Who goes to Hell?

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Mijoy2

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From my perceptions:

The Athiest: nobody

The Agnostic: Who knows but “if there is a God” he understands I basically mean well, so I am probably not going.

The twice a year (Easter and Christmas)Catholic: Only truly terrible people but not me I am good.

The common Catholic: Same as above.

The common Protestant: Same as above

The Evangelical Protestant: Everyone who does not know of or believe in Jesus (regardless of anything else)

The Muslim: Anyone who believes in the Holy Trinity (and more)

The devout Catholic: People in Sanctifying Grace, however only God knows for sure.

Seems to be trend here. Individuals who think little about God or the Faith they were born into seem to believe the greater the number of people will wind up in Heaven and the fewer in Hell.

This brings up two questions:
  1. Is ignorance bliss?
  2. If we look to the person on either side of us, is it likely we are looking at someone who is to spend eternity burning in Hell?
This is sooo troubling. Funny thing, we hear from our neighbor that they broke a toe or have a cold and we feel sorry for them, yet the fact that (by the doctrine of our Faith) they are likely going to spend eternity burning in Hell, we hardly give a second thought.

Based on the doctrine of our Faith, mixed with society at large, many (most) people we use the adjective “good person” here on earth are not in a state of Sanctifying Grace.

Anyone else struggle with this?
 
C.S. Lewis describes the “fires of hell” as “the lights of heaven seen at a distance”. He contends and I believe that the Church teaches that we all have a clear choice at some point and that God “sends” no one to hell. Hell is a self-imposed eternal exile from God.

Your analysis didn’t take into account Purgatory. Many who will be in Heaven pass through this “purging”. Those of us who fail to fully “die to self” in this life will have to “die to self” in Purgatory in order to even abide the presence of God. Many may ultimately be saved this way through the mercy of the Father.

That’s my take on it anyway.
 
Nobody anymore - because our all loving God wouldn’t allow it.

I hear it all the time - God wouldn’t send me to hell for that!

I say “How do you know?” They say “How do you know?”

I say “It has been revealed and taught.” They say “Just a bunch of stories” etc… etc… etc…

Or they say" What kind of God would send me to hell? - if this is God I don’t want anything to do with him."
 
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JimO:
C.S. Lewis describes the “fires of hell” as “the lights of heaven seen at a distance”. .
I’ve read a lot of C.S.Lewis. Just finished “The Great Divorce” and really enjoyed it. I, like you it seems JimO, like to think this way. That Hell is chosen, just as Heaven is chosen. It makes for good logic, considering God is Love and loves us all. However it is the contradictions that trouble me. You just have to read the great number of posts in this forum that refer to an individuals concern over thier present state of salvation because they looked too long a woman or missed Mass on a given Sunday. This doesn’t fit with Lewis’s scenario all that well.
 
Here is a sobering thought taken from the book “The Dogma of Hell” (Illustrated by facts taken from profane and sacred history)

“How hard is it to save one’s soul?” Many people today would have it that just about everyone is being saved, but that judgment is not in agreement with the tone and tenor of the Bible, nor does it reflect the attitude of the Saints. Granted, the Catholic Church has never made a pronouncement on the subject, nor has she ever declared, as mentioned, that any particular person is in Hell. Nonetheless, on this subject we have the very sobering words of Our Lord recorded in St. Matthew: "Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to distruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!" **(Matt. 7:13-14)

This book is full of stories to turn your head, very interesting read!!

“If you can muster up enough devoution to love God at least have enough sense to fear Hell”
 
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Mijoy2:
You just have to read the great number of posts in this forum that refer to an individuals concern over thier present state of salvation because they looked too long a woman or missed Mass on a given Sunday. This doesn’t fit with Lewis’s scenario all that well.
Our Lady of Fatima warned that more souls go to Hell because of Sins of the flesh than any other reasons and missing Mass on Sunday is a Mortal Sin … they are right to be concerned!
 
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buffalo:
Or they say" What kind of God would send me to hell? - if this is God I don’t want anything to do with him."
I suppose God will say the same on Judgement Day!
 
Who goes to hell? Only those who choose to do so.

But nowadays there seems to be a presumption that no one will choose to go there. Yet, if we spend all our life rejecting God, do we really think that upon death we will suddenly choose for the One that we have been conditioning ourselves for years to reject?

JimG
 
Unrepentant immoral men and women will be cast into hell.

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Cor. 6:9-10
 
Although I tend to agree with Lewis and believe that no one is “sent” to hell by God, I certainly don’t believe that few people go to hell. Our sin nature is a powerful agent and humility is one of the most difficult virtues to master. I would feel safe in guessing that a majority of people “choose” hell by choosing themselves over God. Think how we hate suffering of any kind or any kind of deprivation, even those that are for the good of others. I know that I seriously struggle with giving up simple luxuries for Lent, and that is nothing compared with the kind of selflessness exhibited by some godly people I know (I have a long way to go). It is this tendancy that is the danger.

A lifetime of determined avoidance of suffering, inconvenience, deprivation, etc. essentially constitutes a choice for hell. It’s not like each soul is faced with a choice on the Price is Right - “Okay, behind door # 1 is eternal bliss and consolation and behind door # 2 is a lake of sulfur and fire for all eternity. Which do you choose?” The “choice” I refer to is comprised of the choices we make every day. “The choice” is a lifetime of choices.

On the other hand, many people are overly scrupulous about sin, as though God is waiting with His “hammer of justice” to squish us as soon as we slip up. Luther had this problem and was so obsessed with being certain of his salvation that he developed an entire theology around salvation based on “faith alone” and that no sinful act committed after he was “saved” could endanger his salvation. But, that’s for another thread.
 
For the record, I as a devout Catholic do not believe that anyone in sanctifying grace will go to hell…
 
gomer tree:
For the record, I as a devout Catholic do not believe that anyone in sanctifying grace will go to hell…
And such is the teaching of the Church.

It is known to us and to you that those who are in invincible ignorance of our most holy religion, but who observe carefully the natural law, and the precepts graven by God upon the hearts of all men, and who being disposed to obey God lead an honest and upright life, may, aided by the light of divine grace, attain to eternal life; for God who sees clearly, searches and knows the heart, the disposition, the thoughts and intentions of each, in His supreme mercy and goodness by no means permits that anyone suffer eternal punishment, who has not of his own free will fallen into sin.

Pope Pius IX, Quanto conficiamur moerore, August 10, 1863
 
I was kind of ribbing. The original post seems to read that devout Catholics think those in a state of sanctifying grace are going to hell.
 
I was kind of ribbing. The original post seems to read that devout Catholics think those in a state of sanctifying grace are going to hell.

Gottcha. 🙂

You said that anyone that dies in a state of grace will go to heaven. I am just wondering when the Feeneyites and überTraditionalists are going to start posting that anyone who does not formally join the Catholic Church before they die will be spending their eternity in hell. I thought I would sneak in the quote from Quanto conficiamur moerore as a sort of preemptive first strike against the coming assault … :rolleyes:
 
gomer tree:
I was kind of ribbing. The original post seems to read that devout Catholics think those in a state of sanctifying grace are going to hell.
My mistake Gomer, typo, meant to say, all but those …
 
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