Is it a sin for me to doubt that many people will go to hell?

[airy22]

I recently read in an examination of conscious that it is a venial sin for me to doubt that most people will go to hell. Afterwards, a Bible verse was cited which it stated something like two-thirds of people will go to hell, or something to that affect. Can you please explain 1) why this teaching is upheld and 2) why it would be a sin for me to doubt that? I understand the Church teaches salvation through the Church and its sacraments, but I also know that God is not bound by His sacraments. I’m unsure of why it’s wrong for me to believe that he may give last chances to people in their last moments.

Thanks!

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

There is no Church teaching about how many people will go to hell. The possibility of a person ending up in hell exists because anyone who dies in a state of mortal sin is incapable of entering heaven. However, we have no idea who is or isn’t repentant. That is known to God alone. As the Catechism notes:

1037 God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want “any to perish, but all to come to repentance”

There is a bit of a misunderstanding of Scripture passages that refer to “many” going to hell and “few” going to heaven. God is a loving Father who desires the salvation of all His children. For such a loving Father if even one soul is lost to hell that means too many have gone to hell and too few have gone to heaven.

Hell is a reality and a possibility, how many are there is an open question.