Today’s question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? If God is love, how can such a thing even be possible?

Question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? Please explain how I deserve to burn in hell, from a human perspective and how can I possibly follow a religion that doesn’t make sense?

Answer: The problems related to “The Human Condition” are probably due as much to “circumstance” as to the personal “guilt” of we who are alive on earth, today.

That said, the problem of sin is and always has been, deadly serious!

Due to the Fall of Man (in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden) the default state of all humanity is to be born estranged from God; totally lacking the divine grace that is necessary to enter Heaven; perpetually enslaved to Satan, sin and death; having a natural attraction to sin, as well as an all too human propensity to commit sin.

The only known antidote to perpetual slavery and eternal damnation, is faith in Jesus Christ, the divine man who has demonstrated (as one of us and on our behalf) his total mastery over Satan, sin and death.

The fact that Jesus voluntarily took on flesh, became man, willingly sacrificed himself and then, rose again from the dead, in order to destroy Satan’s power over us (the power of death and hell) while asking nothing in return, except for our faithful allegiance, should be more than sufficient proof of God’s abiding love and tender mercies.

Christians typically swear faithful allegiance to Jesus Christ by being Baptized into his Holy Catholic (Universal) Church.

The Sacrament of Baptism, followed by a regular program of personal prayer and study, along with a lifetime of full, faithful participation in all the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of the Holy Catholic Church, is the time-tested, “Jesus Approved” method of first, being justified by the grace of God and then, proceeding to live a holy life that will serve to glorify God, while preparing us to (hopefully) spend an eternity with him, in Heaven.

The bottom line: Nobody “deserves” Heaven. An invitation to Heaven is a free gift from God, subject only to his divine will, his justice and his mercy.

God typically reserves the gift of Heaven for those who are (or who will be) faithful to Jesus Christ – the one who redeemed all of mankind from Satan, sin, eternal death and hell.

Absent faith in Jesus – or a great miracle/divine exception – there’s only one other choice available.

So what will it be: The Smoking Section or The Non-Smoking Section?

Take the quiz: How much do you know about the Catholic Church?

Can you tell your aspergillum from your alb? Your cassock from your chasuble? Take our quiz on all things Roman Catholic to test your knowledge of one of the world’s oldest, largest, and most powerful institutions.

Take the quiz

Editor’s note: This quiz will probably pose a bit of a challenge, for most Catholics.

Dr. Jeff, a pro-abort writer, marine biologist and ethicist, would like you to know…

Dr. Jeff writes, in part:

Nobody likes abortion.  That is not the question being debated.

Prevention, not abortion, is the vastly preferred method of family planning.

Abortion is an invasive surgical technique, physically and psychologically traumatic, expensive, and potentially dangerous.

Whereas sex should be as frequent as desired, unwanted pregnancy should be exceptional rather than routine.

Part of the adult responsibility commensurate with having an active sex life is prudent and careful use of contraception.

Abortion should not be viewed as a contraceptive. However, if an unwanted pregnancy occurs, a women’s right to choose her own reproductive destiny must be protected.  As should our right to live in a country free from religious tyranny.

Editor’s note: Dr. Jeff also complains about the Christian religion being the cause of all the trouble about abortion and he goes on to explain in detail, his personal beliefs about such matters – all of which sounds like just another form of religion, to me.

Claiming to be a highly educated person, Dr. Jeff comes across instead as being voluntarily ignorant about the facts of the matters in contention.

Dr. Jeff also appears to have a “god” complex – with Dr. Jeff alone as the omnipotent and all-knowing one. Hence, Dr. Jeff can arbitrarily lobby for the willful, wanton and violent destruction of innocent human life – and receive both a handsome fee and the thanks of a grateful nation for so doing.

According to the premises put forward in his article, this man’s personal beliefs appear to be twisted, almost beyond recognition. Some examples:

Dr. Jeff claims that life does not begin at conception. He explains this is due to the fact that there is a high rate of silent and other types of miscarriages – according to his dubious statistics – around 75%. I say, “So what? Who elected you god?”

In spite of his view on when life begins, Dr. Jeff claims that part of the adult responsibility commensurate with having an active sex life is prudent and careful use of contraception. I say, “If as you claim, life does not begin at conception – why would anyone have the responsibility to use contraception?

Dr. Jeff equates separate egg and sperm cells with the already fertilized ovum. To him, there is absolutely no difference between them. I say, “Even a third grader can tell the difference between the means of conception and its’ awesome product.”

Dr. Jeff  justifies the wanton killing of the unborn by claiming that newly conceived babes in the womb are essentially brainless, unfeeling, unthinking, good-for-nothings. I say, “I know a lot of adults who fit that description.”

Dr. Jeff claims that life is NOT sacred – or to put a little sharper point on things – he claims that IF life were indeed sacred – there would be no war, no capital punishment, no right of self-defense, etc., etc., etc.. I say, “That’s a lot of “BS” – and everybody knows it. The fact that certain immoral and/or illegal things continue to occur in this world does absolutely nothing to change the essential nature of the things of which this world actually consists.”

Dr. Jeff seems to have invented for himself a little, virtual world where he gets to make all the rules – where he alone is god – and he seems to absolutely hate the fact that others might not respect or appreciate his sovereign view of things.   

Let’s all pray that Dr. Jeff’s tortured soul is healed and like many other former pro-aborts, he shortly comes to fully know the authentic light of truth.

Askmeaboutgod.org is the new “home” of The Catholic Treasure Chest website

I’ve lost touch with my old friend Bob Stanley,
of The Catholic Treasure Chest
and the original domain name is no longer available.

Bob’s site has been (for the last 20 years or so) one of the finest, most complete, truly Catholic websites on the planet.

According to the informal plan that Bob and I worked up together, many years ago: Should such an event occur, I was to restore the site from a comprehensive backup and get things up and running again, ASAP.

The Catholic Treasure Chest is once again, up and running
and may be accessed through available links
on this (www.AskMeAboutGod.org) site.

Click here to view

Update: Bob Stanley has passed away

Today’s question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? If God is love, how can such a thing even be possible?

Question: Why do I deserve to burn in hell for eternity? Please explain how I deserve to burn in hell, from a human perspective and how can I possibly follow a religion that doesn’t make sense?

Answer: The problems related to “The Human Condition” are probably due as much to “circumstance” as to the personal “guilt” of we who are alive on earth, today. That said, the problem of sin is and always has been, deadly serious!

Due to the Fall of Man (in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden) the default state of all humanity is to be born estranged from God, totally lacking the divine grace that is necessary to enter Heaven, perpetually enslaved to Satan, sin and death, having a natural attraction to sin, as well as an all too human propensity to commit sin.

The only known antidote to perpetual slavery and eternal damnation, is faith in Jesus Christ, the divine man who has demonstrated (as one of us and on our behalf) his total mastery over Satan, sin and death.

The fact that Jesus voluntarily took on flesh, became man, willingly sacrificed himself and then, rose again from the dead, in order to destroy Satan’s power over us (the power of death and hell) while asking nothing in return, except for our faithful allegiance, should be more than sufficient proof of God’s abiding love and tender mercies.

Christians typically swear faithful allegiance to Jesus Christ by being Baptized into his Holy Catholic (Universal) Church.

The Holy Sacrament of Baptism, followed by a regular program of personal prayer and study, along with a lifetime of full, faithful participation in all the work, worship, sacraments and devotions of the Holy Catholic Church, is the time-tested, “Jesus Approved” method of first, being justified by the grace of God and then, proceeding to live a holy life that will serve to glorify God, while preparing us to (hopefully) spend an eternity with him, in Heaven.

Asked and answered today on Yahoo!Answers. Edited for clarity and content.

Big Bang ‘Gravity Wave’ Discovery Supports Biblical Creation, Say Old Earth Creationists – but wait a minute…

Embed from Getty Images

“The Bible was the first to predict big bang cosmology,” according to Hugh Ross, president and founder of Reasons to Believe, an Old Earth Creationist organization that believes Christianity and science are complementary.

In an interview with The Christian Post on Tuesday, Ross explained that the detection of gravity waves from the universe’s rapid expansion, referred to as “inflation,” shows that “when the universe was a trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second old, it expanded faster than the speed of light.”

Text and video

The old culture war rages on

The culture war is essentially a struggle to see if the West will have ametaphysical culture or an anti-metaphysical culture. An anti-metaphysical culture must give way to nihilism, anarchy, and the upsurge of unchecked evil. Thus, the long-term prospects for the survival of Western Civilization will be determined by the outcome of the culture war.

Metaphysics, faith, and reason

Is there a connection between metaphysics, faith, and reason? Yes. Faith and reason help us to connect with the metaphysical realm. Metaphysics enriches and stabilizes both faith and reason. For example, metaphysical theology and ethics provide boundaries in which faith and reason must operate.

Western metaphysics produced a culture that was both uniquely rational and uniquely welcoming to religious faith. Prior to the bifurcation of Western culture, faith and reason were strongly allied. After the bifurcation, faith and reason were in tension. Today, faith and reason are hostile to one another in some quarters. This current situation is historically abnormal and culturally unhealthy.

Read more

Dr. Jeff, a pro-abort writer, marine biologist and ethicist, would like you to know…

Dr. Jeff writes, in part:

Nobody likes abortion.  That is not the question being debated.  Prevention, not abortion, is the vastly preferred method of family planning. Abortion is an invasive surgical technique, physically and psychologically traumatic, expensive, and potentially dangerous. Whereas sex should be as frequent as desired, unwanted pregnancy should be exceptional rather than routine. Part of the adult responsibility commensurate with having an active sex life is prudent and careful use of contraception. Abortion should not be viewed as a contraceptive. However, if an unwanted pregnancy occurs, a women’s right to choose her own reproductive destiny must be protected.  As should our right to live in a country free from religious tyranny.

But wait – there’s more!

Link

Editor’s note: Dr. Jeff also complains about the Christian religion being the cause of all the trouble about abortion and he goes on to explain in detail, his personal beliefs about such matters – all of which sounds like just another form of religion, to me.

Claiming to be a highly educated person, Dr. Jeff comes across instead as being voluntarily ignorant about the facts of the matters in contention.  Dr. Jeff also appears to have a “god” complex – with Dr. Jeff alone as the omnipotent and all-knowing one. Hence, Dr. Jeff can arbitrarily lobby for the willful, wanton and violent destruction of innocent human life – and receive both a handsome fee and the thanks of a grateful nation for so doing.

According to the premises put forward in his article, this man’s personal beliefs appear to be twisted, almost beyond recognition. Some examples:

Dr. Jeff claims that life does not begin at conception. He explains this is due to the fact that there is a high rate of silent and other types of miscarriages – according to his dubious statistics – around 75%. I say, “So what? Who elected you god?”

In spite of his view on when life begins, Dr. Jeff claims that part of the adult responsibility commensurate with having an active sex life is prudent and careful use of contraception. I say, “If as you claim, life does not begin at conception – why would anyone have the responsibility to use contraception?

Dr. Jeff equates separate egg and sperm cells with the already fertilized ovum. To him, there is absolutely no difference between them. I say, “Even a third grader can tell the difference between the means of conception and its’ awesome product.”

Dr. Jeff  justifies the wanton killing of the unborn by claiming that newly conceived babes in the womb are essentially brainless, unfeeling, unthinking, good-for-nothings. I say, “I know a lot of adults who fit that description.”

Dr. Jeff claims that life is NOT sacred – or to put a little sharper point on things – he claims that IF life were indeed sacred – there would be no war, no capital punishment, no right of self-defense, etc., etc., etc.. I say, “That’s a lot of “BS” – and everybody knows it. The fact that certain immoral and/or illegal things continue to occur in this world does absolutely nothing to change the essential nature of the things of which this world actually consists.”

Dr. Jeff seems to have invented for himself a little, virtual world where he gets to make all the rules – where he alone is god – and he seems to absolutely hate the fact that others might not respect or appreciate his sovereign view of things.   

Let’s all pray that Dr. Jeff’s tortured soul is healed and like many other former pro-aborts, he shortly comes to fully know the authentic light of truth.

Take the quiz: How much do you know about the Catholic Church?

Can you tell your aspergillum from your alb? Your cassock from your chasuble? Take our quiz on all things Roman Catholic to test your knowledge of one of the world’s oldest, largest, and most powerful institutions.

Take the quiz

Editor’s note: This quiz will probably pose a bit of a challenge, for most Catholics.

Pint size NY mayor Bloomberg wants to “let” people practice their religion. Who elected him emperor?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes that the Boston Marathon bombings have created a unique scenario — one in which traditional interpretations of the U.S. Constitution must change.

Link

Editor’s note: Bloomberg wants to take away our constitutional rights in order to protect our constitutional rights. Kind of like a mother (or a nanny) taking a cherished toy away from a baby, in order to keep it from being broken. Isn’t that special? This guy should run for president, since that’s the only way every American will have a chance to vote against him!

After that, maybe he can run for Pharisee.

Afraid of religion? The God kind … or the secular, human kind?

Archbishop Charles Chaput explains the difference … and why Catholics are always obligated to speak up for their beliefs and practices, in the public square.

Watch the short video

Fortnight for Freedom Issue #7: Why Fortnight for Freedom is necessary.

Under President Obama, religious freedom has been directly attacked when it has not been simply neglected or disregarded. This, after all, is the administration:

• whose State Department has largely put on ice its statutory obligations under the International Religious Freedom Act;
• in which we have heard the phrase “freedom of worship” increasingly supplant the broader “free exercise of religion”;
• that opposes statutory conscience protections for chaplains and other personnel in the military in the wake of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” while it also undermines the continued enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act;
• that has frozen out the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services agency from federal contracting, despite its proven track record of success and efficiency in dealing with the scourge of human trafficking, because the Catholic agency will not refer victims for abortions or contraceptive services;
• that has argued, with a straight face, that the First Amendment offers no shelter for religious institutions to enjoy a “ministerial exception” to federal employment statutes—and subsequently suffered a forceful 9-0 rejection of its view by the Supreme Court;
• that promulgated the infamous Health and Human Services mandate for no-cost coverage of contraceptives, sterilization, and abortifacients under every employer health plan except those offered by the most narrowly defined “religious institutions”—a definition so narrow that 23 lawsuits have been filed against HHS on behalf of 56 plaintiffs, including Catholic dioceses, charities, health-care institutions, fraternal and missionary organizations, universities, and broadcasters, and some non-Catholic religious institutions as well.

The Obama administration, especially with its HHS mandate, poses the largest and most immediate threat to religious freedom in America today. But in the Easter week statement of their Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, titled “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,” the bishops also notice other threats to which we should be alert.

Read more

Participate in Fortnight for Freedom activities near you

Participate in the Virtual Vigil for Religious Freedom

Common sense Catholic family education

“Religious education” can sound intimidating and far worse is “catechesis.” Neither term came to mind as I washed some dishes in the sink and my 6-year-old grandson wandered into the kitchen. He’s used to the fact I tend to whistle, hum or sing absentmindedly, unaware I’m making any noise at all.

“I know that song!” he said, interrupting me mid-whistle. “We have it at church.”

Hmmm . . .  I wasn’t aware of what I was whistling. Since I presumed his parish Mass didn’t feature anything by Creedence Clearwater Revival or show tunes, then it was . . . Of course. “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

My grandson was pleased he recognized the melody. I was happy he was going someplace where it was sung – religiously.

That’s part of the ABCs, too. We leave Mass, we’re sent, but we take something with us. And we share it. That Advent song — whistled in a kitchen — led easily to a short conversation about Mass, Advent and . . . naturally . . . Christmas.

Read more

Islam: Authentic Religion or merely a Hate Crime In Progress?

I marched into the courtroom every day for nine months and proved that there was an undeniable nexus between Islamic doctrine and terrorism committed by Muslims.

The Blind Sheikh, the jury was allowed to learn, was not a fringe lunatic; he was a globally renowned scholar of sharia whose influence over a spate of international jihadist organizations was based on his doctorate from al-Azhar University, the world’s most influential center of Islamic thought.

And when I demonstrated the straight-line, undeniable logic of the evidence — that scripture informed the Blind Sheikh’s directives; that those directives informed his terrorist subordinates; and that those subordinates then committed atrocities — the government gave me the Justice Department’s highest award.

Today, I’d be ostracized. No longer is the government content to be willfully blind. Today, it is defiantly, coercively, extortionately blind.

Read more from Andrew C. McCarthy/NRO

Truth or friction?

The Catholic Church, since the time of the apostles, has preached the faith as the truth.  I have already quoted St. Peter to the effect that the apostles and their converts “were not following fictitious tales.”  Jesus Christ proved the truth of his assertions about himself by rising from the dead.  As St. Paul explains in Chapter 15 of his first epistle to the Corinthians, the resurrection of Christ was a matter that could be verified with eyewitnesses, not only the apostles, but many others, as well (cf. CCC 641-44).  In addition, the many prophecies that our Lord fulfilled by his birth, life and death, give further proof of the truth of the revelation committed by him to his Church (cf. CCC 156 and 522).  It is with arguments of this kind that we must defend the doctrines of the Catholic Church, not by seeking to prove that the Catholic religion is more useful than any other.

Read more

Obama admin’s idea of “freedom of religion” gets curiouser and curiouser

Minister Told He Will Face Potential Arrest for Reading Christmas Story from the Bible at Capitol Christmas Tree

John Paul II’s left of center approach to Islam was controversial. Still is.

He expressed this with strong gestures, at times questioned, at times questionable: the meeting with Yasser Arafat (March 2000 in Palestine and October 29, 2001 in the Vatican), his kissing the Koran (May 14, 1999), the visit to Turkey ( November 1979), his speech to 80 thousand young people at Casablanca (August 19, 1985), entering the great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (May 6, 2001). His support for the construction of a mosque in Rome, and suggestion that the municipality provide the land.

But above all he launched the idea of a meeting of leaders of all the great world religions, which took place October 27, 1986 and brought together 130 religious leaders from throughout the world. It was followed by two other gatherings in Assisi, and we are waiting for another still in October 2011 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first. Many Catholics have criticized this “ambiguous gesture.”

more

Related earlier post

The goal of the New World Order is to create a generation of polymorphous perverts.

JV — Alright then, how does homosexuality fit into the NWO scheme?

RE — Well, first let me state that there have always been two natural enemies of totalitarianism of any stripe — the family and religion. The advancement of homosexuality and other forms of deviant sexual behavior, as we have seen from the current battle over “gay marriage,” is designed to undermine both marriage and family, as well as the natural law and traditional morality. The goal of the NWO is to create a generation of polymorphous perverts — narcissistic, isolated and rootless individuals who, being enslaved by their own unnatural passions, will not present any serious opposition to their new slave masters.

JV — Once this goal is achieved, will rank-and-file homosexuals continue to play a special role in the NWO?

RE — No. This is highly unlikely. As Dr. Day made quite clear, the NWO prides itself on stability and loyalty to the New Order and homosexuals are notoriously unstable and unreliable. So, having served their purpose, when the time comes, rank-and-file homosexuals will be systematically eliminated as enemies of the state. Elite “gays” within the NWO will probably remain.

Link

Hilaire Belloc on the Reformation

The movement generally called “The Reformation” deserves a place apart in the story of the great heresies; and that for the following reasons:

1. It was not a particular movement but a general one, i.e., it did not propound a particular heresy which could be debated and exploded, condemned by the authority of the Church, as had hitherto been every other heresy or heretical movement. Nor did it, after the various heretical propositions had been condemned, set up (as had Mohammedanism or the Albigensian movement) a separate religion over against the old orthodoxy. Rather did it create a certain separate moral atmosphere which we still call “Protestantism.” It produced indeed a crop of heresies, but not one heresy – and its characteristic was that all its heresies attained and prolonged a common savour: that which we call “Protestantism” today.

2. Though the immediate fruits of the Reformation decayed, as had those of many other heresies in the past, yet the disruption it had produced remained and the main principle reaction against a united spiritual authority – so continued in vigour as both to break up our European civilization in the West and to launch at last a general doubt, spreading more and more widely. None of the older heresies did that, for they were each definite. Each had proposed to supplant or to rival the existing Catholic Church; but the Reformation movement proposed rather to dissolve the Catholic Church – and we know what measure success has been attained by that effort!

The most important thing about the Reformation is to understand it. Not only to follow the story of it stage by stage – a process always necessary to the understanding of any historical matter – but to grasp its essential nature.

Read more

Contending for the faith

A father was approached by his small son who told him proudly, “I know what  the Bible means!”
His father smiled and  replied, “What do you mean, you ‘know’ what the Bible means?
The son replied, “I do  know!”
“Okay,” said his father. “What does the  Bible mean?”
“That’s easy, Daddy…” the young  boy replied excitedly, “Basic  Information Before Leaving Earth.”

There was a very  gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible  to her brother in another part of the  country.
“Is there anything breakable in here?”  asked the postal clerk.
“Only the Ten  Commandments.” answered the  lady.

A  minister waited in line to have his car filled  with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The  attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars  ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him  toward a vacant pump.
“Reverend,” said the  young man, “I’m so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get  ready for a long trip.”
The minister chuckled,  “I know what you mean. It’s the same in my business.”

Sunday  after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter  what the lesson was about.
The daughter  answered, “Don’t be scared, you’ll get your  quilt.”
Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed.  Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea  and the Mom asked him what that morning’s Sunday school  lesson was about.
He said “Be not  afraid, thy comforter is  coming.”

The minister was  preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to  ask the congregation to come up with more money  than they were expecting for repairs to the church  building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that  the regular organist was sick and a substitute had  been brought in at the last minute. The substitute  wanted to know what to play.
“Here’s a copy of  the service,” he said impatiently. “But, you’ll  have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances.”

During  the service, the minister paused and said, “Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the  roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and  we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up.”
At that moment,  the substitute organist played “The Star  Spangled Banner.”
And that is how the substitute became the regular  organist!

“Somebody has said  there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and  say, “Good morning, Lord,” and there are those who  wake up in the morning and say, “Good Lord, it’s  morning.”

Submitted by Oscar S.