I was reading a lot of blogs saying how terrible God must be for sending people who don't believe in Him, unbaptized babies to Hell, and how He makes it impossible for anyone to go to Heaven unless they're Catholic. I almost believed it until I remembered something very important.
There's Purgatory. For those who don't know, Purgatory is a place where people who die with less serious sins on their soul to be cleansed so that they will become perfect to be with God. The general idea is that if you live a good life you'll be sent there with the promise that you'll see God and will not be sent to Hell.
Now, some people said that God send unbaptized babies to Hell. Not true! It is said that if a baby dies without the sacrament of baptizum that they will be entrusted to the mercy of God. Babies are innocent and have no consequences for their actions. They have no formed conscience, they can't speak, so therefore it's not their responsibility to get themselves baptized. They haven't done anything wrong since they don't know what's right and what is wrong. So, yes, they might have original sin on their soul, but they aren't responsible for their actions.
Only the Catholics go to Heaven; everyone else goes to Hell. Not true! I read Dante's Inferno which was an excellent book that depicted Hell very realistically. The only thing wrong that I noticed about it was that Dante made accusations about who went to Hell. He named various people in the circles. So, although he gave good examples, it wasn't true. We don't know exactly who goes to Hell. Hell is the seperation from God. Jesus spoke about a place in Hell for those who refused to believe and be converted. Now, this doesn't mean people who aren't Catholic. I believe that different Christen denominations will be saved, If someone has NEVER heard about Jesus and didn't convert, but lived a good life, he won't be sent to Hell. What is certain is that if someone dies with serious sin on their soul (like murder, with no intention of repenting) then he will be sent to Hell. If someone committed murder, were truely sorry, and repented only to die five minutes later, they might be sent to Purgatory or Heaven.
What if you're thinking: God knows who's going to go to Hell, so why bother. Not true! God predestines no one to Hell. He gave us free will to chose to do the right thing or the wrong thing. He allows us to chose Him until our last breath. God doesn't want anyone to go to Hell; after all, He made man to be with Him forever in Heaven.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
I'm not a believer in Purgatory because I don't see any evidence in the Bible to tell so. I believe that God shows mercy, but he will judge everyone one day. I have continually asked people to show me where Purgatory is mentioned, but the only two places I ever see are Heaven and Hell.
I don't even think that's true about catholics or purgatory necessarily...I'm very conflicted about purgatory...but the Catholic part is pretty clear...what do we have to do to get into heaven? you have to truly believe Jesus is the messiah and you have to ask God for forgiveness...you don't have to be a Catholic to do that...saying that only Catholics go to heaven is ludicrous...so I'm glad you realized that and brought up purgatory...but I'm not really sure if I believe in it b/c that's like God providing loopholes to his divine rule...
it might seem like a loophole, but that's what's great about God. he knows we can't be perfect and might mess up sometimes, but He wants us to be with Him and allows time to do that
I still disagree...that's why we have redemption...that's why he allows forgiveness...and like the comment before mine says...where's the proof in the bible?
its in the catholic catechism, which has been around for forever and is accepted as catholic truth.
but what about those people that aren't catholic but are still Christians or another faith that believes in God and the Messiah...are you really saying they will be damned to hell or purgatory? That doesn't make sense to me...it makes God sound more like the team captain in gym class only picking the best athletes rather than the loving, forgiving father I've been taught he is
no im not saying that. i believe that even if your some christian and you believe in God you'll be saved. you aren't damned to purgatory; it's a temporary state until your soul is cleansed and you can be with God. if your in purgatory, you can't be sent to hell. God gives us enough chances in life to chose him and loves us even if we don't, but if you don't live a good life and reject him entirely, than yes, i believe that there is a place in hell for people like that. there are different degrees of hell. some people have a worse punishment than others.
I guess I could go with that if I believed in purgatory...but I'm still not sure
ok i've been trying to find evidence of it in the bible. yes, the word "purgatory" is not found in the bible, but there is talk about praying for the dead. now, why would you pray for the dead? they don't need your help. in mass we pray for the souls in purgatory; it takes time off for them. also often there are scripture verses saying "cleansing by fire." it isn't talking about hell, since you'd be damned by fire.
Well without Jesus we would have to be perfect to get to Heaven which is impossible. I don't believe in purgatory at all. I think there's Heaven or Hell. Plus I don't think being a good person does anything for you unless you accept Jesus in your heart as your savior.
i believe that if you truely don't know about Jesus than yes you might be saved, but in any case you should accept him. some people don't because they refuse to believe.
The great hypocrisy of a 'good' god!! You can be the best person on the planet, but if you don't pick the right group of baseless doctrines out of a bunch of other equally baseless doctrines, to hell with ya!!!
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
I thought that the Catholic Church recently decided that purgatory is a no-go...I could be wrong.
However, that does not change the immorality of hell. Nobody deserves any kind of punishment for all time. Hitler. Stalin. Saddam. No one. Eventually, the punishment they receive will outweigh the evil that they did. And that is the fundamental problem with hell.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
I definitely agree with this...no matter how bad of a crime a person committed they don't deserve a life of eternal damnation...it goes against the principle of redemption that God is supposed to advocate for...I think punishment of having to spend eternity under the scrutiny of people everywhere could easily be worse punishment
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
haha what can I say I'm a very open minded Christian...hence me going to a non-denominational church...I actually reject a lot of principles that religion sets forth...but the ones I do agree with...Jesus being our savior, God forgiving us of sin, and abstinence...I agree with strongly...I take a lot of flack for those beliefs though
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson
i don't think so. you dont know if even hitler, stalin, or saddam go to Hell. they could of been truely sorry in the end; if they weren't i believe that they do deserve that kind of punishment. but thats not for me to decide.
you are right it's not for any of us to decide...that's why I wasn't criticizing you but the concept of hell...at least you have a well written blog and one that is obviously sparking a lot of conversation even if people don't agree with you
thanks. i'm glad a lot of people have something to say about it.
Well, to me, it's all speculation since I don't believe in any of this. But, while people like that certainly deserve punishment, an eternity of punishment will eventually outweigh the evils of their short little lives.
"Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos."
Homer Simpson