Are most people going to Hell?

[Vinko]

May I suggest that some here on this thread go out and buy and READ the book: “Understanding Scrupulosity”

Some of you are going too far with “sin.”

You may also want to contact a spiritual advisor. Our walk with God is not supposed to be dreadful. Trust Him… He will save you.

 

[Catholic_Dude]

H,

I have had the same thoughts on almost all your posts on this thread. I have also struggled with these issues as you have.
I just now thought of this, If at least 51% are NOT going to go to heaven then Satan has in effect won the war…then Jesus dying on the cross was not to save all men, but to allow a green card for a lucky bunch to get into heaven, ie Jesus wasnt really concerned with love, but more of an “Amazing Race” in which He only wants a few to “win”. That doesnt sound right to me.
I admit I have made such comments as “most are doomed”, I hope I wasnt the one who got you started on this.

Also about the sudden-death-after-mortal-sin scare stuff: I think that you always have to be on your guard, and also have faith that God wouldnt put you in that situation where in essence He waited for you to sin and then allowed you to die before confessing. You can confess in your dying seconds and be saved. You will always have a chance, God doesnt give one person a one up and not another. He isnt going to let someone who commits mortal sin every day confess and “get off the hook” because the guy lives one block from a church, while you try your hardest and only sin once, but because you are 3hrs away from a church you are doomed.

I know it is a hard issue and one that we cant fully grasp, and will never fully know as humans. This is a question of the ages and goes right along side with the famous “Why are we here, why did God create us?” questions. You cant go around thinking that God is out to get you and that He will leave you high and dry. As Christians, getting to Heaven is a hard road, but it isnt out of our reach, God didnt give an advantage to one genius and leave another half-educated person hanging.
There is a parable concerning what people do with what God gives them ( something along the lines of the guy with one coin, the guy with 10 and the guy with 100 coins), and if they made good use of those gifts, and with each gift comes responsibility. God isnt making it harder for you because you know more about Him than John Doe, in fact you should be glad that you can have such questions debated, that doesnt mean that John Doe’s chances are less than yours. It means that as you progress you mature into a better person who resists sin more, and teaches others. This was an important thread and you have helped many readers wake up and take their Christianity seriously.

The bottom line H, is that you need to calm down. This is scary stuff, but dont live in fear. In almost every time I fall into doom and gloom thought periods, I say to myself I will wait it out, pray , and have faith, and after a time it will blow over. This is God building you up during this time, be strong. We arent Jesus, we sin and are not perfect, every saint you ever heard of sinned some big sins. The Bible is the Mind of God given in human terms, no one can fully grasp it. All you need to do is your best.
If you feel sad about a sin just read Psalm 51, it is short and to the point. Take into consideration the major sins that David committed, and yet had enough faith to know God would forgive him. David didnt know about Jesus, you do, hold on.

 

[Hermione]

Catholic Dude:

H,

I have had the same thoughts on almost all your posts on this thread. I have also struggled with these issues as you have.
I just now thought of this, If at least 51% are NOT going to go to heaven then Satan has in effect won the war…then Jesus dying on the cross was not to save all men, but to allow a green card for a lucky bunch to get into heaven, ie Jesus wasnt really concerned with love, but more of an “Amazing Race” in which He only wants a few to “win”. That doesnt sound right to me.
I admit I have made such comments as “most are doomed”, I hope I wasnt the one who got you started on this.

Also about the sudden-death-after-mortal-sin scare stuff: I think that you always have to be on your guard, and also have faith that God wouldnt put you in that situation where in essence He waited for you to sin and then allowed you to die before confessing. You can confess in your dying seconds and be saved. You will always have a chance, God doesnt give one person a one up and not another. He isnt going to let someone who commits mortal sin every day confess and “get off the hook” because the guy lives one block from a church, while you try your hardest and only sin once, but because you are 3hrs away from a church you are doomed.

I know it is a hard issue and one that we cant fully grasp, and will never fully know as humans. This is a question of the ages and goes right along side with the famous “Why are we here, why did God create us?” questions. You cant go around thinking that God is out to get you and that He will leave you high and dry. As Christians, getting to Heaven is a hard road, but it isnt out of our reach, God didnt give an advantage to one genius and leave another half-educated person hanging.
There is a parable concerning what people do with what God gives them ( something along the lines of the guy with one coin, the guy with 10 and the guy with 100 coins), and if they made good use of those gifts, and with each gift comes responsibility. God isnt making it harder for you because you know more about Him than John Doe, in fact you should be glad that you can have such questions debated, that doesnt mean that John Doe’s chances are less than yours. It means that as you progress you mature into a better person who resists sin more, and teaches others. This was an important thread and you have helped many readers wake up and take their Christianity seriously.

The bottom line H, is that you need to calm down. This is scary stuff, but dont live in fear. In almost every time I fall into doom and gloom thought periods, I say to myself I will wait it out, pray , and have faith, and after a time it will blow over. This is God building you up during this time, be strong. We arent Jesus, we sin and are not perfect, every saint you ever heard of sinned some big sins. The Bible is the Mind of God given in human terms, no one can fully grasp it. All you need to do is your best.
If you feel sad about a sin just read Psalm 51, it is short and to the point. Take into consideration the major sins that David committed, and yet had enough faith to know God would forgive him. David didnt know about Jesus, you do, hold on.

Thanks

You know, I really wish God would comfort me in a way that I can distinguish that the comfort is coming from God. I wish God would send an Angel or something, or Mary, or come Himself at least for a second to let me know that He exists, that the teaching of the Church is true, and that He loves me.

It’s very difficult to believe in a loving God when I feel so terrible. If God loves me, why is there no help for me?

I’m in A LOT of trouble now. I’m a mentally unstable person. I have a history of mental illness; I had a complete nervous breakdown and was admitted to the mental hospital when I was only 17. It took me 2 years to recover from that and I don’t want to go down that road again.

God knows all this, He knows how troubled I am right now. He knows I may be headed in that direction again. (And belief in Hell and fear of sin is the thing that’s causing it.) If He loves me, why isn’t He helping?

But who am I to ask, when there are children in Thailand who are making papercups in an 18 hour a day frenzy, are being given drugs to do it, etc. Who am I to ask when entire families are being subjected to biological and chemical weapons tests in North Korea?

Compared to them, I am pretty well off. But my faith is in a lot of trouble.

 

[puzzleannie]

we just celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. We don’t have an “we’re all goin’ to hell” Sunday. We have the entire period of Lent and Passiontide in which we focus honestly on the problem of evil and the contribution of our own sin to the sufferings of Christ. Where does He lead us in this contemplation? to the joy of the Resurrection and the assurance of Divinve Mercy. We are presented with the choice of staying with the evil, preferring the evil, to choosing the Light of the World and basking in forgiveness and love. Hell is a choice and those there consent and pronounce the words of their own condemnation. Why do you worry about this? Why do you worry about anything in the face of the evidence of God’s great love?

 

[Hermione]

puzzleannie:

we just celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. We don’t have an “we’re all goin’ to hell” Sunday. We have the entire period of Lent and Passiontide in which we focus honestly on the problem of evil and the contribution of our own sin to the sufferings of Christ. Where does He lead us in this contemplation? to the joy of the Resurrection and the assurance of Divinve Mercy. We are presented with the choice of staying with the evil, preferring the evil, to choosing the Light of the World and basking in forgiveness and love. Hell is a choice and those there consent and pronounce the words of their own condemnation. Why do you worry about this? Why do you worry about anything in the face of the evidence of God’s great love?

I worry because according to things I’ve mentioned earlier (first among them are Jesus’ words in the Bible itself) most of us are going to Hell.

This means that the average person is probably going to Hell. I am an average person. At this point, I’m also a very weak and overwhelmed person. I don’t feel like I can take much more of this, and it’s making less and less sense to me. If God loves me, why is there no help? Would it be so difficult for God to come and reassure me in a way that would make me feel reassured? I’m not asking for much here, I just want to keep my sanity.

You know what the worst thing is? What if God doesn’t exist and I’m destroying the only life I’ve got?

I really don’t understand it. Faith is supposed to give people peace, not wreck their lives.

So my question to everyone here is: **If your faith gives you joy and peace, please explain how, and where does the fear of Hell and therefore of sin fit in? AND what do you believe about Hell? Do you believe it’s easy to end up there? Difficult? Do you believe most people go there? **

 

[TheGarg]

Hermione:

I agree that it’s not necessarily trivial to deliberately miss Mass, but is it really bad enough to merit ETERNAL TORTURE IN HELL?

I don’t think so. It just doesn’t seem loving to let a human being (who otherwise could be a good human being who helps the poor, loves his family etc.) TO BURN FOREVER for having a day of selfishness and wanting to watch a movie instead of driving to Church and spending an hour there.

What if you were God, would you burn people for missing Mass?

If you love God, which is the requirement for salvation, then you would never want to miss mass. Since I found my way back, I never miss, if I miss on sunday, I always make itup soon, [daily mass], and i always repent it…

 

[clarkal]

Hermione:

I worry because according to things I’ve mentioned earlier (first among them are Jesus’ words in the Bible itself) most of us are going to Hell.

This means that the average person is probably going to Hell. I am an average person. At this point, I’m also a very weak and overwhelmed person. I don’t feel like I can take much more of this, and it’s making less and less sense to me. If God loves me, why is there no help? Would it be so difficult for God to come and reassure me in a way that would make me feel reassured? I’m not asking for much here, I just want to keep my sanity.

You know what the worst thing is? What if God doesn’t exist and I’m destroying the only life I’ve got?

I really don’t understand it. Faith is supposed to give people peace, not wreck their lives.

So my question to everyone here is: **If your faith gives you joy and peace, please explain how, and where does the fear of Hell and therefore of sin fit in? AND what do you believe about Hell? Do you believe it’s easy to end up there? Difficult? Do you believe most people go there? **

When I was really suffering from religious OCD and scrupulosity, I used to watch EWTN a lot. One day, I turned it on during the summer, and EWTN was covering World Youth Day. I saw a miles of youths my age. They seemed so happy and carefree. The pope was giving a sermon. He quoted the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

“Peace?” I thought. “Where is my peace, Jesus?” I just wanted to be like the happy youths I saw on EWTN and Life on the Rock. Rather than saying the above, it was more like Jesus said to me: “OCD and anxiety I leave unto you. You will be driven to insanity, embarrass your family, destroy your good name, social life, and years of your life.”

During this suffering, I had the same doubts about Christianity that you did, Hermione. The apologetical language that you see all over this thread grew trite and didn’t add up or make sense. I decided to give the skeptics a fair chance and read their literature. The rest is history.

If I were still a believer, I would no doubt be institutionalized and forgotten. Catholicism drove me crazy and almost irreverisibly so, and I fear that it is doing the same to you. Get out while you still have your sanity.

clarkal

 

[john_doran]

Hermione:

I worry because according to things I’ve mentioned earlier (first among them are Jesus’ words in the Bible itself) most of us are going to Hell.

This means that the average person is probably going to Hell. I am an average person. At this point, I’m also a very weak and overwhelmed person. I don’t feel like I can take much more of this, and it’s making less and less sense to me. If God loves me, why is there no help? Would it be so difficult for God to come and reassure me in a way that would make me feel reassured? I’m not asking for much here, I just want to keep my sanity.

You know what the worst thing is? What if God doesn’t exist and I’m destroying the only life I’ve got?

I really don’t understand it. Faith is supposed to give people peace, not wreck their lives.

So my question to everyone here is: **If your faith gives you joy and peace, please explain how, and where does the fear of Hell and therefore of sin fit in? AND what do you believe about Hell? Do you believe it’s easy to end up there? Difficult? Do you believe most people go there? **

if you’re asking, then you can be sure that god is helping you - it just may not be in the way that you want to be helped.

just don’t stop asking him, hermione. place all your trust and hope in him and you will not be disappointed. really. i remember when i was making my first steps back to the church in my teens - i went to mass every day, prayed the rosary and the office, i devoured every spiritual book by the saints i could find; it was like god had stooped down from heaven and was next to me all the time. i was so happy.

then, one day, he was gone. i couldn’t find him anywhere. i was racked with doubt and uncertainty. it was awful. man, i remember it like it was yesterday and it was almost 20 years ago now.

anyway, i just prayed and prayed and put my trust in jesus: if he wanted me to pass through this crucible, then so be it. and then, one day, he was back. and it was different - it was a calmer, more peaceful joy than before. and he hasn’t left me since, despite the fact that i am constantly leaving him.

most of us have our dark nights of the soul, hermione - some darker and longer than others. just never stop praying, never stop reaching out for jesus in the blackness. he is there, and he is leading you somewhere beautiful.

 

[CatholicHoser]

Thanks to everyone who wrote me with support- I feel a lot better today and it’s also good to know that there are other people like me out there. Hermione, hang in there, I know your pain.

Turning away from the faith is flat-out not an option for me. I don’t see it as an answer- I’m going to be even more worried about what the next life may hold if I turn away. It’s not like I’m just going to “forget” about all this by turning away.

-b

 

[Mijoy2]

Hermione:

As I understand it, most people are going to Hell. Jesus Himself says so in the Bible when he says that the road to hell is wide, and the gate to Heaven is narrow and few enter it or something like that.

Furthermore, the Catechism says that no one is deemed ignorant of the moral law written in our conscience (or something similar), so people who deliberately and with full knowledge commit adultery, murder, theft etc. are in mortal sin even if they never heard of Catholicism. Right?

olrl.org/snt_docs/fewness.shtml is a sermon by a saint, and here are some quotes:

So is it true that most people are going to Hell?

Thanks!

Read Crossing the Thresold of Hope by Pope John Paul II.

The Bible also says God wills all to be saved; I come so that you may have life and live it abundantly…

Matthew 7

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The passage in the bible you are refering to does not say most people are going to Hell. This statement does not account for God’s mercy. The road to damnation is certainly wide, and many / most travel it.

Jesus didn’t die on the Cross only for those taking the narrow road.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

Hermione:

I agree that all those sins cause us to reject God. The main reason to go to Mass would be to be with Jesus who is present in the Eucharist. Watching a movie or something like that is not a good enough reason to miss this extremely important Sacrament.

BUT, what about Catholics who do miss Mass, Catholics who do use birth control? Sure, they are disobeying God, but can you really imagine these people (who are probably no worse than we are in other respects) being TORMENTED FOREVER WITH NO WAY OUT, NOT EVEN THE ABILITY TO CEASE TO EXIST?

It’s hard to believe that a loving God would create a Hell.

In addition it seems that most of us are going to Hell! This means that most people you know are probably going to burn forever. Maybe most of your family members will burn. Maybe you will burn alongside them!!!

Hi Hermi, Many are called but few are chosen.Why dont you focus on being one of those few.I agree many of our family members will not be getting in,if they remain in theuir existant state. Thats why its critical that we bring Christ,s message of repentance and the need of a Savior,or else face the consequences of hell. God Bless

 

[oriel36]

Hermione:

As I understand it, most people are going to Hell. Jesus Himself says so in the Bible when he says that the road to hell is wide, and the gate to Heaven is narrow and few enter it or something like that.

Thanks!

Jesus likened the trial of Christian life to childbirth which eventually passes leaving no fear but only awe and love of Christ and Christianity.As for hell as a corporeal description,I am afraid somebody has has been very naughty by using Dante’s descriptions for spiritual states and that is wrong.

Jesus prayed that his followers be as he was as both natural man and in His Divine nature.The closest thing in megawatts to the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in the same sense in the OT is from Numbers -

"So, when a young man quickly told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “Moses, my lord, stop them.” But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!”

usccb.org/nab/bible/john/john17.htm

 

[Mijoy2]

Hermione, Please read all you can find on what Pope John Paul II had to say on this. Do not listen to layity that choose to induce horror in your mindset.

Our God is a God of love.Listen to people who approach this topic from the perspective of Gods love.

Pope John Paul II first and foremost
C.S.Lewis
Peter Kreeft

 

[mattkennel]

clarkal:

When I was really suffering from religious OCD and scrupulosity, I used to watch EWTN a lot. One day, I turned it on during the summer, and EWTN was covering World Youth Day. I saw a miles of youths my age. They seemed so happy and carefree. The pope was giving a sermon. He quoted the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

“Peace?” I thought. “Where is my peace, Jesus?” I just wanted to be like the happy youths I saw on EWTN and Life on the Rock. Rather than saying the above, it was more like Jesus said to me: “OCD and anxiety I leave unto you. You will be driven to insanity, embarrass your family, destroy your good name, social life, and years of your life.”

During this suffering, I had the same doubts about Christianity that you did, Hermione. The apologetical language that you see all over this thread grew trite and didn’t add up or make sense. I decided to give the skeptics a fair chance and read their literature. The rest is history.

If I were still a believer, I would no doubt be institutionalized and forgotten. Catholicism drove me crazy and almost irreverisibly so, and I fear that it is doing the same to you. Get out while you still have your sanity.

clarkal

The reason why the youths were happy is that Jesus really does leave us peace.  OCD/scrupulosity are psychological problems.  But psychological problems are not restricted to Christianity, and having a psychological problem is no excuse to reject God altogether.  If I'm standing on a platform, and I'm afraid of falling off, the least logical thing to do is to jump off the platform.  Personally, if I ever ceased to believe in God, I'd either greedily go into complete self-indulgence or commit suicide.  Because without God life has NO PURPOSE.  Without God, morals are pointless.  After all, if no one is going to hold me accountable for my sins, why not go out and sin?  After all, it's easier than Christianity.  
But, in reality, if hell doesn't exist life becomes much more troubling.  If sins are not either eliminated (through Christ) or punished (through hell) then the problem of evil gets really frustrating and hairly.  After all, if evil is not punished then there is something fundamentally unjust about the universe and life.  This makes life a kind of cruel joke played by no one (since in our "happy" universe we no longer have a God).  No, I think that the Christian model, wherein sin and evil are dealt with, is much preferable to having no hell.  Always remember, atheism doesn't get rid of the problem of evil, but only makes it more frustrating and pointless.

 

[oriel36]

clarkal:

When I was really suffering from religious OCD and scrupulosity, I used to watch EWTN a lot. One day, I turned it on during the summer, and EWTN was covering World Youth Day. I saw a miles of youths my age. They seemed so happy and carefree. The pope was giving a sermon. He quoted the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

“Peace?” I thought. “Where is my peace, Jesus?” I just wanted to be like the happy youths I saw on EWTN and Life on the Rock. Rather than saying the above, it was more like Jesus said to me: “OCD and anxiety I leave unto you. You will be driven to insanity, embarrass your family, destroy your good name, social life, and years of your life.”

During this suffering, I had the same doubts about Christianity that you did, Hermione. The apologetical language that you see all over this thread grew trite and didn’t add up or make sense. I decided to give the skeptics a fair chance and read their literature. The rest is history.

If I were still a believer, I would no doubt be institutionalized and forgotten. Catholicism drove me crazy and almost irreverisibly so, and I fear that it is doing the same to you. Get out while you still have your sanity.

clarkal

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,not as the world gives do I give it to you."

That saying of Jesus has a specific meaning for the courageous souls ,it is for the generous of heart who see more than their own happiness as an end.The life of our late Pope is a testament to that.

ccel.org/t/theo_ger/theologia18.htm

 

[Hermione]

Matt,

I feel that if I stopped believing in Hell, insted of falling into self indulgence or suicide I would start doing good things because **I care about other human beings and want their lives to be good, **rather than because I don’t want to burn in the eternal fire.

I’m really bothered by this “Do what I say or burn forever” basis for morality.

 

[petra]

Hermione:

This means that the average person is probably going to Hell. I am an average person. At this point, I’m also a very weak and overwhelmed person.

Hermione, you are not average at all. The average person is unconcerned about spirituality and is so self-centered that he/she cannot generate concern or compassion for others. You have both a concern for spirituality and the the welfare of others. This is fruit; it is evidence that God is at work within you.

I don’t feel like I can take much more of this, and it’s making less and less sense to me. If God loves me, why is there no help? Would it be so difficult for God to come and reassure me in a way that would make me feel reassured? I’m not asking for much here, I just want to keep my sanity.

As beings with body, soul, and spirit, these aspects to our being are very integrated. Our other aspects are affected by imbalances in another area. For example, do you ever notice that when you get the flu, it is easier to feel discouraged about life in general? It isn’t just because we feel bad. An imbalance physically affects us emotionally and spiritually, too. You are looking for a specific feeling that God loves you. Feelings are dependant upon a variety of things and are not always a reliable indicator of what is real.

When I was a young Christian, I was told that feelings are like the caboose of a train. They are part of the train, but they don’t drive it or fuel it. Sometimes feelings “cooperate” and sometimes they don’t, but it doesn’t matter either way. They are just along for the ride. Similarly, we sometimes may not “feel” spiritual or that God loves us. But that does not affect the truth that He does. Nor does it indicate anything about the validity of our choice to follow Him. Sometimes, extremely spiritual people go through really tough times and feel miserable. Many unspiritual people are perfectly happy. Our feelings do not always accurately represent the condition of our relationship with God.

You know what the worst thing is? What if God doesn’t exist and I’m destroying the only life I’ve got?

If God does not exist, then there is no rational basis for outrage as injustices in the world. The pain that people feel from loss or abuse is invalid and meaningless. You would have no basis for your compassion toward Muslim women who are tortured. But your heart tells you otherwise–that the suffer of people matters and it is not nothing. Only the existance of God makes this truth valid.

I realize that the existance of God and the reality of suffering in this world and the potential for suffering beyond death is what is giving you some trouble. But it CAN be reconciled that God is good and loving and that suffering exists. And the alternative (God does not exist) is far more horrific in terms of making any sense out of the suffering in the world.

It all boils down to free will, which is part of God’s gift to us. He would only be a dictator and tyrant if He created us as robots and forced us to love Him.

I really don’t understand it. Faith is supposed to give people peace, not wreck their lives.

I believe that as you take your eyes off the storm and crashing waves and fix your eyes upon Jesus, you will have peace. You don’t see His love becaus you aren’t looking at Him. But He is right there beside you, holding your hand. Turn and look, and you will see Him. The crashing waves don’t matter. Just hold onto His hand.

continued…

 

[petra]

So my question to everyone here is: If your faith gives you joy and peace, please explain how, and where does the fear of Hell and therefore of sin fit in? AND what do you believe about Hell? Do you believe it’s easy to end up there? Difficult? Do you believe most people go there?

Hermione, I believe salvation is not easily lost. God is patient and kind, and He has given us resources to self-diagnose if we are drifting. He has given us models which teach us about our relationship with Him. Those models are the parent/child relationship and the marriage relationship. In both cases, the relationships do not toggle on a weekly basis between being valid and invalid. Certainly they are not bullet-proof and can be destroyed. But it does not happen overnight unless a serious crime is committed. I think this should give us perspective about our relative security in Christ. We cooperate with Christ in our salvation, but we shouldn’t have the perspective that we are hanging, white-knuckled from a limb and if we get tired and weak and let go, we will be lost. My goodness! God knows our weaknesses. He is also completely aware if a physiological imbalance is contributing to our frailty. Not only does He know you intimately, Hermione, but He understands.

Back to the train analogy, it is our choices that drive the train, not our feelings. Ironically, our feelings often start to conform when we make a decision. You need to decide to trust in His love. Take your eyes off the turmoil and fix them on Him. Your joy will return and the fear will melt. And when you see injustices done to others, you will know that He is far more grieved than we are. Our compassion toward others should move us to action, because He has chosen for us to be His hands and feet on this earth. He loves others through us. Evil societies are changed by Christians taking the gospel to those that don’t have Him. Rather than shake our fist at God for “allow” evil to happen, we get busy and let Him work through us. This is His plan because people feel most loved by God when they are loved by Him through people.

 

[wcknight]

Hermione:

Matt,

I feel that if I stopped believing in Hell, insted of falling into self indulgence or suicide I would start doing good things because **I care about other human beings and want their lives to be good, **rather than because I don’t want to burn in the eternal fire.

I’m really bothered by this “Do what I say or burn forever” basis for morality.

No one knows who will end up in Hell. We have faith that Jesus will save us, and we have hope that we will join Him in Heaven.

Beyond that, we should not focus on avoiding Hell but focus only on Heaven. It is the pearl of great price that we should give up all to obtain. How we get that is by loving God above all else and loving our neighbors.

Regardless of whether you believe there is a Hell or not, you always need to care about other folks and their welfare. When I help someone the last thing I focus on is whether or not I am avoiding Hell. I only look at what I need to do to help that person.

wc

 

[Hermione]

Petra,

Thanks for responding

The thing that I don’t understand is that if God loves me, why doesn’t He come in person, or send an Angel, or something, ANYTHING, that would make me sure that He exists, that He loves me, that I can trust in Him.

I am having many doubts about whether God exists at all because He chooses not to intervene in our lives. I’m in so much trouble now, I don’t want to hurt Jesus, I would feel very bad if my actions were hurting Jesus.

But what if Jesus does not exist? What if there is no God? Should I give up my whole life to INSANITY because of a JUST IN CASE THIS IS TRUE I DON’T WANT TO BURN FOREVER?

If God exists, loves me, and knows all of this, why isn’t He doing anything? It’s really bothering me. What could the purpose of letting me suffer and doubt possibly be? It could end up making me lose my faith and going to Hell!

Why doesn’t God do anything for anyone who is in pain? So many completely INNOCENT people are suffering so gravely. In the Old Testament, God seemed to intervene A LOT to help the Jewish people, but this isn’t true anymore. It doesn’t seem that God ever intervenes to save a person, not even in extreme cases like torture and rape and murder.