Do you think most people go to hell?

[JRKH]

If God sends the average Joe to eternal torment I think l He has some real issues: He’d be an awfully petty God for one thing. But He doesn’t; God is love. And He’ll bring most of His universe into the order and integrity He always planned it to have-except for those who adamantly reject being subjugated to whatever goodness and Love demands. Just my opinion but it’s consistent with what I believe I’ve come to know about our God.

What constitutes an “Average Joe”?

More "Average Joes DON’T attend Church regularly than do…
How many many Joes engage in extramarital sexual relationships?
It appears that the majority of “Joes” support legal abortion…

etc.

So - What constitutes an “average Joe”?

Just sayin’…

Peace
James

 

[Nicea325]

What constitutes an “Average Joe”?

More "Average Joes DON’T attend Church regularly than do…
How many many Joes engage in extramarital sexual relationships?
It appears that the majority of “Joes” support legal abortion…

etc.

So - What constitutes an “average Joe”?

Just sayin’…

Peace
James

Better yet,what constitutes “average” to most people?

 

[JRKH]

Better yet,what constitutes “average” to most people?

You can bet that “average” to most people is set a lot lower than the bar that Christ set in the Gospels.
So, according the bible is (the worlds) “average” good enough to get one into purgatory (I know “average” won’t get one into heaven)?

Peace
James

 

[Nicea325]

You can bet that “average” to most people is set a lot lower than the bar that Christ set in the Gospels.
So, according the bible is (the worlds) “average” good enough to get one into purgatory (I know “average” won’t get one into heaven)?

Peace
James

I agree. Average will not get anyone into Heaven,perhaps not even Purgatory?

 

[Bible_Reader]

A careful reading of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 15:1-15) will reveal that like the landowner, God has the freedom to dispense gifts as He sees fit. It is not human judgment but Divine judgment that assigns people to heaven or hell.

Perhaps, as Hans Urs von Balthasar has written, in the harrowing of hell, Christ descended further than limbo and brought light to darker realms that we know.

Instead of counting – in this, the realm of the living – that this soul or that soul that must be sent to hell, instead we can focus on each of us serving God in this life. God can decide the fate of our souls on His own, without our guidance.

 

[thistle]

If God sends the average Joe to eternal torment I think l He has some real issues: He’d be an awfully petty God for one thing. But He doesn’t; God is love. And He’ll bring most of His universe into the order and integrity He always planned it to have-except for those who adamantly reject being subjugated to whatever goodness and Love demands. Just my opinion but it’s consistent with what I believe I’ve come to know about our God.

God does NOT send anyone to eternal torment.
People freely choose to go to Hell by rejecting God’s love by committing a mortal sin and dying unrepentant.

 

[thewanderer]

God does NOT send anyone to eternal torment.
People freely choose to go to Hell by rejecting God’s love by committing a mortal sin and dying unrepentant.

Ths is correct. And playing with number games to figure out what percentage of people is going to hell ( beyond being impossible) helps lead a person to accept a judgmental view of others. It’s not a big leap from ‘most of humanity’ is going to hell to ‘this person is obviously going to hell, I mean, look at them, they clearly are not among the few holiest, so they must be going there’

We are called to judge not lest we be judged. Instead of worrying about the number of people saved, pray for others and for yourself and try your hardest to be the best you can. When you fall, do not be discouraged, but pick yourself up and try again. Pray gor the gift of final perseverance. But donot worry excessively over your sinfulness. Repent, go to confession and try to better, that is all any of us can do.

 

[JRKH]

A careful reading of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 15:1-15) will reveal that like the landowner, God has the freedom to dispense gifts as He sees fit. It is not human judgment but Divine judgment that assigns people to heaven or hell.

(Snip)

Instead of counting – in this, the realm of the living – that this soul or that soul that must be sent to hell, instead we can focus on each of us serving God in this life. God can decide the fate of our souls on His own, without our guidance.

This is quite true.

The problem that I tend to see in these types of discussions is that they tend to confuse the chances of the true believer with the chances of the general population. Those who do as you suggest and focus on serving God in this life will surely be received with the greeting of “well done, good and faithful servant”, even though our hearts will say, “we are poor servants for we have done only what was required of us”.

That said, the issue of the many and the few reaching heaven is much larger.
As an example.
There are currently living around 6 Billion people. Of these something like 1.5 Billion are Christian.
Now - Without judging anyone, and strictly for the sake of simplicity, let’s say that All Christians go to heaven and no one else. That means that the vast majority do not go to heaven.

Of course in reality the equation is much more complicated.
However, if one reads the Bible and reckons what is required for salvation, both in belief and also in action, it should become pretty clear that more than half simply will not make it.

We can HOPE that they will but, based on the revelation we have been given, we cannot embrace the idea that they will.

Peace
James

 

[AlltheRoses]

Scripture says the road to heaven is narrow. Looking at myself I know I am not good enough for heaven and am hoping for purgatory but maybe looking at hell. I am a sinner.

None of us are good enough for Heaven. That’s why we need Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. All who are saved are done so by grace, so, while we should certainly be humble, repent our sins, and strive not only to not repeat our sins but also to live our lives as much in imitation of Christ as possible, we should also not automatically assume that we are damned just because we aren’t good enough for Heaven. Our God is merciful, and we should always hope and pray that He will have mercy upon us. Humility and repentance are important, but so, too, are hope and faith:thumbsup:

As to how many will go to Heaven, I never bother with whether it will be many or few, because people on both sides of the divide can pull out quotes from Scripture that support their view. I see the number of people that will go to Heaven as being God’s business, not mine. He does the judging, not me. All I can do is try to live out my faith in such a way that God will let me into Heaven, and, when dealing with others, I try to always remember that everybody has the potential to be saved, in the end, and that it may be me who is meant to help them on their journey if they (as do we all) need help. I think that we should always be hoping and praying for the best (Heaven) for everyone, and that we should never assume that anyone is going to the worst (Hell). Up to their dying moment, people have a chance to repent and to believe. Christianity is about that potential for hope, love, and forgiveness for everybody.

 

[lutherlic]

A number of times I have seen suggestions that hell may be near empty. That, I don’t believe and neither did the early Church Fathers.

I wrote a brief piece includes many of their quotes on the topic - Is hell empty?

 

[sw85]

St. Leonard of Port Maurice gave a useful speech on the topic, called “The Little Number of Those who are Saved.” He concludes that, yes, the vast majority of people go to Hell – he relates stories, including personal revelations, to the effect that maybe 1 in 10,000 are saved, maybe fewer.

You can read it here: trueletterofoursavior.com/stleonard.htm

There is cause for comfort, though, as St. Leonard notes:

Brothers, I want to send all of you away comforted today. So if you ask me my sentiment on the number of those who are saved, here it is: Whether there are many or few that are saved, I say that whoever wants to be saved, will be saved; and that no one can be damned if he does not want to be. And if it is true that few are saved, it is because there are few who live well. As for the rest, compare these two opinions: the first one states that the greater number of Catholics are condemned; the second one, on the contrary, pretends that the greater number of Catholics are saved. Imagine an Angel sent by God to confirm the first opinion, coming to tell you that not only are most Catholics damned, but that of all this assembly present here, one alone will be saved. If you obey the Commandments of God, if you detest the corruption of this world, if you embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ in a spirit of penance, you will be that one alone who is saved.

Now imagine the same Angel returning to you and confirming the second opinion. He tells you that not only are the greater portion of Catholics saved, but that out of all this gathering, one alone will be damned and all the others saved. If after that, you continue your usuries, your vengeances, your criminal deeds, your impurities, then you will be that one alone who is damned.

What is the use of knowing whether few or many are saved? Saint Peter says to us, “Strive by good works to make your election sure.” When Saint Thomas Aquinas’s sister asked him what she must do to go to heaven, he said, “You will be saved if you want to be.” I say the same thing to you, and here is proof of my declaration. No one is damned unless he commits mortal sin: that is of faith. And no one commits mortal sin unless he wants to: that is an undeniable theological proposition. Therefore, no one goes to hell unless he wants to; the consequence is obvious. Does that not suffice to comfort you? Weep over past sins, make a good confession, sin no more in the future, and you will all be saved. Why torment yourself so? For it is certain that you have to commit mortal sin to go to hell, and that to commit mortal sin you must want to, and that consequently no one goes to hell unless he wants to. That is not just an opinion, it is an undeniable and very comforting truth; may God give you to understand it, and may He bless you. Amen.

Very good advice, and a very good speech from a very holy man (who is now almost certainly in Heaven – and St. Leonard, pray for us!). Avoid sin, love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul, make always a good confession when you sin (holding nothing back and telling no lies to your confessor), make good use of the sacraments, and you will be saved.

 

[Jerry-Jet]

Why is it so HARD for people to believe Jesus when He says FEW?

And why is it that the saints always worry about salvation and think that few are saved but alot of non saints don’t worry about salvation and think that alot of people are saved?

Should you believe the saints or the non saints?

Why is it that many Catholics don’t work out their salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING like St. Paul–inspired by the Holy Spirit–says?

 

[JRKH]

Why is it so HARD for people to believe Jesus when He says FEW?

And why is it that the saints always worry about salvation and think that few are saved but alot of non saints don’t worry about salvation and think that a lot of people are saved?

Should you believe the saints or the non saints?

Why is it that many Catholics don’t work out their salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING like St. Paul–inspired by the Holy Spirit–says?

Good questions all.

Actually answers to questions two and three will give a good indication of the answer to question number one.

Peace
James

 

[keeponkeepingon]

“Do you think most people go to hell?”

Don’t you have to try to put yourself in God’s place to answer this question? Its not our place to judge.

 

[thewanderer]

None of us are good enough for Heaven. That’s why we need Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. All who are saved are done so by grace, so, while we should certainly be humble, repent our sins, and strive not only to not repeat our sins but also to live our lives as much in imitation of Christ as possible, we should also not automatically assume that we are damned just because we aren’t good enough for Heaven. Our God is merciful, and we should always hope and pray that He will have mercy upon us. Humility and repentance are important, but so, too, are hope and faith

As to how many will go to Heaven, I never bother with whether it will be many or few, because people on both sides of the divide can pull out quotes from Scripture that support their view. I see the number of people that will go to Heaven as being God’s business, not mine. He does the judging, not me. All I can do is try to live out my faith in such a way that God will let me into Heaven, and, when dealing with others, I try to always remember that everybody has the potential to be saved, in the end, and that it may be me who is meant to help them on their journey if they (as do we all) need help. I think that we should always be hoping and praying for the best (Heaven) for everyone, and that we should never assume that anyone is going to the worst (Hell). Up to their dying moment, people have a chance to repent and to believe. Christianity is about that potential for hope, love, and forgiveness for everybody.

 

[thistle]

“Do you think most people go to hell?”

Don’t you have to try to put yourself in God’s place to answer this question? Its not our place to judge.

God did answer this question and he said most go to Hell.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.
14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

 

[keeponkeepingon]

God did answer this question and he said most go to Hell.

Matthew 7:13-14

13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.
14 How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

I don’t think you understood my point.

I do not believe it is our place to look at an individual and try to assess whether or not they are going to hell.

 

[thistle]

I don’t think you understood my point.

I do not believe it is our place to look at an individual and try to assess whether or not they are going to hell.

Jesus clearly said many will go to Hell and few will be saved.
We don’t know who goes to Hell or not. Only God knows that. However, we do know that anyone who dies in a state of mortal sin goes immediately to Hell.
To be saved you must be baptised, Catholic, and die in a state of grace.

 

[LaramieHirsch]

“Do you think most people go to hell?”

Yes.

 

[InJesusItrust]

Yes,unfortunately. I believe that most people have vincible ignorance. No one really cares about truth anymore, and some people even believe truth is subjective.

I read comments in a news article about a Eucharistic miracle and people keep insulting God in their hardheartedness.