If you knew you were going to hell

[wjp984]

I would strive to be extra good and repent and pray more and hope that this knowledge is only a test to see what I would really do when there is not any reward for my actions.

I heard a story once about two people and God told one of them he had a place reserved in the highest part of Heaven and the other that he had one in the lowest level of Hell. The Heaven bound guy thought he could now do whatever he wanted and the Hell bound guy decided to change and of course the opposite scenario ended up happening.

 

[UndertheRadar]

I would live for God because He is the reason that we live.

 

[NTOT]

Why should you care what you do on Earth? Why would anything be out of bounds?

(And assume for a minute you are absolutely sure and guaranteed and resigned to the fact you are going to hell)

What you would do then is to trust in Divine Mercy. “Jesus I trust in You”.

 

[Antithesis]

I know Im going to hell If I was to die right now. It does not bother me because I deserve to go there and anything else would be an injustice which the perfect God is incapable of doing. Will I change my life than to that of selfishness and hate? No I will continue to be as good as I can, helping whom ever is in need, volunteering, trying to be forgiving, living a life of poverty and praising God for his goodness, everything I can do because in trying to be perfect I can make it easier for another to actually be perfect and go to heaven. I dont want to contribute to anyone else going to hell. I want everyone to be in heaven and as I burn in endless agony for my offenses againt the infinite I may recieve the slightest comfort knowing that another is heaven because of my actions.

 

[nice2000]

I’m actually petrifried about dieing and going to hell.
I think about hell at least once per week.
It scares me down to the bone marrow.

 

[Ted_in_Charlott]

Clearly there are people that have had dry times in their spiritual walks. And Saints have struggled with this same issue as another has posted.

But what would you do if when you are in front of the Blessed Sacrament after having done your rosary and 4 litanies and you ask God to talk to you and a voice pops into your head and says, plain as day “You are going to Hell”?

How could it be anyone else but God?

I just poured my heart out in front of the Blessed Sacrament and I have to listen to this? And be criticized by people that call themselves Christians too?

 

[CentralFLJames]

If I knew I was going to hell I’d do everything possible to get reborn and change who I was.

Isn’t that what Christianity is all about? Duh…

James

 

[nice2000]

Clearly there are people that have had dry times in their spiritual walks. And Saints have struggled with this same issue as another has posted.

But what would you do if when you are in front of the Blessed Sacrament after having done your rosary and 4 litanies and you ask God to talk to you and a voice pops into your head and says, plain as day “You are going to Hell”?

How could it be anyone else but God?

I just poured my heart out in front of the Blessed Sacrament and I have to listen to this? And be criticized by people that call themselves Christians too?

Our Lady showed the three seers of Fatima(Lucia, Jancinta and Francesco) a vision of hell in the year of 1917. If it were not for Our Lady promising them that they would go to heaven, the three seers says they would have died of fear and terror.

 

[briang72]

Why should you care what you do on Earth? Why would anything be out of bounds?

(And assume for a minute you are absolutely sure and guaranteed and resigned to the fact you are going to hell)

Well, if you believe in the individual and general judgements, maybe you could save yourself the additional pain and embarrassment and do your best to create some sort of case for yourself to go to Heaven. But, I don’t think you can believe in the individual and general judgements and also believe that you are definitely going to hell.

I guess another angle would be that, if you knew you were definitely going to hell, you would already be in hell. Therefore, your judgement has already passed, which means your life on Earth is already over.

 

[Nick9]

But what would you do if when you are in front of the Blessed Sacrament after having done your rosary and 4 litanies and you ask God to talk to you and a voice pops into your head and says, plain as day “You are going to Hell”?

How could it be anyone else but God?

I just poured my heart out in front of the Blessed Sacrament and I have to listen to this?

If I heard that voice, I would think it was Satan. Unless I was living a mortally sinful life, then it could be God’s warning. It should then be interpreted: ***unless you repent ***you are going to hell.
The thing to do then is to repent, not to indulge yourself and make matters worse.

 

[cam100]

Why should you care what you do on Earth? Why would anything be out of bounds?

(And assume for a minute you are absolutely sure and guaranteed and resigned to the fact you are going to hell)

It would seem that we are punished in proportion to the seriousness and number of sins we commit, so the person who goes to hell with a few mortal sins experiences less punishment than the one with many mortal sins. Also, the enjoyment we get from a sin while on earth is never worth the punishment that must be borne later. Based on these ideas, even if I were going to hell, I would not want to make it any worse than it already was.

 

[CentralFLJames]

It would seem that we are punished in proportion to the seriousness and number of sins we commit, so the person who goes to hell with a few mortal sins experiences less punishment than the one with many mortal sins. Also, the enjoyment we get from a sin while on earth is never worth the punishment that must be borne later. Based on these ideas, even if I were going to hell, I would not want to make it any worse than it already was.

This is correct and rational.

Murder is worse than adultery but both merit hell - one at a deeper and more intense level of punishment than the other; but both unimaginably terrible and without a moment of relief for all eternity.

James

 

[myredeemerlives]

If I knew for sure I was going to hell… I would beg God for mercy with every last breath I had.

 

[DL82]

I know Im going to hell If I was to die right now. It does not bother me because I deserve to go there and anything else would be an injustice which the perfect God is incapable of doing. Will I change my life than to that of selfishness and hate? No I will continue to be as good as I can, helping whom ever is in need, volunteering, trying to be forgiving, living a life of poverty and praising God for his goodness, everything I can do because in trying to be perfect I can make it easier for another to actually be perfect and go to heaven. I dont want to contribute to anyone else going to hell. I want everyone to be in heaven and as I burn in endless agony for my offenses againt the infinite I may recieve the slightest comfort knowing that another is heaven because of my actions.

Antithesis, what makes you think you are going to hell? And what makes you think you can’t change your life to get to heaven? It sounds to me like all the things you are doing are preparing you for heaven anyway, so not sure what you’d even need to change, except maybe to go to Confession and confess your sin of despair, because you are choosing not to believe in the availability of God’s mercy. He died for you, is there anything He won’t do to bring you into His glory?

 

[GemmaRose]

Wow thinking about that really brings up internal human selfishness as there would be no reason to not sin. Naturally as a catholic I’d still try to live as moral as i can because it is my personality and nature and it’d be odd not doing so. Also because I’d hope and pray that God would change his mind but thats also a natural human reaction to evade punishment.

My first thought was freedom in a sense that you could be promiscuous without worry and indulge in human desires like sex, gambling, drugs, alcohol, and other fun things many people in today’s society do everywhere I turn but I refuse because of my faith. My reason for doing that would be like “have fun now since you’ll be miserable for eternity, enjoy it while it lasts” sorta thing.

It’s hard to say, I do know it would be much much tougher to live as a catholic.

However I don’t think I’d go as far as doing outright evil acts like murder as it’s just not me.

I would live for God because He is the reason that we live.

In a book from my favorite author, Fr. Thomas Dubay, he calls us “incarnated thirsts.”

You cannot help being an incarnated thirst. Nor can I. We were born that way. We may differ in how we seek to slake our thirst. Some go up blind alleys. Others go to the Fountain. But all seek.

What an eloquent way to describe how some seek in blind alleys – “sex, gambling, drugs, alcohol, and other fun things many people in today’s society do,” as chaz writes above.

They seek because they thirst, but do not realize that what they thirst for is the water of eternal life from Him who is the Fountain of Eternal Life.

And so, as UndertheRadar said, we should “live for God because He is the reason that we live.”

 

[ShemariahBeans]

Why should you care what you do on Earth? Why would anything be out of bounds?

(And assume for a minute you are absolutely sure and guaranteed and resigned to the fact you are going to hell)

Hi Ted,

Under what circumstances would one be absolutely sure and guaranteed and resigned to the fact that they are going to hell.

Please cite a specific instance.

Thank you,

 

[ShemariahBeans]

Clearly there are people that have had dry times in their spiritual walks. And Saints have struggled with this same issue as another has posted.

But what would you do if when you are in front of the Blessed Sacrament after having done your rosary and 4 litanies and you ask God to talk to you and a voice pops into your head and says, plain as day “You are going to Hell”?

How could it be anyone else but God?

I just poured my heart out in front of the Blessed Sacrament and I have to listen to this? And be criticized by people that call themselves Christians too?

Ah, my brother, you have come under attack from Satan. Tell that liar, deceiver to stop, in the name of Jesus.
Stunned me when I reading St. Matthew, and I read where Peter declared that Christ was the Messiah. We all know that one - Peter was given the keys to the kingdom.
Read after that - the next words that came out of Peter’s mouth caused Jesus to turn and say “Get me behind me Satan!!”

Satan will have you ask questions like “how could it be anyone else but God?”, or be slippery and say “if you eat the fruit you will not die, but become like God”

I am praying for you brother.

 

[embertx3]

Why should you care what you do on Earth? Why would anything be out of bounds?

(And assume for a minute you are absolutely sure and guaranteed and resigned to the fact you are going to hell)

This is a very scary thought but I would say that if one knows for sure that he/she is going to hell that they would naturally act bad and act according to their selfish desires whatever that might be. A person with no conscience. No reason or incentive to do good. Everything would be all about “me” and what “I want” and don’t have to obey laws, rules or respect for authority.

 

[bbentrup]

Ted, if you’re still hearing that same voice, maybe there’s almost nothing we can say that’s going to convince you otherwise - that voice can be pretty convincing, I’m thinking.

Still, for your own sake, at least admit there’s a tiny possibility that you’re wrong (the proof is that is that you’re not God, so you are prone to mistakes). If you admit that you are possibly wrong, then you now have grounds to hope you are wrong. If you hope you are wrong, then you are no longer, by definition, in despair; and God’s grace will come.

Please accept my brotherly love, Ben

 

[GraceDK]

Why should you care what you do on Earth? Why would anything be out of bounds?

(And assume for a minute you are absolutely sure and guaranteed and resigned to the fact you are going to hell)

If I knew - which no one does - but if I did, I would be careful not to take anyone with me to hell, so yes: many things would indeed be out of bounds.

Luckily no one should walk around with that thought because we know that if we seek refuge in Jesus He shows no one away.