How easy is it to go to Hell?

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I love my son with every fiber of my being, I would die for him. Regardless, when he does something wrong I still must discipline him.
I love this. If your son told you he didn’t love you and was going to go live his own life filled with wrongdoings, etc., would you then say he will suffer for that with eternal damnation because that is the way you have designed things to be (assuming you had that power)? Of course not, if you are truly loving father you would tell your son you love him always. You would not add to the suffering he must already be going through by not having a God he can believe in.

And yet, when the Church talks about hell, this is what it is describing. A God who is perfectly comfortable with having eternal damnation (Hell) … a painful and tortuous place for those who don’t do what He says because they don’t believe.

It really is quite a paradox. One I am not able to believe in at all.

For those who want to tell me I “don’t understand”, please don’t. I understand just fine. I have lived a lifetime trying to sort this stuff out for myself by reading, listening, and asking. I have all the information.
 
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I hope this doesn’t come off as disrespectful because I genuinely don’t mean it to be.
Not disrespectful at all. A appreciate you taking the time to respond. It’s not the concept you paint that I have difficulty with. The the gravity of hell. The magnitude of the potential suffering .
 
Although another reality is that one also must realize the reconciliation will likely never come in his lifetime.
Yes, if you feel you must hold to the Augustinian-Thomistic vision, I daresay you won’t ever find a satisfying resolution. You might forever think of it as a paradox, but you’ll internally feel it’s a contradiction.
I guess I God has a plan, but it is sure bewildering.
For my money, I think the church has already begun the process of moving away from the A/T vision of Hell. The 20th century Ressourcement movement began it, and the bishop-who-must-not-be-named continues that Ressourcement spirit regarding Hell. Much to the benefit of the church, I’m confident in believing.

To properly begin to assess the viable options regarding Hell, the church must continue its backwards glance towards the Fathers.
 
For those who want to tell me I “don’t understand”, please don’t. I understand just fine. I have lived a lifetime trying to sort this stuff out for myself by reading, listening, and asking. I have all the information.
I think you and I are on the same page here. When you get your satisfactory answer to this paradox, please message me. 🙂

I’ll do the same.

Maybe the good Bishop has a point.
 
I’ll refrain from trying to correct you because you asked, but you are saying some classic things that I’ve seen trip a lot of people up. I think you are getting in the way of your own understanding, really.
 
Of course not, if you are truly loving father you would tell your son you love him always. You would not add to the suffering he must already be going through by not having a God he can believe in.
God still loves every last soul in Hell with the same ferocity with which He loves every soul in Heaven and on Earth. The love doesn’t change, all that changes is the individual’s choice to accept or reject it. My son accepts my love and my help, even if he doesn’t care for the restrictions. There may come a day when he doesn’t, and I will have to accept that that is his choice and that his choice carries repercussions.
And yet, when the Church talks about hell, this is what it is describing. A God who is perfectly comfortable with having eternal damnation (Hell) that has a place to exist for those who don’t do what He says.
And what would be the alternative? That He force everyone to love him and accept him? What then, is the point of free will.
For those who want to tell me I “don’t understand”, please don’t. I understand just fine. I have lived a lifetime trying to sort this stuff out for myself by reading, listening, and asking. I have all the information.
That is an incredibly prideful stance you’ve taken there.
Not disrespectful at all. A appreciate you taking the time to respond. It’s not the concept you paint that I have difficulty with. The the gravity of hell. The magnitude of the potential suffering .
I agree, it’s hard to stomach, but many things are. That doesn’t make them any less true.
 
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And what would be the alternative? That He force everyone to love him and accept him? What then, is the point of free will.
The alternative doesn’t need to involve suffering, especially to the extent the Church describes in hell. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Personally, I think the current version of hell was developed as a way to control people and scare the daylights out of them. It has worked for centuries for so many. I find it truly unfortunate. I think the aforementioned Bishop is on to something.
 
Peace. Heartfelt well being wishes in our Beloved Redeemer JESUS.
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Search result: Watering down the Gospel led to many leaving The Church Catholic <-this is a link.
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We have an Adversary who prowls about for the ruin of souls. Some listen to the Adversary, the rationalizations of evil and refuse Grace, living a narcissistic existence for all Eternity. “Universalism Ignores God’s Justice”


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Faith and Reason, seeks objective truth by Wisdom.
So often in these discussions, a partial ‘emotionalism’ speculation, however well meaning, gives ambiguity.
“The first and highest gifts of the Holy Spirit. It makes the soul responsive to God in the contemplation of divine things. Where faith is a simple knowledge of the articles of Christian belief, wisdom goes on to a certain divine penetration of the truths themselves. Built into wisdom is the element of love, which inspires contemplative reflection on these divine mysteries, rejoices dwelling on them, and directs the mind to judge all things according to their principles.” - source: Dictionary : GIFT OF WISDOM | Catholic Culture

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord.” - James 1:5-8
 
That is right of course. The crux is how easy is it to commit a mortal sin and be unrepentant? I think for someone making an effort, quite difficult. Jesus reads our hearts. He said to the good thief, this day you will be with me in paradise!
 
The alternative doesn’t need to involve suffering, especially to the extent the Church describes in hell. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Yes, it does. God is THE source of all good. The only way to have any Good at all in your life is to have God in your life. Hell is the choice to reject God entirely. As a result of that choice there is nothing left but bad, i.e. suffering. The pains of Hell are as natural to the rejection of God as falling is to gravity.
 
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And the other thief went to his death mocking Christ. I’m partial to the idea of God managing to save everyone, but the mocking thief is a great example of someone who rejects Christ with his dying words.
 
I like to put it this way. We were made to breathe air, the alternative is suffocation and suffering. We were made to eat food and drink water, the alternative is starvation and suffering. We were made to keep our organs on the inside, the alternative is pain and suffering. We aren’t punished for not breathing, or for not eating, or for getting injured. Those are merely the natural consequences of not being in situations we were made for.

We were made for union and communion with God. The alternative is isolation and suffering. It’s not a punishment, it is a natural consequence.
 
Yes, it does. God is THE source of all good. The only way to have any Good at all in your life is to have God in your life. Hell is the choice to reject God entirely. As a result of that choice there is nothing left but bad, i.e. suffering.
There is no way to be as estranged from God as you’re suggesting, even on the A/T vision of eternal-Hell. God is goodness itself, true enough. He is also existence itself and, quite literally, sustains in being all contingent beings from moment to moment to moment. This is entailed by St Thomas’ Ways.

And let’s set the historical record straight. The Fathers of the church were perfectly ok with a rehabilitative vision of the afterlife (something like purgatory). They were also ok with a punitive vision of the afterlife (Hell).

The teesy-weensy problem enters in when the (non-Greek-speaking) St Augustine sees in his Latin translation of the NT certain words like “aeternos” and concludes, “Oh, I guess Hell is forever-ever!”

So, the issue isn’t a rehabilitative or even a punitive vision of the afterlife. The problem, the direct affront to both love and justice, is the qualifier of “eternal.” If conceived as neverending and no possibility of parole or reform, then, yes, that vision will always shock and offend a properly-functioning conscience.

How could it not? Because of free will alone?! I thought humans bear the image and likeness of God. I thought that human dignity is inalienable. I thought that human beings were made for beatitude…and on and on it goes.
 
For practising Catholics, like most of us here, I’d say it is pretty hard for us to commit a mortal sin because of our mindset and that we can safely hope to go to heaven.
I would suggest the complete opposite.
I recently read the following exchange in another forum and found it very interesting:

“I know a bunch of people who think nothing of the fact that they are cohabitating and receiving communion sacrilegiously. God knows I’m good they rationalize. Or “He understands”, they think.
I have made numerous sacrilegious Holy Communions myself. Back in the day, before my mother’s prayers brought the grace of repentance and the gift of conversion into my life. But the topic was never broached from the pulpit. So, I figured it was not big deal. And going to confession was never considered.
Had it been preached about I might have come to my senses sooner.”

This comment was followed by another from a different contributor:

“ I can relate with this. I received Holy Communion weekly in a state of mortal sin for about twenty years, with nary a peep from whoever the celebrant was about sin and need to be in a state of grace. Thank you God, He allowed me to live long enough to correct course but only after literal epiphany while attending TLM.”

The comments could have been written by many I suspect (including me, save for some alterations.) The path IS wide and the gate IS narrow and wishful thinking by clergy or laity will not change that.
 
For sin to be mortal, it has to meet conditions, one of which is you have to do it knowing it is a sin against God AND doing it on purpose, this clearly shows us that we do have the capacity to reject God and go to hell. If you have ever committed a mortal sin, at that time, you choose hell over heaven. You repent, turn from sin and resolve to not sin again, this puts you back on the path to heaven.
 
I think that only God knows a person’s heart. God’s grace and mercy comes into play here. None of us deserve His grace and mercy yet He gives it to us. The thing that always gets me is James 2:10. If you break one law you are guilty of all the law. Am I wrong here?

To the initial question. It’s really easy to go to hell.
 
And let’s set the historical record straight. The Fathers of the church were perfectly ok with a rehabilitative vision of the afterlife (something like purgatory). They were also ok with a punitive vision of the afterlife (Hell).
I welcome citation to prove this point.
There is no way to be as estranged from God as you’re suggesting, even on the A/T vision of eternal-Hell. God is goodness itself, true enough. He is also existence itself and, quite literally, sustains in being all contingent beings from moment to moment to moment. This is entailed by St Thomas’ Ways.
I agree with this, but just because you receive existence from Him doesn’t mean you’re receiving anything else.
The problem, the direct affront to both love and justice, is the qualifier of “eternal.” If conceived as neverending and no possibility of parole or reform, then, yes, that vision will always shock and offend a properly-functioning conscience.
Why? Every offense is infinite in gravity because it is committed against an infinitely-good God. As such, each offense is deserving of infinite retribution. We may not like it, it may make our stomachs sink, and it may frighten us beyond measure, but none of that make it wrong, nor does it make it contrary to justice.
I thought humans bear the image and likeness of God. I thought that human dignity is inalienable. I thought that human beings were made for beatitude…and on and on it goes.
So were all the angels. That didn’t stop some number of them from rejecting God and choosing to be damned.
 
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The only way to have any Good at all in your life is to have God in your life.
Are you saying atheists have no good in their lives? The birth of a child isn’t good? Offering a helping hand isn’t good? Seeking to reduce the suffering of others isn’t good?
 
Are you saying atheists have no good in their lives? The birth of a child isn’t good? Offering a helping hand isn’t good? Seeking to reduce the suffering of others isn’t good?
They still have God in their lives, even if they don’t want Him. God is still there, calling out to them. It’s not until that definitive “No” at a person’s death that they lose him completely.

From the letter I linked earlier:
Our greatest torture consists in the certain knowledge that we shall never see God. How can this torture us so much, since on earth we are so indifferent? As long as the knife lies on the table, it leaves you cold. You see how keen it is, but you do not feel it. Plunge the knife into the flesh and you will start screaming for pain. Now we feel the loss of God.
Their rejection of God now is the knife on the table. They see an existence without God, but they do not feel it. When they die, if that no is made final, then they will feel it.
 
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