How to Know If You’re Going to Hell
If the Catholic Church is right, you will go to hell. Probably.
Sorry, but these are just facts. So many things you do every day are sins, to the point where you just can’t escape the curse. Don’t worry, I won’t go to heaven either. I have committed so many deadly sins that I can’t even remember them all. The only consolation is that everyone I know will join me in the lake of fire.
As far as I understand, the Catholic Church (or God, if you are a Catholic) provided a “way out” in the form of confession to a priest and repentance. They remove your sins and purify your spirit, but even so, you must choose the right time to die in a state of grace. And considering how many sins you and I regularly commit and how quickly they accumulate, it’s unlikely that any of us will end up in a good place. I’m sorry. So if we go there, we might as well know why. These sins will most likely make you plunge into the lake of fire.
Three kinds of sin
Before you can determine exactly if you’re going to hell for the bad things you’ve done, let’s delve into what we mean by “sin.” Sins are, in a broad sense, crimes against God. There are three main types of sin within the Catholic Church.
- Original Sins: Original sin is the sin committed by Adam and the recognition of our sinful nature. You can only get rid of OS by being baptized, so Catholics generally have nothing to worry about after they’re about a week old.
- Forgivable sins: Forgivable sins are relatively minor spiritual offenses – not the best thing to do, but not something to send you to hell. If you die and commit venial sins, you will still go to heaven (probably). You don’t even have to admit to them.
- Deadly sins: Deadly sins are major sins: serious acts committed in full awareness of their severity and with the full consent of the sinner. You will go to hell if you have committed mortal sins without repentance.
New sins
Back in 2008, the Church said, “Hey, new sins are falling” and made it clear to everyone that the following are the sins:
- polluting the environment
- participation in “manipulative” genetic science
- social injustice that breeds poverty
- excessive accumulation of wealth by a few
- pedophilia
I can stand up for all these things that are sins! But since the Catholic Church has something for everyone (or nothing for everyone, depending on your point of view), they also wanted to remind us that these other things are still sins:
- drug use or dealing (does legal weed count?)
- abortion
Ouch. Maybe I’m less Catholic than I thought.
The 2008 Church Sin Line brings together old favorites such as:
- murder
- extramarital sex
- sodomy
- divorce
- masturbation
- blasphemy
- pronounce the name of the Lord in vain
- taking advantage of poverty
- deprivation of a worker’s wages
- jealousy
I could go on listing sins all day, but you get the idea that anything can be a sin, depending on why and how you do it.
However, I like the serious approach of the Catholic Church. Too many people think that being religious means that God hates the same things they do and agrees with them on everything else. But Catholicism makes this worldview impossible. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you think, what you do is shameful.
In almost 2,000 years of its existence, the Catholic Church has never published an exhaustive list of sins and has not explained which of them are mortal and which are forgivable, because the same action can either be a sin or not be a sin at all, depending on the mitigators. circumstances. For example, if you are addicted to drugs, you are probably not committing a mortal sin by injecting because you do not fully consent to it. But if you just enjoy getting high and burning bibles on a Friday night, you’re probably committing a lot of deadly sins.
“But I’m not a Catholic! What to me?”
Obviously other religions have different ideas about sin, heaven and hell, and I don’t know for sure if Catholic teachings are the final word on what will or will not send you to hell. But the Catholic Church has been around for a long time, and its hierarchical structure provides a single voice of authority (the Pope) to explain things. Also, his long history of documenting what acts are an insult to God gives probably the closest thing to a practical answer to the question. Personally, I’m not interested in religious debate, I just stay out of hell, so I use the Catholic approach as a way to hedge. Maybe knowing what sins I’ve committed will give me a little comfort as the demon slowly flays my skin.
Nobody said going to heaven would be easy
If it’s real, Catholic Paradise is a great deal. You will spend eternity looking into the face of God in unimaginable, infinite bliss, and all you had to do to earn that privilege was follow a few simple rules for a few decades on Earth. Light. But in practice, we are weak and flawed creatures, and our salvation must be earned by discipline and constant communication with the Big Guy. It’s not exactly fun, but it seems fair to me. (Except for people who have never heard of Catholicism, but that’s a whole different bucket of worms.)
Another view of the Catholic concept of sin is that existence is a test that we must fail, and that only the grace of God’s forgiving nature can save us (provided you confess and repent at the right time). Catholic teaching clearly says that literally everyone is sinful, even small babies. It’s strange but comforting because we’re all in the same sinking ship and anyone with a “holier than you” attitude or proud of their kindness is committing a sin too! (Take this, televangelists!) I’m not sure how a loving God fits in with the concept of a soul that spends eternity in torment for using His name in vain, but I do know one thing about God: He hates the same things I do. . Shit. Another sin.