Hypothetical situation

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Veritas248

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What would happen in this situation?
A man has justed murdered someone, in full knowledge and consent. As he is leaving the area, he comes across a gunman about to shoot a child. The man rushes in front of the gunman and is shot dead, while the child escapes. Where would this man go, Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory? A man in mortal sin who sacrifices his life for another. Does it even matter that he sacrificed himself?
This situation has been stuck in my head for some time, and I really want this answered.
 
It would probably depend on his state of mind at the time of his death. Unrepentant mortal sin, methinks, is enough for a one-way ticket to Gehenna.

If he were to repent, that’s an entirely different situation. Otherwise, the good deed of sacraficing himself would be “counted” against his evil deed, on some sort of cosmic balance sheet…and that’s not our understanding of how it all works with the Almighty.
 
You “really want this answered,” but no one can really answer this except God, who alone is our Judge.

Only God truly knows our hearts, sometimes even better than we know our own. Therefore, He is the only One who can judge us.

In the situation you describe, why did the first man kill the second person? You say the murder was committed with full knowledge and consent… yet what about the person who was murdered? Was this person a nuisance, e.g. a neighbor who allowed his dog to pee on the murderer’s lawn (which would indicate a lack of mental stability on the part of the murderer)? Or was he a stranger who had just raped the first man’s daughter? Yes, there was full knowledge and consent, but what was the reason behind the murder? No one on earth may even know the reasons, but God does, therefore only God is able to judge the murderer whether or not he immediately thereafter sacrifice himself for another.

And what is the murderer’s background? Was he a faith-filled person for years before he committed the murder? Or was he raised with absolutely no religion and knowledge of God?

Do you see what I’m saying? Only God knows all these things, therefore only God can really answer your question. Anyone else who tries to answer, no matter how learned, how holy, how seemingly qualified, will just be guessing, for, as Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 2:15-16:
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?”
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And so, my friend, many may try to answer your question, but I can assure you that no answer you receive will be truer than mine: Only God can answer your question with certainty.
 
Yeah. I know only God has the ultimate answer to my question, but I still wanted to know others opinions.
 
Anyway, thanks for the quick answers. I got what I was looking for.

God Bless:)
 
Veritas248 said:
What would happen in this situation?
A man has justed murdered someone, in full knowledge and consent. As he is leaving the area, he comes across a gunman about to shoot a child. The man rushes in front of the gunman and is shot dead, while the child escapes. Where would this man go, Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory? A man in mortal sin who sacrifices his life for another. Does it even matter that he sacrificed himself?
This situation has been stuck in my head for some time, and I really want this answered.
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Good question. Let me rephrase it. Can perfect contrition ever be implicit?

In other words, if someone is in a state of actual mortal sin, and they do not repent explicitly from that sin, is it possible that by a selfless act of full cooperation with God’s grace (such as giving up your life for another person), they accept the grace of implicit perfect contrition, and so are forgiven from their actual mortal sin?

In my theological opinion, yes…
catholicplanet.com/RCC/implicit-repentance.htm
because the grace of God is always available to save anyone, even up to and including the last moment of life. God would not be infinitely merciful if He did not grant and accept implicit repentance to return someone to a state of sanctifying grace.
 
Veritas248 said:
What would happen in this situation?
A man has justed murdered someone, in full knowledge and consent. As he is leaving the area, he comes across a gunman about to shoot a child. The man rushes in front of the gunman and is shot dead, while the child escapes. Where would this man go, Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory? A man in mortal sin who sacrifices his life for another. Does it even matter that he sacrificed himself?
This situation has been stuck in my head for some time, and I really want this answered.
Click to expand...
Look at it another way. If a person spends his life doing really good works but commits a mortal sin near the end of his life and dies unrepentent then he goes to Hell. Good works have no merit when a person is in a state of mortal sin.
The fact the man in your example (assuming he is of sound mind and not repentent) may not want children to be murdered does not make him any less a murderer and would not take away his mortal sin.
In my opinion if he died on the spot he would go to Hell.
Of course only God really knows the answer.
 
In my eyes, I would have mercy for the man who gave up his life to save another, although he sins graveously by murdering someone else. His act of selflessless for the child is commendable although his previous act is not. I learn that God is merciful and loves each one of us more than we love ourselves. Because of that, I rather God be the judge than anyone who just sees the situation from the outside.

Warmest regards,
JL
 
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