in the womb is alive, then they have the amount of knowledge that is required to make it a mortal sin, if they do it deliberately, and of their own free will. *

Does a person not thinking it’s wrong make it not wrong?

Millions and millions of people throughout the world do not believe that abortion is murder. Many more millions of people do not believe that contraception or sex outside of marriage is wrong. Those are just a few that come to mind off the top of my head.

Many millions of people do not pray and do not attend any type of church service, let alone participate in the life of the Church. Do they lack “full knowledge”? This is why the “mortal sin” concept as defined by the Church does not seem to apply to anyone who is not Catholic. What determines whether someone who does not know the teachings of the Church has sinned?
 
My own two cents, for what it’s worth…

People in my life who believe in faith alone have expressed that they feel badly for my own position, and are mostly concerned about any anxiety that I might feel. How can I live without “total assurance” (…btw…that term seem ludicrous to me…total assurance does not exist in this life the exceptions being… the sun rising, taxes and death)…

The truth of the matter is that I really don’t have the anxiety that they might expect I do. I am reasonably certain that I can finish this race and win because I am a child of God. I have God’s Name, I recieved the name “Christian” when I was baptised…I eat at God’s table every time I receive the meal that he serves which is the body and blood of Jesus Christ…God Disciplines me as his child…the right of penance…

So…I live in his house…He feeds me…and he disciplines me…I am His Child…

I seriously doubt that there is any reason that I would run away from home…so I am reasonably assured…but since I am NOT GOD and do not know the future…how can I say total assurance???
 
raezale said:
*You don’t have to be a trained theologian to be able to commit a mortal sin. All that is required for “full knowledge” is the awareness that the action is considered “wrong.” *

*Quite true. If they understand that killing is wrong, and if they understand that the infant in the womb is alive, then they have the amount of knowledge that is required to make it a mortal sin, if they do it deliberately, and of their own free will. *

Does a person not thinking it’s wrong make it not wrong?
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No, it doesn’t make it “not wrong,” but it makes the person “not guilty” of deliberately and freely doing something that they knew was wrong, which is what a “mortal sin” is.

It would still be a sin, but it would be a venial sin.
Millions and millions of people throughout the world do not believe that abortion is murder. Many more millions of people do not believe that contraception or sex outside of marriage is wrong. Those are just a few that come to mind off the top of my head.
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That’s true. These people are not guilty of mortal sin, due to ignorance of God’s law. They are, however, guilty of venial sin, and will certainly spend a great deal of time in Purgatory learning just how awful these things were. Perhaps they will meet the children who were aborted, and perhaps these children will ask them for the reasons why they were aborted. But because of the fact that they sincerely believe they are doing the right and responsible thing, God will not find them guilty of mortal sin.

**Unless there was some way that they could have found out that it was a mortal sin, and they chose to avoid finding out. **

Deliberately making oneself ignorant of the moral law is also a mortal sin.
Many millions of people do not pray and do not attend any type of church service, let alone participate in the life of the Church. Do they lack “full knowledge”? This is why the “mortal sin” concept as defined by the Church does not seem to apply to anyone who is not Catholic. What determines whether someone who does not know the teachings of the Church has sinned?
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Again, the same criteria as for Catholics. Know that it’s wrong. (Or suspect that it’s wrong, and deliberately fail to find out for sure.) Do it on purpose. Do it with the full and free consent of the will.
 
Unless there was some way that they could have found out that it was a mortal sin, and they chose to avoid finding out.

Deliberately making oneself ignorant of the moral law is also a mortal sin.

In this age of instant access to information, almost everyone on the earth has the opportunity to find out what God has revealed to us. Of course, since some truths are written in every human heart, such as the sacredness of human life, and don’t need to be specifically taught to us by the Church, it seems unrealistic that anyone could be free of mortal sin if they have participated in the heinous act of abortion.

If all one has to do is not know what God teaches through His Church, then it must be better for them to remain outside the Church. I know many people who think unmarried sex is normal & good recreation, homosexuality is not bad just different, contraception is necessary, divorce & remarriage are acceptable, getting drunk is entertainment, going to church is okay if you feel like it, communion is just a piece of bread, etc, etc. It is obviously better for them not to be Catholic.

Better to be sure of Heaven as a Protestant, Jew, Muslim, or other “religion,” not care as an agnostic, or not believe as an atheist?

I’ll just stick with the Catholic Church and fullness of Truth even though I’m not really sure about anything, including whether I’ll be going to Heaven.
 
raezale said:
Unless there was some way that they could have found out that it was a mortal sin, and they chose to avoid finding out.

Deliberately making oneself ignorant of the moral law is also a mortal sin.

In this age of instant access to information, almost everyone on the earth has the opportunity to find out what God has revealed to us. Of course, since some truths are written in every human heart, such as the sacredness of human life, and don’t need to be specifically taught to us by the Church, it seems unrealistic that anyone could be free of mortal sin if they have participated in the heinous act of abortion.
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It seems unrealistic to me, too. There are also other sins that seem “obvious,” to me. The only reliable remedy for mortal sin is to go to Confession in the Catholic Church. One could also have “perfect Contrition” but how would one know if one had that, or not?
If all one has to do is not know what God teaches through His Church, then it must be better for them to remain outside the Church. I know many people who think unmarried sex is normal & good recreation, homosexuality is not bad just different, contraception is necessary, divorce & remarriage are acceptable, getting drunk is entertainment, going to church is okay if you feel like it, communion is just a piece of bread, etc, etc. It is obviously better for them not to be Catholic.
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The only problem with that theory is that God is not only in the Church; He is everywhere. And as you pointed out, information about sin is readily available on the Internet. But you can only get the Sacrament of Reconciliation from a Catholic priest.
Better to be sure of Heaven as a Protestant, Jew, Muslim, or other “religion,” not care as an agnostic, or not believe as an atheist?
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I’ll just stick with the Catholic Church and fullness of Truth even though I’m not really sure about anything, including whether I’ll be going to Heaven.
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Same here.
 
I just have to say that some of the discussion on this thread saddens me a little. It is like we are looking for a “get out of hell free card” or what we must do to satisfy the requirements for heaven. Is that all this is about? For myself, despite all my weaknesses and failings, I do want to avoid hell and get to heaven, but most of all I just love God and want to be as close to him as possible, now as well as at the end of time. Moral and church law, then, is not a checklist or a ticket to heaven to me. To think of it as merely as that seems an insult to this gift of our mortal lives. Rather, it is all about my active participation now in my relationship with God and his body the Church. The more responsibility the Church demands of me, the happier I am because that is my avenue towards a deeper relationship with God.

LT
 
Revelation13_16 said:
Hi Gamera,

I don’t mean to cause disrespect with the following, but I find analogies and metaphor the best way to understand a concept:

So if Heaven were a gentleman’s club; Jesus paid the cover charge for us to get in, but we can still be kicked out if we don’t buy a drink every hour?

Love,
Rev
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Hey Rev,
How about this analogy?
Jesus is the vine…
We are the branches…
The branches that are not fruitful will be trimmed…
Therefore, we must be fruitful to remain with the vine…
 
Catholics are not sure if they’r going to heaven, until they find themselves there.
 
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