Few will make it to Heaven?

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13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

How can this be taken to mean anything other than that <50% of people will go to Hell?
 
ClemtheCatholic said:
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

How can this be taken to mean anything other than that <50% of people will go to Hell?
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I’ve found that talking in percentages is meaningless for this discussion.

Whether 99% of people reject God’s mercy or 1% rejects God’s mercy, is it really any better for you? You don’t want to be in Hell, full stop. Work your salvation with Fear and Trembling.

We know hell exists. We have a reasonable certainty people are in hell. You don’t want to be one of those people. Act accordingly.
 
Why are some folks so anxious to say how many people will go to hell?
 
I don’t understand Christianity’s obsession with Hell. Hell, when you think about it, is impossible for many reasons. The Church even says that God is omnipresent, which means God is present EVERYWHERE. So given that fact, God’s presence would also be in Hell too. There is absolutely NO PLACE where God CANNOT BE. God is not separated from anyone or anything or any PLACE! Another thing is that God is UNCONDITIONAL. Meaning there are NO conditions. So if there WAS a place called Hell, God wouldn’t let anyone go there. If God only permits people in Heaven who follow him, well, that would mean he is conditional. You can only pass go and collect 200 dollars if you do what I want you to do: does that sound unconditional?
 
ClemtheCatholic said:
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

How can this be taken to mean anything other than that <50% of people will go to Hell?
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The gate is narrow means one needs drop their sinful habits to fit through it. Leave that baggage behind. A wider gate and road makes room for all that garbage but that way leads to destruction. It does not seem to imply that the gate to salvation is too narrow to admit many souls, just how much baggage each soul brings to the gate. From the Cross, Christ said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”. I used to think this meant those who participated in the crucifixion but have come to think it includes me and you and all the rest of us who have from time to time stupidly gone astray. I also have a difficulty in thinking that the Lord’s humanity project will be a substantial failure. Teddy Roosevelt said, “It is not having been in the dark house that matters but having come out”.
 
It is true that we can’t exist without God, and that God is everywhere.

But on the other hand, God is not going to force Himself on anybody who doesn’t want Him. He let the evil angels go off on their own.

So one way to look at it is that yes, even though every room in the house is still God’s, God will let us lock ourselves into the little bedroom of Hell, where we can sulk and angst and suffer for the rest of eternity.

Another traditional way to look at it is that God is all love, and His love is so powerful that it is like fire. Everyone who loves God loves the fire and feels its warmth and comfort, and wants it to burn away anything bad. Everyone who hates God will hate the fire, and there will be nothing but bad to burn away.
 
ClemtheCatholic said:
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. ~ Matthew 7:13-14

How can this be taken to mean anything other than that <50% of people will go to Hell?
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Yes, it means few are saved. All the doctors and theologians of the church have agreed that few are saved.

This sermon by St. Leonard of Port Maurice will explain why :
olrl.org/snt_docs/fewness.shtml
 
Vicki_T said:
I don’t understand Christianity’s obsession with Hell. Hell, when you think about it, is impossible for many reasons. The Church even says that God is omnipresent, which means God is present EVERYWHERE. So given that fact, God’s presence would also be in Hell too. There is absolutely NO PLACE where God CANNOT BE. God is not separated from anyone or anything or any PLACE! Another thing is that God is UNCONDITIONAL. Meaning there are NO conditions. So if there WAS a place called Hell, God wouldn’t let anyone go there. If God only permits people in Heaven who follow him, well, that would mean he is conditional. You can only pass go and collect 200 dollars if you do what I want you to do: does that sound unconditional?
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Whistling in the grave yard? Seriously, you have entirely the wrong idea. Yes hell is a place for punishment. But those who go there have decided they hate God and wouldn’t go to heaven if they were given a " go free " pass. So God allows them to go where he isn’t. Should he put them in heaven when they don’t want to be there?

Also, God isn’t about " follow the rules or else. " He has given us all that is good for us. And most of his " rules " are nothing but the demands or our own human nature. They are called the natural moral law, which is designed for our happiness and good social order. And shouldn’t we show our gratitude for him who made us, that seems reasonable enough.

Linus2nd
 
Estel said:
Lets face it, no one knows but God.
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Then all the theologians and doctors of the church are wrong!

Is St. Thomas Aquinas wrong? What about Pope St. Gregory the Great? Or St. Augustine of Hippo? They all agree few are saved
 
How many were saved by the Ark? Only 8

How many entered the promised land? Only 2

How many escaped from the fire of the City of Sodom? 4

Does anyone see the pattern? In every instance, few were saved. Why is this? Because we humans have a fallen nature, and eternal beatitude surpasses the natural state.
 
Vicki_T said:
I don’t understand Christianity’s obsession with Hell. Hell, when you think about it, is impossible for many reasons. The Church even says that God is omnipresent, which means God is present EVERYWHERE. So given that fact, God’s presence would also be in Hell too. There is absolutely NO PLACE where God CANNOT BE. God is not separated from anyone or anything or any PLACE! Another thing is that God is UNCONDITIONAL. Meaning there are NO conditions. So if there WAS a place called Hell, God wouldn’t let anyone go there. If God only permits people in Heaven who follow him, well, that would mean he is conditional. You can only pass go and collect 200 dollars if you do what I want you to do: does that sound unconditional?
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However, God is all-powerful and could withdraw his presence from hell .
 
theoda said:
Then all the theologians and doctors of the church are wrong!

Is St. Thomas Aquinas wrong? What about Pope St. Gregory the Great? Or St. Augustine of Hippo? They all agree few are saved
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Not necessarily wrong, but hopefully wrong based on what they were claiming ( although I don’t know the quotes). I merely said no one knows but God. Jesus never put a percentage on hell’s population.
 
God cannot withdraw himself from anywhere, because his presence is everywhere. If his presence is not somewhere, then that place cannot exist. God is not a singular entity that picks and chooses where to go, God is a vast higher power that permeates the fabric of all being and everywhere in between.
 
I am sorry for thread jacking about my ramblings on Hell. I will stop talking about it here but I do want to generate some discussion so I will make a separate thread.
 
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4).
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).
Peace be with you,L
 
“I must proof two preliminary propositions. First that God wills all men to be saved; and therefore that Jesus Christ has died for all. Secondly, that God,on his part, gives to all men the graces necessary for salvation; whereby every one may be saved if he corresponds to them.”
St. Alphonso de Liguori
From " The Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection"
Introduction to Part Two. (Link Below(

catholictreasury.info/books/prayer/contents2.php
 
theoda said:
Yes, it means few are saved. All the doctors and theologians of the church have agreed that few are saved.

This sermon by St. Leonard of Port Maurice will explain why :
olrl.org/snt_docs/fewness.shtml
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If we accept the private revelation included in this sermon, then it is truly a bleak picture. Based on the ratio given here, a mere 350 000 people out of the world’s 7 000 000 000 will be saved. That’s less than the number of parishes in the world. That would mean that in thousands upon thousands of parishes EVERY single parishioner is damned and in the rest one, out of the thousands of parish members, might manage to get by. Even if you just go by the number of people who receive “the last rites”, the number of saved would be much, much, much higher than that. Are we to doubt the grace of the sacraments? Are we do doubt the absolution given during Last Rites? Are we to doubt the apostolic pardon?
 
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