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 soul will share in the Beatific Vision which is Heaven. +However, this is not the teaching of the Holy Catholic +Church[1], nor is it remotely +scriptural.
+ ++ "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."+ +
+ - Gospel According to St. Matthew 7:13-14 +
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.
+ +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"[2], 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 doing +bad things, 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."[3] 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 & Mercy bestowed upon us, His creatures.
+ +Once we understand this true concept of what Sin is, we begin to +better understand the true meaning of other Dogmas & 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.
+ +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:
+ ++ "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.'"+ +
+ - Catechism of the Catholic Church § 405 +
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 & 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.
+ +This brings us to the final point for this article, being Salvation +& 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.
+ +When speaking about Salvation & Damnation, we're truly speaking +of Heaven & 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.
+ +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.
+ + Catechism of the Catholic Church § +1035