Heaven and Hell

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I have a few questions regarding what the church teaches about the eventuality of our deaths. It is said that if one dies with mortal sin on their soul, they our damned to hell forever. What if a sinner, any kind of sinner, with mortal sin on their souls makes a conviction to go to confession and truly feels sorry for their sins. Then on their way let’s say they are killed in some freak car accident before reaching confession. Black and white interpretation here says this person is going to hell, but can’t God make an exception for a person like this? Or as another scenario, let’s say a soldier is off in battle and knows he has mortal sin on his soul, he gets shot, but finally realizes the wrong in his ways and then dies immediately after.

Also I am confused why it is said that Catholics have more of chance of going to hell because of their knowledge. I realize that there is justice behind this, but don’t you think that scares people away from wanting to become Catholic? (Coming from this thread - forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=464284)

Sorry If I come across the wrong way. I just am curious.
 
Reverse that around, what if someone was going to commit a mortal sin like murder, and they were in a state of grace prior, and somehow died before committing murder? Thoughts and intentions play an important part. Intending to murder someone is enough to be a mortal sin, despite them randomly dying before it happened.

Similarly, if you were intending to go to confession, and you died, perhaps a tree fell on your head just as you left the house, the same principle would apply.

In regards to Catholics more likely to go to hell, it would depend on how knowledgeable they are. The only reason it’s said is because one as a Catholic through Catchecism is more knowledgeable about various sins.
 
Treybor said:
I have a few questions regarding what the church teaches about the eventuality of our deaths. It is said that if one dies with mortal sin on their soul, they our damned to hell forever. What if a sinner, any kind of sinner, with mortal sin on their souls makes a conviction to go to confession and truly feels sorry for their sins. Then on their way let’s say they are killed in some freak car accident before reaching confession. Black and white interpretation here says this person is going to hell, but can’t God make an exception for a person like this? Or as another scenario, let’s say a soldier is off in battle and knows he has mortal sin on his soul, he gets shot, but finally realizes the wrong in his ways and then dies immediately after.

Also I am confused why it is said that Catholics have more of chance of going to hell because of their knowledge. I realize that there is justice behind this, but don’t you think that scares people away from wanting to become Catholic? (Coming from this thread - forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=464284)

Sorry If I come across the wrong way. I just am curious.
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God is Mercy and Love, if you wanted to be free of sin but died in the process would God really turn such a person away on a technicality?
Suspicious_Mind said:
Reverse that around, what if someone was going to commit a mortal sin like murder, and they were in a state of grace prior, and somehow died before committing murder? Thoughts and intentions play an important part. Intending to murder someone is enough to be a mortal sin, despite them randomly dying before it happened.

Similarly, if you were intending to go to confession, and you died, perhaps a tree fell on your head just as you left the house, the same principle would apply.

In regards to Catholics more likely to go to hell, it would depend on how knowledgeable they are. The only reason it’s said is because one as a Catholic through Catchecism is more knowledgeable about various sins.
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If a Christian willingly chooses to murder or sin in full knowledge of the actions sinful nature that is mortal. It might not mean their damned to hell forever but it is certainly not something to risk.
 
Treybor said:
IIt is said that if one dies with mortal sin on their soul, they our damned to hell forever. What if a sinner, any kind of sinner, with mortal sin on their souls makes a conviction to go to confession and truly feels sorry for their sins. Then on their way let’s say they are killed in some freak car accident before reaching confession. Black and white interpretation here says this person is going to hell, but can’t God make an exception for a person like this? Or as another scenario, let’s say a soldier is off in battle and knows he has mortal sin on his soul, he gets shot, but finally realizes the wrong in his ways and then dies immediately after.
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It’s a safe bet that the omniscient God knows every thought and every intention – everything he needs to know to judge a soul justly. It’s an even safer bet that the God Who sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die a painful and degrading death, after having given us His Body and Blood to be our food and drink, is going to be merciful to someone who wants to repent and convert, though he is deprived of the opportunity of doing so.
Treybor said:
Also I am confused why it is said that Catholics have more of chance of going to hell because of their knowledge. I realize that there is justice behind this, but don’t you think that scares people away from wanting to become Catholic?
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Refusing to join the Catholic Church, in spite of knowing that it is the True Church, is also blameworthy.
 
NO. Catholics do not have a better chance of going to hell. I’ve heard this too and If I were to believe it, I would hate being Catholic, and wish I had never learned all the knowledge I had, so as to “up my odds” with the benefits of my ignorance of the various sins.

In my opinion,the more someone sins with less culpability due to ignorance, the greater the likelihood that they are committing a more serious sin of failing to take life seriously, and to seek out the truth in every way possible, thus they are not excused more than the Catholic with knowledge.
 
slywakka250 said:
NO. Catholics do not have a better chance of going to hell. I’ve heard this too and If I were to believe it, I would hate being Catholic, and wish I had never learned all the knowledge I had, so as to “up my odds” with the benefits of my ignorance of the various sins.
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I failed to catch the way the question was originally put. The saints don’t tell us that Catholics have a better chance of going to hell. They do say that the torments of hell are greater for Catholics, because of the greater light that they have, and the greater helps that they have, especially the Sacraments, to avoid going there in the first place.

The more favored a soul is with grace on earth, the greater the punishment it deserves for the abuse of that grace. That is why we have to pray especially for priests and religious who have lost their faith, or who are leading lives of sin, because of the horrific fate that awaits them if they do not repent and amend their lives.
 
Treybor said:
I have a few questions regarding what the church teaches about the eventuality of our deaths. It is said that if one dies with mortal sin on their soul, they our damned to hell forever. .
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this is said only by people who either don’t know, or fail to state, the entire Catholic teaching on the issue, including the missing adjectives, as in “unrepented” mortal sin. That altaes the entire statement. I a person persists in clinging to his mortal sin, even at the moment of death when he has full knowledge of the consequences, and has been given full knowledge of the reality of heaven that is his if he repents, yet he still makes the full free will choice for hell by refusing forgiveness, only then has he condemned himself to hell.
 
puzzleannie said:
this is said only by people who either don’t know, or fail to state, the entire Catholic teaching on the issue, including the missing adjectives, as in “unrepented” mortal sin. That altaes the entire statement. I a person persists in clinging to his mortal sin, even at the moment of death when he has full knowledge of the consequences, and has been given full knowledge of the reality of heaven that is his if he repents, yet he still makes the full free will choice for hell by refusing forgiveness, only then has he condemned himself to hell.
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The saints tell us that the best preparation for death is a good life.
 
My two cents…

When you say that the mortal sinner was “truly sorry for his sins,” did you have in mind perfect contrition or imperfect contrition? Perfect contrition, contrition motivated by love of God, would restore a mortal sinner to a state of grace. And, if a person dies in the state of grace, he is destined for heaven. Imperfect contrition, contrition motivated by something other than love of God, such as fear of hell, is not sufficient to restore a mortal sinner to a state of grace, apart from the sacrament of confession, unless he also receive some extraordinary grace from God. And, if a person dies out of the state of grace, he is destined for hell.

Since imperfect contrition is all that is required to validly receive the sacrament of confession, Catholics, who use the sacrament of confession, have a better chance of avoiding hell than anyone else.
 
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