Hypothetical question on sex and hell

[petras52]

what about babies who die having been baptized, but not old enough to commit real mortal sin? what about the man who lives a very sinful live and repents on his deathbed and goes to heaven? what about those who have never heard about the Gospel? what about those who lived thousands of years ago?

yes this does not make sense, but I admit it is possible that God somehow makes it work. I’m hoping somehow God gives everyone a chance to avoid hell, in an equal way. Analysing individual cases and circumstances and lengths of life may all be irrelevant, if somehow God mysteriously offers the same moral responsibility, moral capital, and moral ability, and moral task and mission of choosing God to everybody in their own individual and unique way, a drama which takes place in the heart of every man and can not be perceived by anyone but God. which regardless of outward appearance, is nonetheless just in God’s eyes, even though we can not see the logic in it. I don’t like it, but I agree that it may be possible.

I think you’re right…in the end, God’s infinite wisdom will get it all sorted out…

 

[Spirithound]

So if I can’t go to confession because of my jobs I’m going to hell? Someone that is committing mortal sins 6 days a week and manages to go to confession and Church every week is going to heaven?

what about the man who lives a very sinful live and repents on his deathbed and goes to heaven?

It doesn’t work like that.

What I am not saying: It takes more than one confession to forgive sins.

What I am saying: After being a man of sin for so long, it is REALLY difficult to muster the proper contrition at the appropriate time, whether it’s Saturday afternoon or the last day of your life.

 

[Spirithound]

Or how about a scenario where a person in a state of mortal sin is suddenly killed by an armed robber.

I am of the belief that we are granted on Earth as much time as it takes for us to make our final decision (and some of us a lot more ). I think it was CS Lewis who wrote something similar in The Problem of Pain.

 

[OraLabora]

What I am saying: After being a man of sin for so long, it is REALLY difficult to muster the proper contrition at the appropriate time, whether it’s Saturday afternoon or the last day of your life.

There are no atheists in foxholes. It is amazing what the fear of death can do to the most habitual sinner.

On a humorous note, a few years ago an Airbus A330 crossing the Atlantic suffered a major fuel leak when a high-pressure fuel line to an engine ruptured. It ran out of fuel and glided to an emergency landing in the Azores. As the story goes, after a successful but hairy deadstick landing, a woman was seen hitting her husband after they evacuated the aircraft.

Apparently, when the pilot said they were going down and to prepare for a possible ditching at sea, the man decided to come clean and confess to his wife he had been cheating on her. With her sister, no less.

So there you go, fear of death can be a powerful motivator sometimes

 

[RosaryFan]

So, I want to make sure I understand…if I passionately kiss my girlfriend, which I remember my high school theology priest said was a mortal sin or if I act like Hitler and kill millions of Jews there is no difference in degree of evil and I end up in the same place…makes sense to me…thanks for the clarification…

A passionate kiss is not a mortal sin.

How about this… what if someone (such as Hitler) kills millions of people because they are clinically insane and are, therefore, not fully responsible for the acts they are committing. At the same time, the immaginary person described in this thread has sexual encounters for the sole purpose of gratifying his/her own urges and never has remourse about it. Then could you understand how the sexual deviant, and not the one who kills millions, would end up in hell?

 

[karaines]

I understand what you are saying but I guess the problem I have is I can’t understand how sex before marriage between two consentual adults whether 1 or 100 times is so sinful that it would put a person in hell. I mean as Catholics we are taught that missing mass is a mortal sin but how can missing mass and killing someone be in the same category of sin? Now don’t get me wrong I believe everything that the Church teaches but we are talking eternal damnation here and although we preach that their are different levels of sin (venial, mortal) it sounds as if once you hit mortal level of sin they are all the same severity for all intents and purposes and will all put you in hell.

The Ten Commandments were given to Moses in the order of importance to God. The first 3 deal with our relationship with Him and are the most important to follow. The 4th deals with our parents and the rest with each other. We’re not supposed to judge each others souls but we are supposed to judge each others actions and we’re to help each other be good and do good. Catholics are damned not only for the evil we do, but also for the good we do not do.

For the just man there are no laws. Everything he does is out of love for God and the just would never do anything to offend God.

Christ said it is better to cut off your hand or pluck out your eye and go to eternity with one hand and one eye then to allow it to commit a sin. I believe Him. Fear of God is a gift of the Holy Ghost, if you do not fear God - you don’t have the gift.

There is no pride in heaven, Lucifer is proof of that. All sin is pride, we want what we want and not what God wants. In Truth we are happiest when we imitate Christ. The father of lies says sin is so much fun!

pax, k.

 

[petras52]

A passionate kiss is not a mortal sin.

How about this… what if someone (such as Hitler) kills millions of people because they are clinically insane and are, therefore, not fully responsible for the acts they are committing. At the same time, the immaginary person described in this thread has sexual encounters for the sole purpose of gratifying his/her own urges and never has remourse about it. Then could you understand how the sexual deviant, and not the one who kills millions, would end up in hell?

If Hitler was indeed insane, then I think God would not would not hold him responsible…so in your specific example I might agree…however many murders are commited by supposedly sane people and in my opinion that is a greater evil than the illicit gratifying of sexual urges…bottom line is that I believe some mortal sins are more evil than others and God will judge accordingly…