themusicinnoise-site/blog/posts/0116-sin-and-hell.html

<p>In an age dominated by Moral Relativism and Free Examination of
Conscience, it is common for us to avoid the topics of Sin and Hell, or
even to deny them, adopting instead the heresy of Universalism - i.e.
that everyone's soul will share in the Beatific Vision which is Heaven.
However, this is not the teaching of the Holy Catholic
Church<sup><a href="#r1" >[1]</a></sup>, nor is it remotely
scriptural.</p>

<blockquote>
	"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is
	easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For
	the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and
	there are few who find it."<br />
	- <i>Gospel According to St. Matthew</i> 7:13-14
</blockquote>

<p>For those in communion with the Church, in other denominations, or
even other creeds, it may be said that this comes from a place of
charity, if attempting to comfort others who are still very much
enslaved to their sins, or from an earnest desire to love God, which
they currently cannot fully realize due to being enslaved to their sins.
This is not, of course, an excuse for the error incurred, but rather
something we should keep in mind. Although perhaps the greatest effect
this has is on those who are irreligious, or who were religious but then
scandalized by this truth.</p>

<p>There are many irreligious who have a false conception of what Sin
truly is - I myself having been one of them - and as such are
scandalized by the implications of this false conception. The error
being that Sin is simply that which God blames us for. For although "Sin
is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with
him"<sup><a href="#r2" >[2]</a></sup>, this is not because God has
chosen arbitrary rules which He wants us to follow - in other words, as
a tyrant. God does not impose rules on us for Himself, but rather for
our own good. This is because Sin, although it comes about by <i>doing
bad things</i>, it is truly something real that has an actual effect on
our Immortal Souls. That is to say, "[Sin] wounds man's nature and
injures human solidarity."<sup><a href="#r3" >[3]</a></sup> As such, Sin
is not something that God incurs upon us, but something real and
objective that we incur upon ourselves with the Freedom which God, in
His infinite Love &amp; Mercy bestowed upon us, His creatures.</p>

<p>Once we understand this true concept of what Sin is, we begin to
better understand the true meaning of other Dogmas &amp; Doctrines of
the Church which, without this understanding, are difficult to believe
of an All Loving God, as is ours. The first of which being the concept
of Original Sin.</p>

<p>Knowing therefore that Sin is not God blaming us for our deeds, but
rather a very real effect that is incurred on our very souls when we act
against our Nature (in the philosophical sense of the term), the concept
of Original Sin begins to clarify. Original Sin is not God blaming us
for the Sin of Adam. Rather, the Church teaches:</p>

<blockquote>
	"Although it is proper to each individual, original sin does not
	have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants.
	It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human
	nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural
	powers proper to it; subject to ignorance, suffering, and the
	dominion of death; and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that
	is called 'concupiscence.'"<br />
	- <i>Catechism of the Catholic Church</i> § 405
</blockquote>

<p>That is, Original Sin is a real and actual effect upon all Men's
souls, just like personal sins. It is not that God wants us to be
afflicted by Original Sin, it's that we are. It's not that God blames us
for Adam's Sin, but rather that his sin (the Original Sin), being that
first sin to separate Man from God, had a real spiritual effect on all
of his descendants, of which we are all a part. In fact, contrary to God
blaming us, He wishes to save us from not only the Original Sin of Adam,
but from all our sins. We incurred upon ourselves the evils of Sin, and
God in His Infinite Mercy &amp; Love chose freely to give us a path to
Salvation by means of Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord. Through Him, and
only through Him are we able to free ourselves of the evils of Sin -
both original and personal.</p>

<p>This brings us to the final point for this article, being Salvation
&amp; Damnation. Because of Original Sin, from the very moment of our
conception - which is to say the moment we come into being - our
destination is Hell. There is no sugar-coated way of expressing this. It
is not that God wants us to go to Hell, but rather He wishes for all Men
to be saved. It is precisely for this reason that He gave us the means
to be saved through Jesus Christ, these being the Sacraments of Baptism,
Confession, and the Eucharist. As such, we see that it is not God who
puts us in this state of Sin and disorder. Rather, He is the one who,
despite our disobedience and offenses against Him, provides each and
every one of us, freely, with the means to be free of Sin. He wants our
Salvation! But He does not force us to be saved.</p>

<p>When speaking about Salvation &amp; Damnation, we're truly speaking
of Heaven &amp; Hell. And something that is important to note is that
the defining characteristic of Heaven is that it is to be in full
eternal communion with God; while the defining characteristic of Hell is
that it is a complete and eternal separation from God. God is not going
to force us to be with Him for all eternity if we do not want it. So if
we choose freely to reject God and the Salvation He offers, He is not
going to force it upon us. As such, truly, Christ's Sacrifice on the
Cross is a universal sacrifice for all Men, but not all Men choose to
accept and assume the consequences of His Sacrifice.</p>

<p>This is all I will go over for today, but there is at least one
question that could remain after all this, which is what happens to
those who, not through their own volition, but simply by circumstance or
scandal, never received the Sacraments necessary for Salvation? I will
not go over this now, since I've already touched on a lot of things and
this article is getting rather long, although I may write about it in
the future. However, in the meantime, you can simply read what the
Catholic Church Herself has to say on the matter by reading paragraphs
846-848 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.</p>

<label id="r1" >[1]</label> <i>Catechism of the Catholic Church</i> §
1035<br />
<label id="r2" >[2]</label> <i>Catechism of the Catholic Church</i> §
1440<br />
<label id="r3" >[3]</label> <i>Catechism of the Catholic Church</i> §
1872